Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina put a combined six golfers on the 2026 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic At-Large All-District teams, unveiled today by the organizing group from nominations solicited from each school's respective media relations or communications office.
 
Four Catamount women's golfers – graduate transfer EC Niebauer, senior Sadler Miller, and sophomores Annalee Caveney and Elsa Maren Steinarsdôttir – were joined by two from the Catamount men's team in juniors Jace Butcher and Andrew Korytoski to comprise WCU's six representatives among the at-large selections.
 
Miller collected a WCU program-best third career CSC Academic All-District honor, while Butcher and Korytoski were recognized in consecutive years for their two career honors apiece.
   
The CSC Academic All-District® teams recognize student-athletes for their combined academic and athletic achievements. A combined 10 men's sports – fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling – and a total of 12 women's sports – beach volleyball, bowling, crew/rowing, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, and water polo – are all housed under the at-large category.
 
A maximum of six student-athletes from men's sports and six student-athletes from women's sports are eligible to be nominated by each school's respective media relations or communications office, with each nominee earning all-district plaudits before the CSC membership votes on the Academic All-America teams.
 
All told, 58 student-athletes from the full-fledged Southern Conference schools were recognized.
 
On the men's side, 26 student-athletes were honored. In addition to WCU's two men's golfers, Furman and UNCG both had five men's golfers recognized, Mercer landed six student-athletes (two men's golfers; four men's lacrosse), while VMI saw six men's lacrosse players, and Wofford put two on the squad, one men's golfer and one from rifle.
 
On the women's list, in addition to WCU's four women's golfers, 32 student-athletes were honored. Furman and Mercer both had six student-athletes, with the Paladins putting three women's golf and three women's lacrosse players, while the Bears had four women's lacrosse, one women's golfer, and one from beach volleyball. Chattanooga and Wofford both put six on the all-district team, four from beach volleyball and two women's golfers for the Mocs, while the Terriers had five women's lacrosse players and one women's golfer. Like WCU, UNCG put four women's golfers on the Academic All-District team.
 
Niebauer transferred to WCU for the 2025-26 season, competing in the squad's scoring five in all 10 events and 28 seasonal rounds. She finished the year with a scoring average of 78.04, including shooting 70 or better in 19 rounds with a season-low 73 carded three times.
 
Originally from High Point, N.C., Niebauer holds a graduate school GPA of 3.583 while pursuing her Master of Business Administration (MBA) after completing her degree at Queens University with a cumulative GPA of 3.53.
 
Two-sport standout Sadler Miller played in 27 of the team's 28 seasonal rounds over the 10 events, withdrawing over the second 18 holes of the Southern Conference Women's Golf Championship after battling injury through the start of the round. She posted a seasonal scoring average of 77.48, 29th in the SoCon, with 23 of her 27 rounds carded in the 70s. The Clayton, N.C., product twice posted a season-low round of 72, doing so in the first round of the Reynolds Lake Oconee Invitational and the final round of Georgia's Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in late March.
 
A three-time SoCon Academic Honor Roll recipient and twice named Spring Academic All-SoCon, Miller boasts a cumulative GPA of 3.899 while majoring in interior design.
 
Sophomore Annalee Caveney collected her first Academic All-District honor, carrying a cumulative GPA of 3.61 while majoring in sport management. The Raleigh native played in WCU's scoring five in all 10 of the team's competitions last year, posting 15 of her 28 rounds in the 70s. Caveney carded a season-low round of 76 three times during the year. She was selected to the SoCon Academic Honor Roll last year, with this year's selection not yet released.
 
A transfer from North Alabama, Elsa Maren Steinarsdôttir had an immediate impact for the Catamounts this year as she paced the squad with a 76.64 scoring average, 23rd in the SoCon. She competed as part of the squad's scoring five in all 10 events, with 22 of her 28 rounds carded in the 70s, including a season-low round of 71 at the Puerto Rico Iguana Invitational. Steinarsdôttir twice posted a team-best, sixth-place finish, doing so in Puerto Rico and at the Edisto Island Invitational.
 
Transferring in with a cumulative grade point average of 3.90, Steinarsdôttir continues to carry a 3.634 GPA while majoring in marketing.
 
Junior Jace Butcher finished second on the Catamount squad in seasonal scoring, ranking 10th in the SoCon with an average of 72.06 – the seventh-best single-season in program history. All 32 of his seasonal rounds were carded in the 70s or better, including seven rounds shot in the 60s. He matched his career-low round with a season-opening 67 at the Golfweek Fall Challenge. On the season, Butcher posted four Top 10 individual finishes, twice finishing among the Top Five, including earning his first collegiate medalist honor by winning the 36-hole The Southern Intercollegiate in Athens, Ga., with a score of 2-under par, 142, which landed him SoCon Men's Golfer of the Week plaudits.
 
Majoring in management and finance, Butcher, who hails from Kennesaw, Ga., carries a cumulative GPA of 3.772. He has twice been named to the SoCon Academic Honor Roll, with a third honor pending the official announcement this summer.
 
A second Catamount men's golf junior, Andrew Korytoski, earned his second career academic all-district honor this season, boasting a cumulative GPA of 3.882 while majoring in integrated health systems. He competed in all 11 of the team's competitions this past season as part of the scoring five, finishing fourth on the squad with a seasonal stroke average of 73.88 that ranked him 32nd in the SoCon. A combined 28 of his 32 rounds were fired in the 70s or better, including a trio of rounds shot in the 60s, twice shooting a season-low 68. The Cataula, Ga., product recorded a pair of Top 10 finishes, leading WCU with a third-place finish at the Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational that netted him SoCon Men's Golfer of the Week plaudits. He also rallied over the second round to finish seventh at The Southern Intercollegiate, hosted by Georgia.
 
Like Butcher, Korytoski is a two-time SoCon Academic Honor Roll recipient, with a third nod expected this summer.
 
The CSC (formerly College Sports Information Directors of America – or CoSIDA) Academic All-District Team aims to recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the diamond and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes baseball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA.
 
Selections to the 2026 Academic All-District® teams were made from nominations submitted by the communications or sports information professionals at each NCAA member institution. Honorees were required to have posted a 3.50 or better GPA, completed at least two semesters at their current school, played in at least half of their team's competitions, and be considered a starter or key contributor. Freshman student-athletes were ineligible.
 
To date, Western Carolina has placed 34 student-athletes on the CSC Academic All-District team across 10 sports – six apiece from football and women's soccer, five from softball, four from baseball, women's golf, and volleyball, two from men's golf, and one each from men's and women's basketball and women's tennis. Later this spring, the all-district teams for track and field and cross country will also be announced.
 
Catamount Women's Golf – Academic All-District Selections (At-Large)
2025-26: Annalee Caveney, EC Niebauer, Sadler Miller, Elsa Maren Steinarsdôttir
2024-25: Elizabeth Lohbauer, Sadler Miller
2023-24: Kayleigh Baker, Victoria Ladd, Brie Mapanao, Sadler Miller
2003-04: Brandey Andersen (2nd team)
2002-03: Johanna Lundberg (3rd team)
 
Catamount Men's Golf – Academic All-District Selections (At-Large)
2025-26: Jace Butcher, Andrew Korytoski
2024-25: Jace Butcher, Andrew Korytoski
2023-24: Pablo Hernandez