McLean County Times

Jen Kuhn and Ava Khoury, standout softball players from Illinois Wesleyan University, have been recognized for their academic achievements by being named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America teams. Jen Kuhn achieved first team status and was also honored as the CSC Division III Softball Academic All-America of the Year. Ava Khoury received third team honors.

Illinois Wesleyan has now had 23 Academic All-America selections in softball, leading Division III and ranking seventh across all NCAA divisions and NAIA. Kuhn is the first in her program's history to receive the title of CSC Academic All-America of the Year and is the tenth overall recipient from Illinois Wesleyan. Previous honorees include Lexi Onsrud, Matthew Leritz, Meg Stanley, Rachel Anderson, Keelan Amelianovich, Korey Coon, James Rinne, and Lon Erickson. Kuhn and Khoury are only the sixth pair of Titan softball teammates to earn this honor in the same season; they follow Sam Bergoff and Ally Wiegand from 2020.

Illinois Wesleyan's total number of Academic All-America honorees now stands at 166, placing them in the top-25 across all NCAA divisions and top-10 within Division III. This year alone saw Nick Roper, Mallory Powers, Lauren Huber, Kannyn Boyd joining Kuhn and Khoury as recipients of this distinction.

Kuhn completed her senior season with notable achievements both on the field and academically. Graduating with a degree in graphic design while maintaining a 3.98 GPA, she earned several accolades including National Firstpitch Coaches Association First Team All-America status and a Rawlings Gold Glove Award at shortstop. She was also voted College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Defensive Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons. Her impressive stats include a .449 batting average with 70 hits, setting records for career doubles and tying for career hits.

Khoury graduated with a degree in kinesiology and allied health after starting every game at first base over four years. In her final season, she hit .375 with 51 hits and led her team with nine home runs. She holds program records for career home runs (35) and ranks second in RBIs (145).

In 2025, Illinois Wesleyan compiled a record-breaking 37-9 season with a historic 25-game winning streak. They won both regular season and tournament championships in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin as well as securing a regional win in the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament for the first time since 2019.