Seven members of the Northern Illinois University wrestling program have earned Academic All-MAC honors as announced by the league office today (April 1).

Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) is a four-year honoree on the All-MAC team while Tommy Bennett (Evergreen Park, Ill./Brother Rice) is a three-time honoree.

Collin Arch (Palmyra, Mo./Palmyra) and Brett Smith (Troy, Mo./Buchanan) earn the honor for the second year in a row.

This is the sixth time since the 2019 season that six or more Huskies have been honored by the conference for their work in the classroom.

In total, the MAC recognized 59 wrestlers on this year’s Academic All-MAC team with all schools represented. Kent State led the way with 12 honorees while NIU and George Mason were the second highest honorees with seven.

The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests scheduled or completed in the particular sport. First-year students and ANY transfer students in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award.

2025-26 Wrestling Academic All-MAC Team

Collin Arch, R-So., Nursing, 3.614

Tommy Bennett, R-Jr., Nursing, 3.627

Devon Dawson, Grad., Sports Management, 3.89

Dominic Heim, R-Fr., Kinesiology, 3.526

Caleb Roe, R-Jr., General Studies, 3.529

Brett Smith, R-So., Business Administration, 3.5

Blake West, R-Sr., Biological Sciences, 4.00

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