RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – On Monday, the Great American Conference announced that a record 552 student-athletes achieved Academic All-Conference honors in the sports of men's and women's basketball, men's and women's golf, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track & field, baseball and softball, an increase of 42 from the prior high, set last year.
Oklahoma Baptist ranked second in the spring with 71 All-Academic performers just behind Harding at 73. The Bison led the conference in both men's and women's golf. Oklahoma Baptist joined Harding as the only two GAC schools with multiple All-Academic performers in all eight sports.
The Bison led the entire GAC in total Academic All-Conference selections with 123 between the fall and spring.
"I'm so proud of the tremendous work our student-athletes put in the classroom, especially during such a tumultuous time," said OBU athletics director
Robert Davenport. "It is a testament to the culture of excellence that our coaches have instilled in each of our programs and the hard work our student-athletes put in despite so much adversity this spring."
"Division II places the balance of athletic pursuit and academic excellence in its highest regards," GAC Commissioner Will Prewitt said. "We again shattered our record for All-Academic honorees. I commend all of these student-athletes for maintaining their commitment excellence in the classroom during this unprecedented year."
GAC baseball student-athletes garnered the most All-Academic selections, 119, followed by 108 from softball, 85 in women's basketball and 84 from women's track & field. For the full 2019-20 academic year, 966 student-athletes earned All-Academic honors, 85 more than the previous single-year high for the conference.
For student-athletes to be recognized on the Academic All-Conference team, they must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing (true freshmen and redshirt freshmen are not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at the nominating institution. In addition, their grade-point average must be a minimum of 3.30 based on the 4.0 system. The GPA shall be cumulative for the athlete's entire collegiate career.
Baseball (12)
Caleb Bly
Eric Carlson
Mirel Collazo
Bo Dallas
Bryan Geurkink
Chase Kerr
Cade Kissel
Jake Lipetzsky
Nick Perry
Joey Pledger
David Salters
Sam Webb
Men's Basketball (2)
Jack Pruitt
Brantly Thompson
Men's Golf (5)
Dakota Clark
Dawson Jones
Payne Moses
Brayden Ogle
Payton Posada
Men's Tennis (3)
Matthew Ford
Andres Graterol
Bruno Suiama
Men's Track and Field (5)
Zachary Coak
Tate Crouch
Trevor Evans
Jax Holland
Nathaniel Worley
Softball (10)
Makylah Hunt
Jadyn James
Kylie Kawamura
Katie Long
Kayla Palmer
Emily Richardson
Emily Smith
Aspen Tuck
Tiffany Williams
Women's Basketball (8)
Kaydee Banks
Jacie Engler
Raley Farquhar
Kalifa Ford
Kinsey Neiderer
Andreja Peciuraite
Charissa Price
Jaylin Stapleton
Women's Golf (8)
Elly Baze
Abby Boren
Michelle Carr
Grace Johnson
Olivia Klefsaas
Hayden Meiser
Josie Patterson
Shelby Phillips
Women's Tennis (7)
Ethne Dowling
Melody Holcomb
Kim Moosbacher
Andrea Sanchez Gonzalez
Stefy Varon Diaz
Tatiana Villa
Tahlia Walsh
Women's Track and Field (10)
Tahlor Brown
Evelyn Carswell
Katie Carter
Brooklynn James
Emily Julian
Sydney Lawrence
Isabella Lotz
Adeline O'Connor
Brittany Poe
Sherine Van Der Westhuizen
