EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men's Golf senior Sam Vertanen and junior Carter Goebel were named College Sports Communicators Academic All-District for NCAA Division I. 
 
To be eligible for the CSC Academic All-District Award, the student-athlete must be in the lineup for 70 percent of an institution's team scoring events or in the lineup at the conference championship tournament. Nominees must also have at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average (4.0 scale). They must have reached a sophomore athletic and academic standing at the institution and must have completed at least one full academic year at the institution.
 
Vertanen, an English major, earned All-OVC Second Team honors in 2024-25 and was one of three USI golfers to compete in all 11 team events and all 31 team rounds this past year. Setting several personal bests, Vertanen recorded a season-low round score of 68 three times in 2024-25. The senior notched a pair of top-20 finishes in the fall and two top-15 finishes during the spring. After registering a career-low 54-hole score of 208 that tied for second-best in USI history and tallying a top-10 finish at the Wright State University Invitational, Vertanen was named OVC Male co-Golfer of the Week. At the OVC Championship, Vertanen was named to the OVC's All-Tournament Team after logging a four-under 212 to place inside the top five. Vertanen had 16 rounds below par last year. Vertanen also posted an average of 72.39 strokes per round, which ranks top five in USI single-season history, and finished with a career average of 73.15 strokes per round, which is ranked second in the all-time USI record books.
 
Goebel, an accounting and professional services major, was also one of three USI golfers to compete in all 11 team events and all 31 team rounds this past year. The junior began the year with his best 54-hole score of the year and a new career low, shooting 210 (-3) toward a top-15 finish at the SIUE Dolenc Invitational in the fall. He also shot a new career-best round of 66 in the tournament, which is among USI's top-five all-time 18-hole scores. Goebel placed in the top 20 during the spring season at the Tennessee State University Big Blue Intercollegiate. Goebel had 12 total rounds below par during the year, and he averaged 72.94 strokes per round, which is among the top in USI's single-season history.
 
USI Men's Golf concluded its 2024-25 campaign with a sixth-place finish at the Ohio Valley Conference Championship. The Eagles had a pair of top-five finishers on the player leaderboard in Vertanen and fellow senior Jason Bannister. USI's best team finish in the spring season was third at the Tennessee State University Big Blue Intercollegiate.