Matt Levins - The Hawk Eye / Photo Credit John Gaines Photography
IOWA CITY — Gabby Deery may have struggled through an injury-plagued junior season for the University of Iowa volleyball team, but that didn’t slow the Notre Dame High School graduate down in the classroom.
Deery was one of 100 Iowa student-athletes named to the 2025 Big Ten Fall Academic All-Conference team. The list includes student-athletes from men’s cross country (7), women’s cross country (10), field hockey (13), football (43), women’s soccer (17) and volleyball (10).
The Big Ten Conference recognized 1,845 fall sports athletes. The list includes 130 field hockey players, 798 football players, 140 men’s and 200 women’s cross country runners, 155 men’s and 276 women’s soccer student-athletes and 146 volleyball players.
Deery took her studies to another level, joining an elite group to earn the highest academic honor. Among the fall Academic All-Big Ten honorees, 65 had unblemished GPAs, including nine Hawkeyes. The group includes: Miles Wilson (men’s cross country), Julia Gehl and Marissa Long (women’s cross country), Lauren DeRose (field hockey), Charlotte Bien and Berkley Binggeli (women’s soccer) and Claire Ammeraal, Gabbriella Deery and Jenna Meitzler (volleyball).
To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students must be on a varsity team, as verified by being on the official squad list as of November 1 for fall sports, who have been enrolled full time at the institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
“It’s definitely challenging at times with travel and games causing us to miss class, but I’m really grateful for the opportunity and for the resources the University of Iowa offers its student-athletes,” Deery said. “Being surrounded by hard-working teammates who value academics makes it even more rewarding.”