Eight Yellowjackets from the University of Rochester football team: seniors Jackson Kane and Ryan Van Diver, juniors Kyle Brainard, Braydon Felsinger, Gavin Guidette, Brendan McDonald and Benjamin Tripoli, and sophomore A.J. Bicksler were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District® Football Team, as announced by CSC on Tuesday.
 
The 2025-26 CSC Academic All-District® Football Teams recognize the nation's top student-athletes. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average, and must have competed in at least 90 percent or must have started at least 66 percent of an institution's contests.
 
Kane started every game for the Yellowjackets this year, earning Honorable Mention All-Liberty League honors for his efforts on the field. The senior tight end caught 27 passes, tied for the 10th-most in the conference, for 314 yards, averaging 11.63 yards per reception with a long of 33 yards. Kane's best performance came in the 'Jackets' season-day matchup against Union, in which he caught a career-high nine receptions for 116 yards.
 
A double major in economics and psychology with a minor in statistics, Kane is a three-time CSC Academic All-District and Liberty League All-Academic selection, and was named one of URochester's 10 Lysle 'Spike' Garnish Scholar-Athletes this past fall. Two summers ago, the senior served as a research assistant in the economics department, while this past summer, Kane interned at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Kane is also active in the community, coaching for Girls on the Run, volunteering at Habitat for Humanity, Rochester wheelchair basketball and the National Marrow Donor Program.
 
Stepping into a large role this season, Van Diver appeared in nine games for the Yellowjackets and made four starts, catching 11 passes for 72 yards. The senior caught a season-best five receptions for 37 yards in Rochester's 28-21 win over St. John Fisher on Sept. 20, and added 2.0 tackles, one assisted and one solo.
 
Van Diver is a three-time Liberty League All-Academic honoree and is a member of the Meliora Finance and Investment Group and Morgan's Message on campus. Majoring in business with a minor in psychology, Van Diver worked as a Personal Lines Associate for Quinton Insurance in the summer of 2024 and as the Director of Finance & Marketing at HVAC Technology Solutions in the summer of 2025. Outside the classroom, Van Diver has volunteered at Dawson Knox's football camp and at various youth basketball camps back home in Florida.
 
Serving as Rochester's primary place kicker and punter for much of the year, Brainard appeared in all 10 games, punting 40 times for 1,497 yards, a 37.43 yards per punt average, while connecting on 3-of-6 field-goal tries. Brainard landed 10 punts inside the 20-yard line, forced 11 fair catches, and boomed two punts for 50+ yards, with a long of 57 yards, while the junior connected on a long field goal of 35 yards. Brainard also handled all of Rochester's kickoff duties, with an average of 54.4 yards on 45 kickoffs.
 
Off the field, Brainard, a dual-major in business analytics and economics, has received several scholarships, including the Dean's Scholarship, the Adrian Andrews Memorial Scholarship and the Robert Jean Memorial Scholarship. A two-time Liberty League All-Academic selection, Brainard serves as the business manager for CRANES, a cancer support organization on campus, one of the many initiatives the junior has worked on to help support those battling cancer. Brainard also has volunteered for Wolves Basketball Academy since he was 12, and co-founded a club in high school dedicated to improving the social inclusion of special education students.
 
Felsinger turned in a tremendous campaign for the Yellowjackets in 2025, earning Second-Team All-Liberty League honors after ranking in the top five in the Liberty League in tackles, interceptions, forced fumbles and fumble recoveries. The junior defensive back started all 10 games and totaled 86.0 tackles, 46 solo, 5.0 tackles for a loss, four pass breakups, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. Felsinger also found the end zone once this past season, with a 60-yard interception return for a touchdown against Hobart on Nov. 1.
 
In addition to earning Academic All-District honors, Felsinger was also a one-time Liberty League Defensive Performer of the Week and D3football.com Team of the Week selection, and was named to the conference's All-Academic squad for his efforts in the classroom. A mechanical engineering major, Felsinger has earned both the James Hale Steinman Memorial Scholarship and the Dean's Scholarship, and is a member of the Dean's List.
 
Contributing both on defense as a linebacker and on special teams for Rochester, Guidette played in all 10 games for Rochester this season, totaling 18.0 tackles (eight solo) and a 0.5 tackle for a loss. The junior posted a tackle in all but one contest, and compiled a season-high four tackles in URochester's 28-21 win over St. John Fisher on Sept. 20.
 
Guidette has twice been named to Liberty League All-Academic, and is majoring in biology on the River Campus. Outside the classroom, Guidette volunteers weekly at both Strong Memorial Hospital's physical therapy unit and Senior Friendly Living. This spring, he'll also be interning at Strong, and previously, he interned as a teacher for Mad Science.
 
McDonald was another key contributor on the back end of URochester's defense, tallying 30.0 tackles (15 solo), 2.0 tackles for a loss and a pass breakup in eight games played and seven total starts. The junior defensive back had at least one tackle in every contest he appeared in, and notched a season-high seven tackles and a 0.5 tackle for a loss in the Yellowjackets' season finale at St. Lawrence on Nov. 15.
 
A politics, philosophy and economics major with minors in business and legal studies, McDonald is a member of URochester's Pre-Law society, and plans to attend law school and eventually become a lawyer. He's received multiple scholarships, including the Americal Legacy Scholarship, the Dean's Scholarship and the Continuing Student Scholarship, and is a two-time Liberty League All-Academic honoree. Since his first year on campus, McDonald has done research with Professor Gerald Gamm, while back home, the junior had worked over 100 hours of community service.
 
Tripoli started all 10 games along Rochester's offensive line this season, helping pave the way for the Yellowjackets' rushing attack that averaged 4.7 yards per carry, scoring 15 touchdowns and averaging more than 150 rushing yards per game. Tripoli and the Yellowjacket offensive line also allowed just 9.0 sacks on the year, as URochester posted its third-straight 5+ win season for the first time since 2015.
 
Off the field, Tripoli is an electrical and computer engineering major and a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. A two-time Liberty League All-Academic and Dean's List selection, Tripoli received the Dean's Scholarship and volunteers back home in Leesburg, VA, at a homeless kitchen.
 
Bicksler took over a starting role along Rochester's defensive line in 2025, appearing in and starting all 10 games. The sophomore defensive lineman totaled 40.0 tackles (13 solo), 4.0 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, a quarterback hit and a fumble recovery. Bicksler scored Rochester's first touchdown of the season, a fumble recovery returned 27 yards for a touchdown against Olivet on Sept. 6, and proved to be a disruptive force all season long.
 
Majoring in biological sciences, Bicksler was named to the Libety League All-Academic Team this year, in addition to the Academic All-District squad, and received the Dean's Scholarship. Previously, Bicksler has shadowed an orthopedic surgeon, while following his graduation in two years, Bicksler hopes to attend either medical or PA school.
 
Academic All-District selections will be evaluated by a sub-committee and advanced to the national, All-America ballot, to be voted on by CSC members within their respective divisions.
 
The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes football honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.