The Intercollegiate Rowing Coaches Association (IRCA) announced its 2026 Empacher-IRCA Scholar Athletes on Wednesday, including 19 members of the California men's rowing team, which is the most in program history.
 
Two Golden Bears – Thomas Heerding and Matthew Waddell – earned the recognition for the third time in their careers, while Jeremy Beale, Austin Chen, Antonio Distefano, Evan Gold, Pablo Moreno and Tim Roth got the nod for the second consecutive season.
 
In order to be named a scholar athlete, rowers and coxswains must have met the following criteria:

• Be in their second year or more of eligibility
• Competed in their program's top three boats during the current season or raced at the 2026 IRA Championship.
• Have at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA through the fall semester.

Name	Year	Hometown
Thomas Barbey	Senior	Berkeley, CA
Jeremy Beale**	Junior	Gwandalan, Australia
Johannes Benien	Sophomore	Kirchellen, Germany
Dan Bradbery	Senior	Oxford, England
Austin Chen**	Junior	El Dorado Hills, CA
Gennaro di Mauro	Senior	Sant 'Anastasia, Italy
Antonio Distefano**	Junior	Trieste, Italy
Nat Gauden	Sophomore	Wallingford, England
Evan Gold**	Junior	Palo Alto, CA
Thomas Heerding***	Senior	Melbourne, Australia
Osian James	Sophomore	Cardiff, Wales
Pablo Moreno**	Senior	Sevilla, Spain
James O'Meara	Sophomore	Sydney, Australia
Tom O'Sullivan	Graduate Student	London, England
Tim Roth**	Senior	Berikon, Switzerland
Peter Spira	Junior	Buffalo, NY
Matthew Waddell***	Senior	Pukekohe, New Zealand
Charlie Warren	Graduate Student	Windsor, U.K.
Alec Wild	Sophomore	London, England

**Second honor 
***Third honor                                                                                                
 
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