GORHAM, Maine – Seniors Rhys Bridges (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee), Herb Bryant (Portland, Maine) and Addison Dietz (Waterbury Center, Vt./ Harwood Union) of the University of Southern Maine Huskies' men's lacrosse team have each earned spots on the 2026 New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA) All-Academic Team.
 
Members of the teams are nominated by head coaches in Divisions I, II and II, and are student-athletes who have excelled both in the classroom and on the field over the course of their men's lacrosse career. In total, 202 Division III players representing 39 different institutions made an appearance on this year's squads. Nominees must have a senior or graduate student standing with no eligibility remaining or plans to use their eligibility in New England, a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale, and be an impact player for their team.
 
Bridges, an attackman, tied for second on the team in goals with 13 and ranked fourth in points with 17. He recorded multiple points in five games this season highlighted by a hat trick in a 14-5 win over Anna Maria on April 1. Bridges played in 31 games over two seasons with the Huskies and recorded 25 goals and 13 assists. He earned his degree in History last month. Bridges also earned 2026 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honors as part of the At-Large program.
 
Bryant, a two-year team captain and defenseman, ranked third on the team in caused turnovers this season with 11 and tied for fifth in ground balls with 22. He finished his career with 86 ground balls and 64 caused turnovers in 56 games. A consistent and dependable defender, Bryant started 53 games in his career. He recently graduated with his degree in Exercise Science.
 
Dietz went 1-0 in goal for the Huskies this season after making three appearances and two starts. He recorded 12 saves in an 8-7 win against Curry on March 8 and finished the season with a .485 save percentage. Dietz ranks fifth in program history in career games played in goal with 41 and minutes with 1,575. He also ranks fifth in career saves with 391. He is majoring in Environmental Planning & Policy.