GREENWOOD, Ind. --- Illinois Institute of Technology's Gabriella Baltes and Kelly Hitchcock were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America® women's soccer team for NCAA Division III for the 2025 season. Baltes was a first-team Academic All-America® selection for a second consecutive year. Hitchcock was a second-team Academic All-America® selection.

To receive this honor, student-athletes are first nominated for CSC Academic All-District® recognition by communications directors of their institutions. The student-athletes must have a minimum 3.50 cumulative GPA and meet high athletic standards. From there, a select group of high-performing student-athletes advance to the national ballot where CSC members vote on Academic All-America® teams.

Baltes and Hitchcock were among 33 players to receive 2025 CSC Academic All-America® recognition in NCAA Division III women's soccer.

Hitchcock becomes only the sixth student-athlete from Illinois Tech to ever receive this honor since the Academic All-America® program was started in 1952. She joins Baltes (First Team - 2024 & 2025), Caitie Chismarich of women's soccer (First Team - 2024), Liam Barrett of men's soccer (Third Team - 2010; First Team - 2011 & 2012), Emily Kunkel of women's soccer (Third Team - 2010) and Ted Howell of baseball (Second Team - 2019; First Team - 2021).

Baltes, a senior defender and biochemistry major from Plymouth, Minnesota, maintained a 3.94 cumulative grade-point average. She was named the NACC Women's Soccer Defender of the Year, and a first-team all-conference selection. For Baltes, it was her third-consecutive Defensive Player of the Year honor, and her fourth consecutive all-conference selection, including her third-consecutive first-team selection. Baltes was also named a second-team selection to the United Soccer Coaches All-Region VIII team. Baltes once again was the team-leader in minutes played for the third-consecutive season, playing in all 23 games on the season for a total of 1987 minutes. Her play on the back line helped the Scarlet Hawks hold their opponents to just 0.52 goals per game and just 4.2 shots per game. On the offensive side, Baltes scored six goals for a total of 12 points. She made 33 shots, with 17 of those on goal, for a .515 shots on goal percentage. Baltes had two game-winning goals.

Hitchcock, a graduate student midfielder and mechanical engineering major from Scottsdale, Arizona, maintained a 3.81 cumulative grade-point average. She was named the NACC Women's Soccer Midfielder of the Year, and a first-team all-conference selection. For Hitchcock, it was her fourth all-conference selection, and her second-consecutive first-team selection. Hitchcock was also named a first-team selection to the United Soccer Coaches All-Region VIII team. Hitchcock was a vital part of a Scarlet Hawks offense that lead the conference in scoring with 4.12 goals per game. After sitting out the 2024 season due to an injury, Hitchcock came back firing on all cylinders, tying for the team lead and conference lead in goals with 14, while adding five assists, good for 33 points, which put her second on the team and second in the NACC. Hitchcock tallied 57 shots, with 31 on frame for a .544 shots on goal percentage. She had three game-winning goals, while logging 1204 minutes over 19 games played.

2025 CSC Academic All-America® Women's Soccer Team ~ NCAA Division III 

CSC Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year: Natalie Barnouw, MIT
Pos.	First Team	School	Yr.	GPA	Major
GK	Abby Winkler	Pacific Lutheran University	Sr.	4.00	Biology
GK	Abby Nunez	Brevard College	Jr.	3.89	Exercise Science
D	Katie Diem	Cortland	Sr.	4.00	Biology
D	Annebel Balogh de Galantha (3)	Emmanuel College	Sr.	4.00	Psychology
D	Lila Brown	Dickinson College	Sr.	4.00	Environmental Science
D	Gabriella Baltes (1)	Illinois Tech	Sr.	3.94	Biochemistry
M	Natalie Barnouw (2)(4)	MIT	Gr.	3.80/3.80	Computational Biology
M	Sarah Zimmerman (1)	Washington and Lee University	Sr.	3.89	Business Administration & Mathematics
M	Anna Hoffman	Lake Forest College	Sr.	4.00	Economics & Data Science
F	Emma Livingston	Spalding University	Sr.	4.00	Business Administration
F	Jayla Ponce	Augsburg University	Gr.	4.00/4.00	Business Administration (G)
F	Aubree Caya	University of Wisconsin-La Crosse	Jr.	3.83	Biomedical Science
Pos.	Second Team	School	Yr.	GPA	Major
D	Vivian Rojas Collins	Pomona-Pitzer	Jr.	4.00	Neuroscience
D	Tahlia Lloyd	Messiah University	Sr.	3.99	Business Administration
D	Madeline Seebeck	MIT	Jr.	3.90	Mechanical Engineering
D	Michelle Davidson	Emory University	Sr.	3.87	Business Administration
M	Kelly Hitchcock	Illinois Tech	Gr.	3.81/3.81	Mechanical Engineering
M	Hanna Heaton (1) (6)	Christopher Newport University	Sr.	3.95	Cybersecurity
M	Leena Mehendale	MIT	Sr.	4.00/4.00	Biological Engineering
F	Elsi Aires	Tufts University	Sr.	3.85	Biology
F	Olivia Clemons	Washington University in St. Louis	So.	3.87	Mechanical Engineering
F	Alyssa Tranchita	University of Dubuque	Sr.	3.98	Elementary Education
Pos.	Third Team	School	Yr.	GPA	Major
GK	Sophia Garcia	Emory University	Sr.	3.79	Business Administration
D	Lena Sugrue	Tufts University	Sr.	3.76	Civil Engineering
D	Ella Macko (2)	Johns Hopkins University	Sr.	4.00	Molecular & Cellular Biology
D	Annie Isphording	Johns Hopkins University	Sr.	3.96	Public Health & Natural Sciences
D	Sarah Sollinger	Denison University	Sr.	3.98	Journalism
M	Ruth Hotaling	William Smith College	Sr.	3.95	Mathematics & Music
M	Sydney Myers	Plattsburgh State	Jr.	3.99	Elementary Education
M	Diana Pon	Penn State Harrisburg	Sr.	3.57	Finance
F	Hannah Hong	Pomona-Pitzer	Sr.	3.89	Molecular Biology
F	Hannah Adair	Messiah University	Sr.	3.95	Education Certificate Grades PreK-4
F	Grace Ehlert	Washington University in St. Louis	Sr.	3.75	Finance