Countless Eagles Lauded with 2025-26 NSCA All-American Strength and Conditioning Honors

Ashland University's athletic department always seems to find ways to earn national recognition.

In years past, that's typically come through on-field performance or excellence in the classroom.

But in late April, the National Strength and Conditioning Association announced that several Eagles were recognized as All-Americans for their work before game day: inside the weight room. In total, 11 different programs were represented by 11 different student-athletes: Jeff Sampson (Football), Chris Franks (Baseball), Riley Hunt (Swim and Dive), Makiah Francis (STUNT), Zach Harrison (Men's Soccer), Rachel McCool (Women's Soccer), Corinne Schmidt (Women's Lacrosse), Maddie Fleck (Women's Golf), Peyton Lemon (Wrestling), Abbey Queen (Volleyball), and Ashley Veldheer (Softball).

According to the NCSA, "The All-American Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year Award program recognizes those collegiate and high school athletes whose athletic accomplishments reflect their dedication to strength training and conditioning."

When asked about what this means to the strength and conditioning department, second-year head strength and conditioning coach Corey Mason focused on how being honored like this helps enhance the student experience. 

"Being able to nominate our student athletes for these awards means a great deal for enhancing the student-athlete experience here at Ashland," Mason said. "When athletes know their hard work, dedication, and commitment do not go unnoticed, they put their trust in you as the coach all the more. This is just one more way our staff can honor our incredible athletes and push Ashland's athletic department out to a wider audience."

Alongside Mason, the department also has assistant strength and conditioning coach Aaron Barnhart and Graduate Assistant Isaac Ridgway. Each helps to ensure that every Eagle is ready to go on game day. In just over a year now, Mason has completely transformed the department and student experience with his passion for strength and conditioning. 

But Mason doesn't want to stop here. He hopes that over the coming years, Ashland's reputation in the strength and conditioning world can continue to grow.

"We absolutely want to be one of the premier D2 strength & conditioning departments in the country," Mason concluded. "Highlighting our student athletes in this way is one avenue we can use to move our department forward, both on campus and across the country. We will make small, but steady improvements to our facilities, our program delivery, and our media presence to raise the AU S&C profile."