GREENWOOD, Ind. – College Sports Communicators (CSC) announced Tuesday the 2025 Academic All-America® Football teams for NCAA Division I-II-III and NAIA. Carroll College lineman Wyatt Sandford has been named a 2025 NAIA Academic All-American.

Academic All-American is a title reserved for college student-athletes who perform at an elite level in their chosen sport and in the classroom. The all-time list of 40,000+ Academic All-Americans includes major sports stars and some of the world's most accomplished individuals in medicine, business, science and the arts. Established in 1952 and selected by College Sports Communicators (CSC), Academic All-America is the longest running and premier award for athletic and academic success across championship college sports at all NCAA levels, the NAIA, two-year colleges and Canadian institutions.

As one of the top academic institutions in the NAIA, Carroll College is no stranger to academic success. Wyatt Sandford (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho / R-JR) continues the tradition, earning his first Academic All-America honor to cap an outstanding 2025 campaign.

Sandford, a six-foot four-inch right tackle, was stellar for the Fighting Saints in '25, anchoring an offensive line that helped account for 1,357 rush yards, 3,020 passing yards, and just 31 sacks allowed on the season. Individually, Sandford was highly-impressive on the right side, allowing just two sacks in a 12-game season that saw Carroll return to the postseason for the first time since 2022, winning their first postseason game since the 2014 season.

The three-time Academic All-Conference selection and mutli-time NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athlete earned  postseason honors this past Fall, being named a First Team All-Frontier Conference-West selection.

A leader in the classroom, Sandford has continually ranked among the highest GPA's on the Carroll Football team over the course of his career, maintaining a 3.79 cumulative GPA while majoring in Pre-Elementary and Special Education.

Sandford is the second Saint in the last two seasons to earn the Academic All-America honor, joining 2024 selection Hunter Peck, who was also named a Second Team Academic All-America this Fall at the University of Montana following his graduation from Carroll last Spring.

Nominating and voting for Academic All-America® is an exclusive right of College Sports Communicators members.
 
The NAIA Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NAIA national governance structure to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2025-26 NAIA Academic All-America® program.

To view the full list of Academic All-America® selections for the 2025 season, click HERE.
 
For more information regarding the Academic All-America® program, visit https://academicallamerica.com/.