It takes extraordinary dedication to compete at the highest level of Canadian university sports. It takes an entirely different level of commitment to do so while ranking among the top students at your university. In the 2025-26 season, the University of Alberta’s Golden Bears and Pandas proved they are champions in both arenas.
In an impressive display of dual excellence, 54 per cent of all Golden Bears and Pandas who competed and used a year of eligibility last season were named Academic All-Canadians.
To achieve the honour, student-athletes must maintain an academic average of 80 per cent or better over the academic year while managing the gruelling schedule of full-time varsity competition.
In all, 206 student-athletes earned Academic All-Canadian status this year.
“Achieving an 80 per cent average at a top-tier institution like the University of Alberta is difficult enough on its own,” says Leah Pezer, director of athletics. “Doing so while travelling, training and competing for a national championship requires exceptional discipline. Having more than half of our active roster reach this academic benchmark is a monumental achievement.”
Unrivalled in the nation
The 2025/26 results cement the U of A’s reputation as the most academically successful athletic program in the country:
- The university’s all-time U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian total now stands at an unrivalled 4,353— the most in Canadian University Sport history. (Including non-sanctioned sports like golf, rugby 7s and tennis, the total reaches 4,617.)
- The 198 U SPORTS-sanctioned Academic All-Canadians this year is the second-most in U of A history, trailing only the record 199 set in 2024-25. An additional eight golfers earned All-Academic Team honours.
- Five Pandas programs set new single-season records for the most Academic All-Canadians in their team’s history: rugby (19), hockey (18), soccer (17), basketball (13), and wrestling (11).
- The 206 honourees represent 15 faculties across the university, led by the Faculty of Arts with 38 Academic All-Canadians and the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation with 36.
Best of the best
At a breakfast held Wednesday morning to honour the newest Academic All-Canadians, Golden Bears and Pandas Athletics also awarded the Mark Goodkey Memorial Trophy and the Kathlene Yetman Memorial Trophy, presented annually to the male and female Academic All-Canadian Student-Athletes of the Year.
Golden Bears soccer standout Thomas Hope was honoured for his exceptional leadership in the classroom, in the community and on the pitch. Over five seasons and 50 games with Golden Bears Soccer — including his final two seasons as team captain — he has been a pillar for the program. Academically, Hope is a three-time U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian, a two-time Jason Lang Scholarship recipient, and the winner of last year’s Faculty of Education Certificate of Excellence. Off the field, he served on the University Athletics Board for three years, including a term as VP Fundraising.
Simply put, there was nothing else Pandas volleyball star Abby Guezen could have accomplished last season. Along with being named the top female Academic All-Canadian, her historic season included being named the Canada West and U SPORTS Player of the Year, winning the Canada West and U SPORTS championships, and being crowned the overall U SPORTS Female Athlete of the Year. The Kathlene Yetman Trophy caps off a spectacular three-year university career in which Guezen was also named the 2024 national rookie of the year, a two-time conference all-star and a three-time national medallist.