Granville, Ohio- Juniors Ada Taute and Abby Cooch of the Denison University women's basketball National Championship team have been named as Second and Third-Team Academic All-America® as selected by College Sports Communicators for the 2025-26 season.
Ada Taute (Chicago, Ill. | Economics), Denison women's basketball's first Second-Team Academic All-America® selection, earned her first CSC Academic All-America® nod after missing her sophomore year due to injury. Taute finished the 2025 season as the Big Red's leading scorer with 446 points and led the team in steals with 69. She was selected to the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) First-Team after starting in all 32 games and averaging 13.9 points per game, which was sixth in the NCAC. Her well-rounded playing style extended the floor, helping the Big Red to its first-ever NCAA Title. It also earned her a 2025-26 WBCA DIII Coaches' First-Team All-American and a D3hoops.com Second-Team All-American nod,
Abby Cooch (Clifton, Va. | Data Analytics) earns her first CSC Academic All-America® honor after a historic season for not only the women's basketball team but for the junior guard. Cooch, a Third-Team Academic All-America® selection, eclipsed 1,000 career points during the first round of the NCAA tournament. The three-time All-NCAC First Team honoree and 2023-24 Newcomer of the Year led the Big Red to its first NCAA National Championship after starting in all 32 games, and averaging 13.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.9 assists during the NCAA tournament run. Cooch finished the season with a career high of 430 points. Her all-around performance throughout the tournament earned her the title of 2026 NCAA tournament MVP and an Honorable Mention nod for the 2025-26 WBCA DIII Coaches All-American list.
This brings Denison's count to 132 Academic All-Americans® winners in school history. Cooch and Taute are first-time Academic All-America® honorees, joining 2017 graduate Jordan Holmes, bringing the total to three.
Established in 1952, the Academic All-America® program, selected by College Sports Communicators, is a premier nationwide college scholar-athlete awards program. It annually recognizes over 1,400 outstanding student-athletes across Division I, II, III, and NAIA, representing all NCAA championship sports.
