2025 CSC Academic All-American Men's Track and Field Teams
In the midst of one of the greatest seasons in Hillsdale College track and field history, junior
Ben Haas didn't neglect his studies.
While Haas was becoming the first Chargers male track and field athlete to win multiple NCAA Division II national titles in a single season, the talented thrower was excelling at an equally high level in the classroom, and, on Wednesday afternoon, he was rewarded with an honor from College Sports Communicators that properly reflects his all-around achievements.
Haas was one of just 15 NCAA DII men's track and field athletes from across the country to earn first team Academic All-American honors from College Sports Communicators, CSC announced on Wednesday. The junior is the 31st Hillsdale College athlete to earn Academic All-American honors through CSC over the history of the award, and is the sixth Hillsdale College track and field athlete to receive the honor, joining John Dorsch (1997), Sara Petta (1997), Emily Oren (2016), Maryssa Depies (2021) and Liz Wamsley (2024).
CSC has been running the Academic All-America program since 1952, recognizing the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom in an award where athletes are nominated by their school's Sports Information Directors and are voted on by SIDs from around the country. In order to be eligible for the honor, athletes must carry a minimum GPA of 3.5 and have achieved significant athletic accomplishments over the course of the previous season.
Haas is a deserving Academic All-American after finishing the 2024-25 campaign as the Great Midwest Athletic Conference's Male Athlete of the Year across all sports, thanks in part to becoming Hillsdale's first-ever double NCAA DII men's national champion by capturing the national title in the hammer throw with a winning mark of 66.31 meters on May 22nd in Pueblo, Colorado.
The hammer throw title adds to Haas' 2025 indoor weight throw national title, which the junior won on March 14 in Indianapolis with a program and G-MAC record-setting mark of 22.89 meters on the biggest stage. That winning throw in Indianapolis made him the fourth-best weight throw competitor in terms of distance in the history of NCAA DII competition in the event, and ranks in the top 20 in the entirety of the USA across all levels of competition for the 2024-25 campaign.
Haas was a double champion at the G-MAC Outdoor Championships in early May, winning titles in both the hammer throw and the shot put, and he won his third-straight G-MAC weight throw title at the G-MAC Indoor Championships in February. He currently holds the Hillsdale school records in the weight throw, hammer throw, and indoor and outdoor shot put, and has earned five All-American honors in three full seasons of college competition.
At the same time he's embarked on a career that ranks among Hillsdale College's greats, Haas also has excelled in the classroom for the Chargers. He's earned both USTFCCCA and CSC Academic awards during his time at Hillsdale, and he's pursuing a Bachelor's of Science in Biology and is on track to graduate with honors next spring. His achievements in the classroom make Haas' success in track and field even more impressive.
Haas will return for his senior season in 2025-26, giving him the opportunity to add to his accomplishments and become the first Hillsdale College track and field athlete to earn multiple Academic All-American honors through CSC. He'll be the favorite to repeat as national champion in both the weight and hammer throw, and will look to also contend in the shot put both indoors and outdoors after producing a top 10 mark in NCAA Division II in those events in 2024-25.
