TOWSON, Md. – Led by
Cole Aldrich of number one-ranked Kansas (
pictured, left) and
Maya Moore (
right) of undefeated Connecticut, a contingent of 14 members of the 2009-10 CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Men’s and Women’s Basketball University Division teams will lead their respective teams into the NCAA Division I championship tournaments that start this week. These Academic All-America teams are selected annually by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) national organization.
Six members of the Academic All-America® men’s basketball team will be competing in the NCAA Men’s Championship while eight members of the Academic All-America® women’s basketball teams will play in the NCAA Women’s Championship.Aldrich, a 6-11 junior center who was chosen as the Men’s Basketball Academic All-America® of the Year in the University Division, has guided Kansas to a 32-2 record and the Big 12 Conference championship. Seeded first in the Midwest Region, the Jayhawks open NCAA Tournament play on Thursday, March 18 against Lehigh University.
A communication studies major with a 3.32 grade point average (GPA), Aldrich is a two-year starter for the Jayhawks. A two-time selection as a first team All-Big 12 Conference honoree, he has been named as the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year twice.
A native of Bloomington, Minn., Aldrich is averaging 11.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. He has already broken the school record with 118 blocked shots and ranks sixth in the nation with 3.5 blocks per game. A member of the all-tournament team at the Big 12 Tournament, he helped the Jayhawks win the title. An honorable mention All-American selection as a sophomore, he became the first player in the storied history of Kansas basketball to record a “triple double” when he scored 13 points with 20 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in a win over Dayton.
Moore, Connecticut's junior forward who was chosen as the Women’s Basketball Academic All-America® of the Year in the University Division, has helped number one-ranked UConn post a perfect 33-0 record and win the BIG EAST Conference title. The Huskies, who will take an NCAA record 72-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament, are the number one seed in the East Region and the tourney's top seed overall. UConn opens NCAA Tournament play against Southern University in Dayton, Ohio.
A native of Lawrenceville, Ga., Moore is a two-time member of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® University Division Women’s Basketball first team. A two-time selection as first team All-BIG EAST, she was only the second sophomore to be honored as the winner of the Wade Trophy as the National Player of the Year when she earned the award in 2008-09. As a sophomore, she set a school record by scoring 754 points while leading UConn to a 39-0 record and the NCAA Division I championship.
An individualized major with a 3.70 GPA, Moore is averaging 17.9 points per game with an 8.3 rebounding mark. She leads the BIG EAST in assist/turnover ratio and her .833 free throw percentage is second in the BIG EAST. Moore ranks among the BIG EAST leaders in seven different statistical categories.
March Madness: Men's Basketball Academic All-America® honorees who are competing Butler University is the only school with two Academic All-America® selections that will compete for the men’s national championship. Junior Matt Howard, a finance major with a 3.77 GPA, and
sophomore Gordon Hayward, a computer engineering major with a 3.31 GPA, have led the 12th-ranked Bulldogs to a 28-4 record and the Horizon League championship.
Howard, who was named to the Academic All-America® first team, was honored as the Horizon League Player of the Year as a sophomore. A native of Connersville, Ind., Howard was named first team All-Horizon League for the second year in a row. Named to the Academic All-America® second team in 2008-09, he was the Most Valuable Player at the Horizon League Tournament as he led the Bulldogs to their second title in three years. The team leader with a .500 field goal percentage, the 6-8 forward is averaging 12.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Honored as a third team member of the Academic All-America® team, Hayward was named as the Horizon League Player of the Year this season. A first team All-League selection for the second year in a row, the Brownsburg, Ind. native is the Bulldogs’ leading scorer with a 15.4 average. Hayward also leads Butler with an 8.5 rebounding average.
Howard and Hayward led Coach Brad Stevens’ team to a perfect 18-0 record in Horizon League regular season play as Butler became the first team in league history to post a perfect regular season record. The Bulldogs won their fourth consecutive Horizon League regular season title and will be making their fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Seeded fifth in the West Region, the Bulldogs will be trying to extend the nation’s longest winning streak when they face Texas-El Paso in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 18. Butler has won 20 games in a row.
Junior Tim Abromaitis of Notre Dame,
senior Roman Martinez of New Mexico and
junior E’Twaun Moore of Purdue join Aldrich, Howard and Hayward as Academic All-America® team members who will also be playing in the NCAA Tournament.
