Pepperdine Captures 2025-26 Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy
7/13/2026 8:30:00 AM | General, Featured
MALIBU, Calif. — Pepperdine University reclaimed the Division I-AAA Athletic Directors Association All-Sports Trophy, earning the award for the sixth time in department history following the Waves' success during the 2025-26 school year.
It marks the sixth time in department history that Pepperdine has won the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, capturing back-to-back titles in 2004-05 and 2005-06 before claiming wins in 2011-12, 2021-22, 2022-23 and now 2025-26. Division I-AAA consists of the approximately 100 NCAA Division I schools that do not sponsor football.
The DI-AAA ADA All-Sports Trophy is awarded to the institution that has the highest point total in all sports in which at least 25% of the eligible I-AAA membership sponsor the given sport. Further, additional annual recognition is provided via the awarding of a plaque to those member institutions that finish the highest in the NCAA post-season tournaments in those sports in which at least 25% of the eligible I-AAA membership sponsor the given sport. This currently includes the following 21 sports: Baseball, Men's & Women's Basketball, Men's & Women's Cross Country, Men's & Women's Golf, Men's & Women's Lacrosse, Men's & Women's Soccer, Softball, Men's & Women's Swimming and Diving, Men's & Women's Tennis, Men's & Women's Indoor Track, Men's & Women's Outdoor Track and Women's Volleyball.
"It is a tremendous honor to once again be recognized as the top Division I-AAA athletic department," said Director of Athletics Tanner Gardner. "This award reflects the collective effort and commitment of student-athletes, coaches, staff, and university leadership to pursue excellence in competition, the classroom and in the community, for greater purpose. We look forward to building on this momentum as we head into the new academic year."
Pepperdine tallied 293.25 total points to top the standings, topping High Point University (236.50 points), St. John's University (178.00 points), University of Denver (153.00 points), and California Baptist University (149.00 points) who rounded out the top-five.The Waves were the top-point getters in four of the 21 recognized sports for the award, featuring men's and women's golf plus men's and women's tennis.
The Waves continued to build upon their tradition of excellence across competition, in the classroom and the community, overall combining for six conference championships, six NCAA Championship or Tournament team appearances, multiple national quarterfinal runs. The success on the field coincided with record-setting academic success and the most successful fundraising year in department history.
The academic year saw Pepperdine claim six conference championships, have six teams reach the NCAA Tournament, five finish in the top-16 at an NCAA Championship or Tournament, while six teams finished nationally ranked.
Pepperdine's six conference champions marked its most since the 2004-05 academic year. The six NCAA tournament teams also marked its most since 2021-22.
A pair of individuals also represented Pepperdine on the national stage at NCAA Regional/Zone Championships. Track's Lizzy Crawford became the first female Wave to ever qualify for the NCAA West Preliminaries, qualifying in the 10K for the meet. Diving's Jackie Johnson also qualified for the NCAA Diving Zones after setting the program's 3M dive record in her first collegiate meet.
12 Waves earned All-American recognition throughout the academic year, with men's volleyball, water polo, men's golf and women's golf each seeing multiple athletes named to All-American lists.
Three Pepperdine athletes earned conference player of the year laurels from the WCC, which included women's golf's Eunseo Choi, men's golf's Mahanth Chirravuri and women's tennis' Živa Falkner.
In addition, three newcomers earned conference freshman of the year recognition, with Kylee Choi (women's golf) and Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (women's tennis) claiming WCC Freshman of the Year and men's volleyball's Jose Gomez earning MPSF Rookie of the Year.
Pepperdine head coaches also took home three West Coast Conference Coach of the Year awards, featuring women's golf's Laurie GIbbs, women's tennis' Tassilo Schmid and men's golf's Michael Beard.
Women's tennis finished No. 9 in the final national rankings after reaching the NCAA Quarterfinals and winning both the regular season and WCC tournament championship. Men's tennis reached the NCAA Round of 16 for the first time since 2013 while claiming a share of the WCC Regular Season Championship.
Women's Golf reached match play at the NCAA Championship, eventually tying for 5th. The Waves had won the WCC Championship and earned a runner-up finish at their NCAA Regional prior, and finished with a final national ranking of No. 9. Men's Golf also claimed a WCC Championship before winning the Winston-Salem NCAA Regional on the way to an NCAA Championship berth.
Soccer won its second consecutive WCC Championship with an 8-2-1 mark in the conference, marking the second time in program history with back-to-back conference titles. The Waves advanced to the NCAA Tournament and had an overall record of 11-7-2.Â
Women's basketball had one of its most successful seasons to date, seeing the best start to a season in 45 years with a 9-3 mark to begin. The Waves went on to host their first-ever postseason games in Malibu, winning a pair of games in the WNIT to eventually advance into the Super 16.
Women's volleyball finished runner-up in the WCC, earning its first ranked win since 2022 with a victory over UCLA before wrapping up the season with a final RPI of No. 43.
Baseball saw its most conference wins since the 2018 campaign, finishing with a 15-12 mark in the league as the No. 4 seed entering the WCC Tournament. The Waves saw seven receive All-WCC recognition, the program's most since the 2015 season.
Swimming & Diving set 13 new program records throughout the season, including three new diving records, four new relay records, and six individual records. The Waves also earned their dual meet victory over San Diego since 2021 and saw Jackie Johnson qualify for NCAA Diving Zones.
Track and cross country set 15 new event records throughout a historic campaign, which culminated in Lizzy Crawford becoming the first female Wave to qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary Meet, running the 10K.
In addition, men's volleyball claimed a share of the MPSF Regular Season title after defeating No. 1 UCLA at home during the campaign. The Waves advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals and logged an overall record of 24-7.Â
Water polo earned 11 victories over ranked opponents throughout the season, finishing with a final national ranking of No. 9 and a WCC semifinal appearance. Beach volleyball also had its second-highest win total in program history, finishing with a 26-16 overall record while eight Waves received all-conference honors at season's end, with the squad advancing to the WCC semifinals.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE ATHLETICS
Pepperdine University boasts one of the most successful athletic programs in the country for a school of its size. The Waves have claimed 10 NCAA Division I team championships and 26 team or individual national championships in their history. Located in scenic Malibu, California, the university overlooks a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. Pepperdine is a Christian university committed to the highest standards of academic excellence and Christian values, where students are strengthened for lives of purpose, service, and leadership.
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ABOUT DIVISION I-AAA ADA
 Now in its 26th year, the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association's mission is to enhance initiatives common to its Division I-AAA membership (the 98 Division I institutions that do not sponsor football), in particular, aspects related to their flagship basketball programs. For more information on the Division I-AAA ADA, please visit www.div1aaa-ada.com. The Division I-AAA ADA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 62nd year. For more information on NACDA and the 19 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.
