GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Guilford College football team saw six players recognized as Collegiate Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District team members, as Ben Finkelstein (Southern Pines, N.C.), Avery Garner (Denton, N.C.), and Zack Oakley (Elon, N.C.) became two-time honorees and Cameron Campbell (Flowery Branch, Ga.), Josh Long (Elon, N.C.), and Skyler Merrill (Wilmington, N.C.) got the recognition for the first time, as announced by the organization on Tuesday.

In order to qualify for the honor in football, student-athletes must be at least an academic and athletic sophomore, maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher in the classroom. Meanwhile, a nominee must have competed in 90% of the team's total games played, or start in 66% of the team's total games. No more than eight student-athletes may be a nominee in football per school. The football program nearly doubled their total number of players who finished eligible for the honor this fall, with six compared to their total of four in 2024.

Campbell had a breakout second season for Guilford, starting all-nine games and finishing the campaign second on the team in receptions and receiving yards, with 39 grabs for 327 yards, in addition to being tied for the team-lead with a trio of touchdown catches. He finished tied for fourth in the league in total receptions, although just 14^th in yardage, while he finished with an average of 4.33 receptions per game, the third-most in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) among national qualifiers, and the 153^rd-most in Division-III. He also took eight rushing attempts this season, netting 46 yards on those plays for GC. Off the field, he owns a 3.66 GPA as a double-major, studying both Business Administration and Accounting at Guilford.  

The first of three Quakers to receive the accolade for the second-straight year, Finkelstein was solid in his first year as a full-time starter. The junior defensive back finished fourth on the team with 40 total tackles, 17 of them solo efforts, making 1.5 tackles for a loss. Starting all-nine contests, largely at the nickel position, he accounted for six pass-breakups on the season. He upped his game in conference action for the Quakers, registering 4.7 tackles per game against just 3.5 in Guilford's pair of non-conference contests. Academically, Finkelstein continues to progress towards his degree as a double-major in Exercise & Sport Sciences and Health Sciences, owning a 3.96 GPA.

The second Guilford player to receive this accolade for the second time in his career, Garner was a key reserve linebacker and special teams contributor this fall. He appeared in all-nine games in some capacity for GC, recording 3.0 tackles with two of them being solo efforts. Completing his degree a semester early, Garner recently graduated with his Business Administration degree, finishing with a 3.78 GPA.

A sophomore wide receiver, Long gets recognized with Academic All-District honors for the first time this season. After not seeing any action on the field as a freshman, Long played in each of the Quakers' nine contests this fall and was an impact threat downfield for GC. He hauled in seven catches but made them count, going for 132 yards and a touchdown. He was responsible for Guilford's longest offensive play this season, with a 68-yard catch-and-run against Gallaudet, a game in which he brought in career-highs of four catches for 83 yards.  Long finished as the team-leader among those with at least five catches by averaging 18.86 yards per reception this season, while he also had one carry for eight yards on the ground. Academically, Long owns a 3.87 GPA in the Guilford Accounting program.

Another first-year contributor of the Quakers receiving corps, Merrill is a first-time honoree in his second year on the squad. Playing four games as a freshman, Merrill worked his way into a role in the Guilford offense, appearing in all nine games this season, hauling in just three catches, but going for 71 yards, good for a team-high 23.7 yards per reception. The wide receiver is way ahead of schedule academically, planning on completing his undergraduate degree in Exercise & Sport Sciences a full two years early and currently owns a 3.62 GPA.

The final Academic All-District honoree for GC this year is Oakley, who receives the honor for the second time. In addition to his work as the holder on GC's place kicking unit, helping Quaker kickers go 23-for-24 on their PAT attempts this fall, the third-year wide receiver expanded his role in the Guilford offense this season. Playing in some capacity in all-nine games, he accumulated in seven catches for 46 yards along the way for Guilford. Owner of a 3.72 GPA, Oakley is on pace to complete his degree in Sport Management early.

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