BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University sophomores
Cimara-lei Wessling and
Cala Wilson have both been named to the 2026 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team announced organization officials Tuesday afternoon. This is the first career academic all-district honor for both players.
The honor is given to students in all four divisions – NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA for their performances on the field and in the classroom. To earn Academic All-District recognition, a student-athlete must be a sophomore academically and athletically, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or better and have participated in 90 percent or start in 66 percent of the team's games.
Wessling (Converse, Texas) totaled a 3.61 GPA while majoring in studio art education. She started in 41 of the 55 games she appeared in for the Cardinals, including 36 as the designated player. Hitting .309 with a career-best 41 hits, she had a pair of three-hit games against Illinois and Sam Houston. She scored and drove in 25 runs, recorded 11 doubles, two triples and five home runs. Among the big hits for her this season were a game-tying two-run homer against UIW (Apr. 17) in the fourth and a go-ahead three-run homer in the fifth against McNeese (May 8) in game two of the Southland Conference Championship series. During a six-game week stretch, Wessling tallied nine hits, which led to her being named SLC Hitter of the Week.
Wilson (Ruston, La.) earned a 3.73 GPA as a general business major. She started all 58 games at first base and was second on the Cardinals with 57 hits, 40 RBIs and a .311 batting average. Wilson led the Cardinals with nine homers, while adding 13 doubles and three triples. Defensively, she had a .990 fielding percentage with 16 assists, 374 putouts and was part of 15 double plays. Wilson also earned her first career SLC Hitter of the Week award.
The Cardinals recorded their best season in the
Amy Hooks era with 34 wins, tied for the second-most in program history and the most since 2017. Lamar advanced to the SLC Championship series for the second time in program history.
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