Charlotte Volleyball Stars Named To The CSC Academic All-District Team
Kristen Birmingham, Lauren Nixon, Jessica Ricks, and Annika Thompson of Charlotte Volleyball have been named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team, announced on Tuesday (Dec. 16).
The 2025-26 Academic All-District® Women’s Volleyball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
Academic All-District® honorees were considered for advancement to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. Student-athletes selected as CSC Academic All-America® finalists are denoted with an asterisk and will advance to the national ballot to be voted on by CSC members. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced Jan. 13, 2026. Full list can be found here.
KRISTEN BIRMINGHAM
Birmingham is pursuing her Master of Urban Design, holding a 4.0 GPA. She led the 49ers with 412 kills this season, averaging 4.00 per set on a .311 hitting percentage, earning American Conference First Team and AVCA All-East Region Honorable Mention recognition. Within conference play, she was sixth in the American with 212 kills (3.79 per set) and seventh with 241.5 points. She recorded 12 double doubles during the season highlighted by 28 kills and 11 digs in a win over UNC Greensboro, the second most kills in a game for an American player in the season. That performance earned her conference Offensive Player of the Week honors while being tabbed to the Honorable Mention list four times.
LAUREN NIXON
Nixon holds a 4.0 GPA studying Exercise Science. Lauren had her best season as a 49er in 2025 tallying 504 assists to propel her over the 1,000 career assist milestone. She dished out 46 assists in a win over College of Charleston to set a new single game career high and had 22 digs versus UNCG, earning American Conference Setter of the Week honors. This is her second time earning CSC Academic All-District honors after receiving it last year with Lara Kretchmer and Jessica Ricks.
JESSICA RICKS
Ricks is pursuing her graduate degree in Data Science and Business Analytics with a 3.63 GPA. She ended the season on a high note, notching 16 kills and 13 digs on senior day versus UAB on an efficient .419 hitting percentage. In the conference tournament versus South Florida, she led the way with 17 kills. Throughout the season she recorded 11 double doubles while turning in two outstanding performances versus Florida Atlantic, recording 20 kills and 17 digs, and 15 kills and 18 digs in the two matches, her two highest dig totals this season. She was second on the team with 373 kills averaging 3.59 per set, including 212 kills and 3.72 kills per set within conference play to rank seventh in the league. This all earned her All-Conference First Team honors.
ANNIKA THOMPSON
The American Conference Libero of the Year and All-Conference First Team selection holds a 3.92 cumulative GPA pursuing a degree in Accounting. Thompson led the conference with 514 total digs throughout the season (4.94 per set) and 277 within conference play (4.86 per set) on her way to earning Defensive Player of the Week recognition four times and an Honorable Mention once. She had the two best individual highs for digs in a match with 30 in a five-set thriller over Florida Atlantic, and 29 in four sets versus Tulane. Nationally, she was 15th averaging 4.94 digs per set and 31st with her 501 total digs. During the season, she reached the 1,000 career digs milestone highlighted by nine matches recording 20+ digs.