KU Athletics
AUSTIN, Texas — Kansas volleyball senior Caroline Bien was named First Team Academic All-America® as selected by College Sports Communicators (CSC) on Tuesday. Bien is only the third volleyball student-athlete in program history to be voted an Academic All-American.
Bien is the first Kansas student-athlete in any sport to receive a First Team Academic All-America® selection since 2013. This marks the 38th time in school history that KU had a student-athlete receive a first team honor and only the second in volleyball, following Paula Caten in 2005.
"This honor is indicative of the stellar career Caroline had both on and off the floor," Coach Ray Bechard said. "She has been a great representative of our volleyball program and athletic department."
Bien finished her undergraduate career with a 4.0 cumulative GPA and graduated with a degree in accounting in May 2024. She is currently pursuing a graduate degree in accounting.
This season, Bien was named AVCA All-Region First Team, All-Big 12 Second Team, Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year and CSC Academic All-District®. Bien averaged 3.11 digs per set and 2.56 kills per set during the season, while helping lead Kansas to 15 league wins and a 13th overall trip to the NCAA Tournament. She was one of four Jayhawks to appear in all 108 sets of the regular season.
During her college career, the Overland Park, Kansas, native was also recognized for her strong performance in the classroom with the 2023-24 Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award, as well as being a three-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection (2022, 2023, 2024), a seven-time AD Honor Roll recipient and a member of the 2021-22 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team.
Bien was one of seven Division I volleyball student-athletes to receive First Team Academic All-America® honors. She was the only representative from the Big 12 and the only First Team honoree with a perfect 4.0 undergraduate and graduate GPA.
Bien joined Paula Caten (2005) and Beth Vivian (1984) as members of the volleyball program to earn Academic All-America® recognition. The honor for Bien is the 104th occasion that a KU student-athlete has earned the honor, dating back to 1964.
To qualify for Academic All-America consideration this year, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, along with having at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA. Nominated student-athletes must compete in 90 percent of the institution's games played or must start in at least 66 percent of the games. Each student-athlete nominated has their candidacy evaluated by a sub-committee with sport expertise to ensure that only the top student-athletes are elevated to the national voting ballot.
Recipients of the award are voted on by current dues-paying members of College Sports Communicators, members of the Academic All-America Core Committee, the Academic All-America Hall of Fame Committee, the Executive Board of Directors and CSC national staff. The award aims to recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom.