IRVING, Texas – Four BYU gymnastics student-athletes were named to the 2025-26 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team, while three gymnasts were awarded the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award, the conference announced Tuesday.
Ellie Ermisch, Zoe Hale, Hazel Smith and Scarlett Sonnenberg were named to the 2026 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team.
Student-athletes on the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team must be new, first-time/incoming freshmen who have completed 24 semester hours of non-remedial coursework and achieved a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00. The student-athletes must have participated in at least one of their team’s scheduled contests and must have been a member of their respective team for their sport’s entire NCAA Championship segment.
2025-26 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team
Ellie Ermisch, Pre-Business
Zoe Hale*, Exercise and Wellness
Hazel Smith, Pre-Communications
Scarlett Sonnenberg, Exercise and Wellness
*indicates student-athletes nominated with a perfect 4.0 GPA
Kylie Eaquinto and Chloee Hoke were among 365 student-athletes across the Big 12 Conference to earn this prestigious academic award.
In order to be eligible for the accolade, student-athletes must have lettered at least once in their career while maintaining residence at their institution for at least one academic year. The honoree, which can only be recognized once, should have 90 hours of earned credit with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.80 at the time of the nomination.
The award is in memory of Lage, who served as the Oklahoma State faculty athletics representative with the NCAA and the Big Eight/Big 12 Conference from 1983 until his death in 2007. He was the chairman on three occasions (1985-86, 93-94 and 2003-04). Lage had been a member of the Oklahoma State family since 1966, when he joined the College of Business Administration as an assistant professor. During his tenure at OSU, he served as the director of graduate studies in the department of economics (1974-77), head of the department of economics and finance (1978-84), director of the OSU Center for International Trade and Development (1985-87), and associate dean for research and graduate programs in the college of business administration (1997-2004).