National Math Stars names 2025 USA cohort as program expands to support young talent across seven states

More than 100 students from Texas and six new Midwest states will receive long-term support through National Math Stars’ academic development program.

National Math Stars (NMS), a nonprofit focused on identifying and supporting mathematically exceptional young learners, has selected 102 students for its 2025 cohort.

The group includes new participants from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin, as well as students from Texas, where NMS programs are already underway.

Founded in 2023, NMS supports high-performing second and third graders through a ten-year program that includes mentorship, enrichment, and academic support valued at more than $100,000 per student. The initiative is designed to help students from diverse communities develop advanced skills in mathematics and related STEM fields.

“The 2025 cohort represents a major milestone for us — not only are we adding learners from six new states, we’re more than doubling the total number of students we support,” says Ilana Walder-Biesanz, CEO of National Math Stars. “We aim to one day accelerate exceptional math talent from every state in the nation, and this is a huge step toward that goal.”

Applicants are evaluated through a multi-stage process that measures mathematical ability, enthusiasm for STEM, and the potential long-term impact of the program.

Iowa and Texas students join expanded cohort

In Iowa, NMS selected 17 third graders through a statewide partnership with the Iowa Department of Education. The state had nominated 764 students who scored in the top two percent on the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress in mathematics.

“With Governor Reynolds’ comprehensive Math Counts Act and our first-in-the-nation partnership with National Math Stars, Iowa continues to advance evidence-based math instruction to meet the needs of all learners,” says McKenzie Snow, Director at the Iowa Department of Education. “We are so proud of our extraordinary semifinalists, and we congratulate Iowa’s seventeen National Math Stars — the most of any state in the Midwest.”

Students from Texas also make up a significant portion of the new cohort, with 57 learners selected from across the state. These students will join existing programs already operating in Texas.

“Texas has produced many remarkable mathematicians and scientists: pioneering number theorist and Abel Prize winner John Tate, Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg, and Sue Geller — professor emerita of mathematics at Texas A&M noted for her work in algebraic K-theory,” says Walder-Biesanz. “By welcoming new students from Texas into our program, we’re preparing them to one day join that distinguished tradition of math and science leaders from the Lone Star State.”

Monica Brewer, Statewide Coordinator for Gifted/Talented Education in Texas, adds, “These students represent the brilliance and potential thriving in classrooms across Texas. Their selection by National Math Stars affirms what educators see every day: young minds capable of extraordinary mathematical thinking. We’re proud to support them as they begin this exciting journey.”

The expansion follows NMS’s January 2025 announcement of a broader geographic reach, intended to increase access to advanced academic opportunities in underrepresented regions.