GREENWOOD, Ind. – Trinity University football players Caleb Bayer (Grandview, Texas / Grandview) and TJ Scannell (San Antonio, Texas / Reagan) were both selected to the Academic All-American® First Team by the College Sports Communicators.

Bayer and Scannell are the eighth and ninth Tiger football players to earn the honors, though they are the first to earn First Team honors since Mark Byarlay in 1997-98. Trinity football has now had four honorees in the last three years as Bayer and Scannell join recent Academic All- American® winners Ezra Gore (2022-23) and Tucker Horn (2023-24).

Scannell led the Tigers with 89 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, and 11 QB hurries. He was named a Third Team All-American by the Associated Press, as well as a First Team All-Southern Athletic Association player and a Second Team All-Region honoree from D3football.com.

Bayer was selected as a First Team All-American by the Associated Press, the American Football Coaches Association, and D3football.com this past season. He earned First Team All-SAA honors for the third time in his career and was also awarded the Rimington Trophy as the top center in Division III for the 2025 season.

Trinity finished the season with a 10-2 overall record, advancing to the Third Round of the NCAA Playoffs for the first time since 2002. The Tigers have made the NCAA Playoffs each of the last five years and have won 10 or more games three times during that stretch.