NEW HAVEN, Conn. (June 29, 2025) – Bruno Cakurs of the University of Bridgeport men’s soccer team and Taylor Hinkle from the Holy Family University women’s basketball program have been named the 2025-26 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference/Conference Commissioners Association Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year, CACC Commissioner Dan Mara announced today. Nominating and voting for the CACC/CCA Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards were conducted by the league’s directors of athletics communications.
Nominees must have been a starter or key reserve with legitimate athletic credentials and a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.20. They must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution and have completed at least one full academic year at their current institution. Cakurs and Hinkle will advance for consideration for regional and national scholar-athlete awards administered by the CCA.
Cakurs, a senior defender from Rujiena, Latvia, is the first student-athlete from Bridgeport to win the award during the Purple Knights’ four years as CACC members. Cakurs started 21 games on the back line for a UB squad that allowed one goal or fewer 14 times and won its first CACC championship. The Purple Knights, who posted a 0.90 goals-against average during conference competition, claimed their first conference title in any league since 2001 and made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007.
Cakurs was selected as the CACC Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Year and to the all-conference First Team. A consensus All-East Region selection, he achieved a perfect 4.00 GPA as a finance major. Cakurs was a College Sports Communicators First-Team Academic All-America® honoree, was the CACC Men’s Soccer Top XVI Award winner, and was chosen for the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Region Team.
Cakurs played 71 career games on Bridgeport’s back line. He is a three-time member of the CACC All-Academic Team and has appeared on the CACC Academic Honor Roll every semester of its existence.
Hinkle, a senior swing player from Chalfont, Pa., helped lead Holy Family to its first NCAA Division II East Regional championship. She averaged 14.1 points and a CACC-best 12.2 rebounds per game while shooting 44.9 percent from the floor and 76.5 percent at the foul line. Her rebound average was the third-highest total nationally in Division II and her 21 double-doubles were fourth. The Tigers became the first CACC women’s basketball team to play in the NCAA D-II Elite Eight.
The CACC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, Hinkle went on to earn Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-America honors and be voted onto the D2 CCA All-America Third Team. With a 3.91 GPA in healthcare administration and management, she was selected onto the CSC Academic All-America® Second Team and was chosen the Philly-SIDA Academic All-Area Women’s Basketball Performer of the Year.
A 2024-25 Honorable Mention WBCA All-American, Hinkle is a three-time First-Team All-CACC and three-time all-region honoree. She was the Most Valuable Player of the 2025 CACC Tournament, and is a three-time all-tournament selection. She has been named to three CSC Academic All-District Teams and has won two CACC Student-Athlete of the Month Awards. Hinkle is a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma Student-Athlete Honor Society.
Founded in 1961, the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference has been affiliated with NCAA Division II for 20 years. Conference institutions compete for championships in 17 sports – seven for men, nine for women, and one co-ed. The CACC contains 11 full members in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Membership includes the University of Bridgeport, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Dominican University New York, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Post University, Thomas Jefferson University, and Wilmington University.