GREENWOOD, IN – College Sports Communicators (CSC) announced selections for At-large Academic All-America teams Tuesday and Rider University's Valeria Perales was named to the Academic All-America Second Team.
 
Perales, the 2026 NEC Field Hockey Scholar Athlete, was a four-time First-Team All-NEC honoree, and lead the Broncs with 13 goals, six assists, and 32 points in 2025. Perales graduated with 51 career goals, 20 career assists, and 122 career points, ranking fifth in career goals and seventh in career points in program history. Her 14 career game-winning goals rank third all-time for the Broncs. She achieved her athletic success while maintaining a 3.96 GPA in the classroom.
 
The senior becomes Rider's first-ever field hockey Academic All-American and the university's second Academic All-America honoree in the last two years joining baseball's Joe Tiroly from a season ago. In total seven Rider athletes have earned nine Academic All-America honors.