Two Academic All-America NodsTwo Academic All-America Nods
Featured by Logan Sass

Two Academic All-America Nods

Mark Berlaga and J.R. Chou named CSC Academic All-Americans, while Berlaga also collects Division I Team Member of the Year honors

STANFORD, Calif. - Cardinal junior Mark Berlaga was named CSC Academic All-America Division I Team Member of the Year under the at-large category, as College Sports Communicators announced their at-large Academic All-America teams on Thursday morning. 

In addition to his Team Member of the Year nod, Berlaga was also recognized as as first team Academic All-American, while teammate J.R. Chou earned second team All-America honors.

Berlaga, who boasts a 4.033 GPA as a biology major, recently won his third consecutive NCAA team title as a member of the Stanford men's gymnastics program. A two-time career All-American on still rings, Berlaga put together a 13.933 finals routine to finish eighth in the event at the 2024 NCAA Championships in April. 

Chou, holding a 3.73 GPA in pursuit of his mechanical engineering degree, recently graduated from Stanford as one of the select few student-athletes to win four national championships during their time on The Farm. Chou recently finished third on pommel horse with a 14.500 at the NCAA Championships for the third All-America honor of his career and his second consecutive top-8 finish on pommel horse.

Berlaga and Chou are now the 12th and 13th CSC Academic All-Americans in program history, joining Tim Ryan (1992), Dylan Carney (2007-08), Brian Knott (2015), Dennis Zaremski (2016), Robert Neff (2018), David Jessen (2020), Curran Phillips (2022), Brandon Briones (2023), Riley Loos (2023) and Ian Gunther (2023).