Men's Swimming & Diving Ryan Klinkner, Saint John's University Athletic Media Relations Director

SJU's Kern named to 2025 Allstate NACDA Good Works Winter Team

NACDA Release

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's senior swimmer Colby Kern (Delano, Minn.) was named to the inaugural 2025 Allstate National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Good Works Winter Team on Wednesday, March 12.

Kern is one of 20 honorees on the 2025 Allstate NACDA Good Works Winter Team, including one of five from the NCAA Division III level. He is one of three Minnesota natives selected, joining the University of Connecticut's Paige Bueckers and the University of Minnesota's Audrey Wethington. 

Nominations were submitted for up to one female and one male student-athlete from each winter sport at an institution. Eligible schools and athletics programs must represent one of five intercollegiate athletics divisions: NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA and Junior/Community Colleges. Nominees must have completed at least one year (two semesters) of college coursework at a two-year or four-year institution. 

Announced in December, the Allstate NACDA Good Works Team builds on the legacy of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, which has celebrated college football players' good work off the field since 1992. Now, 60 more student-athletes across all sports and all divisions will be honored annually – three groups of 20 representing the fall, winter and spring collegiate athletics seasons.

A mathematics major with a 3.57 GPA, Kern was a member of the 2023-24 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team and is a two-time Academic All-MIAC (minimum 3.5 GPA) honoree. In the pool, Kern ended his career as a 15-time All-MIAC honoree (top three at the MIAC Championships). 

Colby Kern Special OlympicsHe finished second to senior teammate Carter Larson (Sartell, Minn./Sartell-St. Stephen) for the second-consecutive season, with the program's third-fastest time in the 200-yard freestyle (1:41.30) and was a member of three record-breaking freestyle relays in 2025. For the first time in school history, SJU won all three freestyle relays – the 200 (1:22.21), 400 (3:03.22) and 800 (6:46.79) – as the Johnnies finished second out of six teams last month at the MIAC Championships.   

Outside of the pool, Kern is currently serving as SJU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) president and is in his third year with the organization overall. 

He started a Special Olympics regional swim meet on the SJU campus (left), which has steadily grown in the last three years under his leadership. Kern has also led SAAC's efforts for the annual, athlete-led meal-packing event for Kids Fighting Hunger on campus, including this year's event on March 30. Last year, Kern's efforts raised upwards of $20,000 that allowed he and almost 300 student-athletes to pack nearly 90,000 meals on a Sunday in Lent.