Three area residents have been named to the Citadel’s Academic All Southern Conference teams for the 2025-26 academic year, the Southern Conference announced.
Connor Hill, a sophomore and Nation Ford High School graduate, and Danielle Williams, a junior and Fort Mill High School graduate, both compete for the Citadel’s track and field program and were named to the spring 2026 Academic All-SoCon team.
Abigail Thiessen, a sophomore from Clover, was named to both the fall 2025 and spring 2026 Academic All-SoCon teams. Thiessen competes in cross country in the fall and track and field in the spring, and was one of four Citadel athletes to earn recognition in both semesters.
The Southern Conference recognized a combined 77 Citadel student and cadet athletes across the fall 2025 and spring 2026 academic terms, with 34 honorees from fall sports and 43 from spring sports. To qualify, athletes must carry a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.3 through the end of the spring semester and must have competed in at least half of their team’s contests during the season. Athletes must also have completed at least three semesters at their institution, which makes true freshmen and first year transfers ineligible.
Eight Citadel athletes posted a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average for the year. The other two athletes who earned recognition on both the fall and spring teams were Samantha Barnes and Rachel Reininger, both of volleyball and track and field. The fourth was Jack Weil of football and track and field.
Among Citadel’s spring sports, track and field led the way with 12 honorees. Baseball followed with 10, soccer with eight, tennis with seven, and volleyball and rifle each contributed six.
Source: The Citadel Athletics, Southern Conference
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
