This June, the NCAA welcomed the 35 young professionals who make up the 37th cohort of the Association's Postgraduate Internship Program. The program provides interns, 23 of whom are former NCAA student-athletes, with a yearlong work experience designed to foster the next generation of college athletics administrators.Â
Postgraduate interns' experience at the national office includes comprehensive training, mentoring assignments and networking opportunities. Interns also have the opportunity to plan and execute professional development site visits to conference offices, member campuses and affiliate organizations.
In their first week, interns traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, where they engaged with leaders in sport at Vanderbilt, Belmont and Trevecca Nazarene, as well as representatives of the Nashville Predators and the Nashville Sports Council. This outing included visits with program alumni Brandon Floyd (2021-22) and Eden Mittlesdorf (2025-26), who now work at Vanderbilt and the Tennessee Titans, respectively.
Learn more about the 2026-27 intern class below. Visit this page for more information on the program, including application details for the 2027-28 cycle. Applications are open from Aug. 3 to Sept. 5, 2026.Â
Meet the interns:
- Sterlyn Austin (former track and field student-athlete)
- Department: Enforcement
- Education: Georgia (B.A. in sociology), South Carolina (J.D.)
- Bradynn Belcher (former softball student-athlete)
- Department: Executive affairs
- Education: Berry (B.A. in communication)
- Paige Bitting (former field hockey student-athlete)
- Department: Championships and alliances
- Education: Duke (B.A. in psychology)
- Leah Brown
- Department: Inclusion, education and community engagementÂ
- Education: Delaware State (B.S. in sport management)
- Lillian Case (former field hockey student-athlete)
- Department: Governance and member services
- Education: Juniata (B.S. in business analytics and strategic communication), Alvernia (M.S. in data analytics in progress)
- Grace Colburn (former softball student-athlete)
- Department: Administrative services
- Education: Carleton (B.A. in statistics)
- Claire Cummings (former rowing student-athlete)
- Department: Governance and member services
- Education: Yale (B.A. in global affairs)
- Corin Dammeier (former softball student-athlete)
- Department: Finance and accounting
- Education: Florida Atlantic (B.S. in accounting)
- Luke Davidson (former basketball student-athlete)
- Department: Men's basketballÂ
- Education: Fairfield (B.S. in sports business and psychology)
- Ella Davies
- Department: Championships
- Education: Kansas (B.A. in journalism)
- Matthew Dennis (former football student-athlete)
- Department: Governance and member services
- Education: Wake Forest (B.A. in psychology, MPA)
- BJ Durham (former basketball student-athlete)
- Department: Leadership development
- Education: Waynesburg (B.A. in psychology, M.A. in clinical mental health counseling), NC State (Ph.D. in educational leadership, policy and human development)
- Sam Easterling
- Department: Leadership development
- Education: Louisville (B.S. in sports administration)
- Peyton Frisby
- Department: Championships and alliances
- Education: St. John's (New York) (B.S. in sport management)
- Samantha Gillas (former tennis student-athlete)
- Department: Championships and alliances
- Education: Iowa (B.A. in therapeutic recreation), Oklahoma State (M.S. in leisure studies, therapeutic recreation and recreation management)
- Tenley Grant (former track and field student-athlete)
- Department: Office of inclusion
- Education: Willamette (B.A. in public health), Washington (M.Ed. in intercollegiate athletic leadership)
- Leah Hartsock (former soccer student-athlete)
- Department: Governance and member services —
- Education: Marymount (Virginia) (B.A. in business and psychology)
- Secaida Howell
- Department: Governance and member services
- Education: South Carolina (B.M. in music education), Georgia (M.M.Ed. in music education), Texas (M.Ed. in sport management), Florida State (J.M., legal risk management, contracting and compliance)
- Gabe Hulslander (former football student-athlete)
- Department: Eligibility Center
- Education: Edinboro (B.S. in sport management, M.S. in sport management)
- Tiera Jarmond (former tennis student-athlete)Â
- Department: Eligibility Center
- Education: Marquette (B.A. in public relations), SMU (M.S. in sport management)
- Lauren Keating
- Department: Governance and member services
- Education: Iowa (B.A. in English and political science, J.D.)
- Jake Lasceski (former tennis student-athlete)
- Department: Communications
- Education: Alma (B.A. in business administration)
- Maya McEwen (former volleyball and softball student-athlete)
- Department: Championships and alliances
- Education: Knox (B.A. in data science and business administration), University of Colorado Colorado Springs (MBA in sports management)
- Rohan Niranjan
- Department: Enforcement
- Education: American (B.A. in economics), Massachusetts (J.D.)
- Lillian Parmer
- Department: Enforcement
- Education: Georgia (BBA in economics), North Carolina (J.D.)
- Kendra Pinckney
- Department: Business performance
- Education: Binghamton University (B.A. in statistics, M.S. in data analytics)
- Mikayla Rudolph (former basketball student-athlete)
- Department: Governance and member services
- Education: Kenyon (B.A. in psychology)
- Kenedi Rutherford (former volleyball student-athlete)
- Department: Legal affairs
- Education: Texas State (BBA), Southern University (J.D.)
- Xander Salberg
- Department: Women's basketballÂ
- Education: UConn (B.S. in sport management), Boston College (M.S. in sports administration in progress)
- Madeline Schallmoser (former lacrosse student-athlete)
- Department: Communications
- Education: Regis (Colorado) (B.A. in English and communication)
- Jake Serra (former track and field and cross country student-athlete)
- Department: Sport Science Institute
- Education: Clemson (B.S. in health science)
- Hailey Toles
- Department: Championships and alliances
- Education: Fairfield (B.A. in sports media)
- Brooke Vaccaro
- Department: Communications
- Education: Syracuse (B.S. in broadcast and digital journalism)
- Sasha Willems (former softball student-athlete)
- Department: Governance and member services
- Education: South Alabama (B.S. in sport and recreation management, MBA)
- Jeremiah Williams (former tennis student-athlete)
- Department: Communications
- Education: Hampton (B.A. in journalism and communications, M.S. in sport administration)
