D2CCA National Winners  |  D2CCA Regional Winners

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Former Slippery Rock University quarterback Brayden Long was named the 2024-25 Division II Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year in an announcement from the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Wednesday. Long and former track & field and cross country standout Anna Igims also swept the Atlantic Region Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards presented by D2CCA.
 
Long, a 2024 graduate from Hanover, Pennsylvania, becomes the second male athlete in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference history and just the third overall athlete from the PSAC to be recognized with the National Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor. He is the first PSAC athlete to be honored since Merychurst dual-sport athlete Ian Wild earned the 2010-11 honor and joins Wild and former Clarion athlete Jamie Wolf as the only PSAC athletes to be recognized.
 
Long shares the 2024-25 National Scholar-Athlete of the Year award with the female honoree, pole vaulter Brynn King from Roberts Wesleyan.
 
In addition to earning the national award, Long also repeated as the Atlantic Region Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He was the only football player in the nation to win a regional honor when he won it in 2023-24 and he is one of just two football players to earn a regional award for 2024-25, joining Harding's Jake Dugger.
 
Igims, a 2024 graduate from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, earned the Atlantic Region Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor to give The Rock a sweep of the regional awards in 2024-25.
 
"Brayden and Anna are perfect examples of what is possible when you fully commit to being a student-athlete here at The Rock," said SRU director of athletics Roberta Page. "What they did on the field and on the track was remarkable, but what they did in the classroom and in the community was even more impressive. They represent the best of SRU and we couldn't be prouder of their accomplishments."
 
A breakdown of the outstanding academic and athletic accomplishments for both Long and Igims can be found below.
 
BRAYDEN LONG - Football
• D2CCA National Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year
• D2CCA Atlantic Region Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year
 
The national and regional scholar-athlete awards are the latest in a lengthy list of honors for Long, who departed SRU as one of the most decorated student-athletes in the country. Earlier this summer he was named the 2024-25 Overall Academic All-American of the Year for Division II by the College Sports Communicators after previously being named the Division II Football Academic All-American of the Year. He became the first SRU athlete in any sport to be named the Overall Academic All-American of the Year in addition to becoming the first PSAC football player and just the second PSAC male athlete to ever earn that award.
 
Long was also named the 2024-25 PSAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row after also earning the honor in 2023-24. In December, he was celebrated in Las Vegas at the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame dinner as the only Division II finalist for the Campbell Trophy and as the only Division II player in the National Scholar-Athlete Class of 2024-25. He finished his career at SRU as a five-time PSAC Scholar-Athlete and a two-time Academic All-American after graduating with a degree in sport management with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
 
On the field last fall, Long quarterbacked The Rock football team to the national semifinals and a No. 3 final ranking after throwing for 3,470 yards to rank third among all players in Division II. He also ranked ninth in the nation in passing touchdowns with 28 and was 10th in the nation in points responsible for with 208 after rushing for six TD to account for 34 total touchdowns. He completed 65.1 percent of his passes for 3,470 yards with just eight interceptions on 450 attempts and became the only QB in SRU history to top 3,000 yards in two separate seasons.
 
He left the program ranked No. 1 all-time in completions (631) and completion percentage (67%) and No. 2 all-time in passing yards (7,527) and passing TD (64), despite starting only two seasons. He went 24-5 overall and 5-2 in NCAA postseason games as the starting quarterback and led SRU to at least the national quarterfinals in both years as the starter. Long was named to All-PSAC, All-Region and All-America honors for the second straight year and was one of the eight national finalists for the Harlon Hill Trophy as the Division II Player of the Year for the second straight year. He finished in the top six in the national voting for the Harlon Hill Trophy in both 2023 and 2024 and was named the SRU Male Athlete of the Year in both 2023-24 and 2024-25.
 
Long will return to SRU this weekend wearing a different school's logo as he is currently in his first year working as a full-time assistant coach at Shippensburg University. The Raiders visit The Rock Saturday night for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
 
ANNA IGIMS – Track & Field / Cross Country
• D2CCA Atlantic Region Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
 
One of the most decorated student-athletes in the country, Igims graduated in 2024 with a 3.98 GPA and a degree in school wellness education with a minor in public health. She completed a full year of graduate work in 2024-25 with a perfect 4.0 GPA in the applied behavioral analysis program before being named the 2024-25 PSAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
 
A two-time Academic All-America honoree, Igims was also a three-time Academic All-District honoree, a six-time USTFCCA All-Academic selection, a five-time PSAC Top 10 honoree, a five-time PSAC Scholar-Athlete and a five-time D2ADA Academic Achievement honoree. She also earned a $10,000 postgraduate scholarship from the NCAA to complete her graduate degree.
 
Igims was unbeatable in the PSAC in 2024-25. She won seven PSAC individual titles and led Slippery Rock to team titles in cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field. She opened the year by winning the PSAC and Atlantic Region titles in cross country, becoming the first SRU female distance runner to ever accomplish that feat. She followed that up by earning All-America honors at the National Championships in the fall, becoming the first SRU female cross country All-American since 2010. She was named the PSAC and Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year in the fall.
 
Igims then won three PSAC titles at the indoor conference meet, taking the crown in the distance medley relay, the mile and the 3,000-meter run. She earned All-Region honors with the fastest time in the region in four different events and placed 17th in the 5,000-meter run at the National Championships before being named the PSAC and Atlantic Region Track Athlete of the Year.
 
Igims closed the 2024-25 academic year with a stellar spring, winning PSAC titles in the 1,500-meter run, 5,000-meter run and the 3,000-meter steeplechase on the way to being named the Most Outstanding Track Athlete and the Overall MVP at the PSAC Championships. She broke the SRU record in the steeplechase twice during the year (10:17) and earned first team All-America honors with a seventh place finish at the National Championships. She was named the PSAC Track Athlete of the Year to complete a year-long sweep with three PSAC Athlete of the Year awards. Igims departed Slippery Rock with school records in the indoor mile (4:55), outdoor 5K (16:38) and steeplechase (10:17). She was a three-time All-American, a 14-time PSAC champion, a six-time PSAC Athlete of the Year, a three-time Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year, a 21-time All-PSAC honoree and a 21-time All-Region selection.
 
 
 


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