GREENWOOD, Ind. – Brandon Hile (Winfield, Pa./Selinsgrove) and Freddie Retter (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) of the Kutztown University football team were named to the College Sports Communicators NCAA Division II Academic All-America First Team, the organization announced Tuesday afternoon.
 
Hile, a native of Winfield, Pa., is a first-time Academic All-American. He is majoring in criminal justice and held a 3.58 cumulative grade point average (GPA) at the time of his nomination.
 
The senior linebacker was voted PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Year, D2CCA All-Super Region 1 First Team and received All-America honors from multiple organizations, including the AFCA (Second Team), Associated Press (Second Team) and D2CCA (Second Team). He was also a finalist for the Cliff Harris Division II Defensive Player of the Year Award, a D2Football.com Elite 100 pick and a Don Hansen Gazette All-America Honorable Mention choice.
 
Hile finished the season with 66 tackles (37 solo), 3.0 sacks, 6.0 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, an interception and a forced fumble.
 
Retter jumps up to the First Team at defensive line after garnering Academic All-America Second Team honors in 2024. He has a 3.92 GPA while pursuing a degree in elementary education.
 
The redshirt junior from Quakertown, Pa., played limited snaps early in the season due to injury but was a force down the stretch as Kutztown advanced to the national semifinals for the second time in three seasons.
 
Retter, the 2024 PSAC East and D2CCA Super Region 1 Defensive Player of the Year, finished with 25 tackles (15 solo), 8.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss, while forcing two fumbles, recovering a fumble and registering a safety. He was named All-PSAC East First Team and D2CCA All-Super Region 1 First Team for the second consecutive season. He received D2CCA All-America Second Team honors along with being a D2Football.com Elite 100 selection and Don Hansen Football Gazette All-America Honorable Mention pick.
 
Hile and Retter helped Kutztown to its winningest season in program history with a 14-1 overall record. The Golden Bears won their third straight PSAC championship and the second NCAA DII Super Region 1 title in program history. Kutztown achieved its best-ever postseason ranking, finishing No. 3 in the AFCA DII Poll.
 
Kutztown football has had 10 CSC (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-Americans since 1993. Retter is just the second Golden Bear football student-athlete to earn multiple Academic All-America awards, joining Alex Daecher (2000 and 2001).