A finance major with a 3.72 GPA, Abromaitis is Notre Dame’s second-leading scorer this season. While averaging 16.3 points per game, he has led the Fighting Irish to a 23-11 record and a berth in the semi-finals of the BIG EAST Tournament. An honorable mention All-BIG EAST selection, he was also selected as the BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men’s basketball.
One of the top three-point shooters in NCAA Division I, he has connected on 81 of 184 attempts for a .440 percentage. A native of Unionville, Conn., Abromaitis, who will graduate one full year ahead of his class, has already been accepted into Notre Dame’s one-year intensified MBA program. Abromaitis and Notre Dame are seeded sixth in the South region and will face Old Dominion University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in New Orleans on Thursday, March 18.
A second team member of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® University Division team,
Martinez has a double major of business administration and marketing and carries a 3.48 GPA. A second team All-Mountain West Conference selection, the El Paso, Texas native was the Lobos’ second-leading scorer with a 13.8 average. The Lobos’ top three-point shooter, he has made 42.2 per cent of his three-point attempts. While averaging 6.0 rebounds per game, Martinez has helped New Mexico compile an impressive 29-4 record. The Lobos are seeded third in the East region and they will face Montana in a first round game in the NCAA Tournament in San Jose, Cal. on Thursday, March 18.
A junior guard who earned first team All-Big Ten Conference honors,
Moore has led Purdue to a 27-5 record and the fourth seed in the South region of the NCAA Tournament. A second team selection to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® University Division team, Moore is the Boilermakers’ top scorer with a 16.6 average. Named as a third team All-American by CBS College Sports, he has been a team leader for a Purdue team that has been ranked in the top ten for most of the year. An organizational leadership & supervision major with a 3.30 GPA, Moore is averaging 2.7 assists per game. Purdue will face Siena in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Spokane, Wash. on Friday.
March Madness: Women's Basketball Academic All-America® honorees who are competing Maya Moore is one of eight members of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® University Division Women’s Basketball teams who will be playing in the 2010 NCAA Championship.
Middle Tennessee State is the only team in the women’s tournament with more than one Academic All-America® selection on the roster. Graduate student Brandi Brown, a second team Academic All-America® selection, and
senior Alysha Clark, a third team Academic All-America® pick, will lead the Blue Raiders into the NCAA Division I women’s tournament.
An accounting major with a 3.90 GPA,
Brown is the Red Raiders’ third-leading scorer with a 13.2 average. A 6-3 forward who was named first team All-Sun Belt Conference, she is also averaging 3.6 rebounds per game and leads the team with 35 blocked shots.
A 5-10 forward,
Clark is the leading scorer in NCAA Division I with a 28.7 average. Honored as the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, she led the second-seeded Red Raiders to the Sun Belt Tournament championship by averaging 44.0 points per game in the team’s three tournament wins. Named as the Sun Belt Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Clark was named as the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week 12 times in her career. A native of Mt. Juliet, Tenn., she is a electronic media journalism major with a 3.30 GPA.
Led by Brown and Clark, Middle Tennessee State enters the NCAA Tournament with a 25-5 record and a 16-game winning streak. Coach Rick Insell’s team is seeded tenth in the Dayton Regional and will face Mississippi State in the first round of the tournament on Sunday, March 21 in a game that will be played at Pittsburgh.
Junior Angie Bjorklund of Tennessee,
junior Liz Repella of West Virginia,
senior May Kotsopoulos of Vermont, senior Rachele Fitz (Marist) and junior Jasmine Thomas (Duke) will also be participating in the NCAA Women’s Championship.
A junior psychology major with a 3.80 GPA,
Bjorklund was a first team selection on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® University Division team. A first team All-Southeastern Conference honoree, she is the Lady Vols’ leading scorer with a 14.1 average. An outstanding long-range shooter, she has made 42.9 per cent of her three-point field goal attempts. Named as the SEC’s Scholar-Athlete Award winner, the Spokane Valley, Wash. native has led fourth-ranked Tennessee to a 30-2 record and the SEC Championship. The Lady Vols are the top seed in the Memphis Regional and will host Austin Peay in the opening round of the NCAA Championship on Saturday, March 20.
An exercise physiology major with a 3.95 GPA,
Repella was also a member of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® University Division first team, along with Moore and Bjorklund. The leading scorer for West Virginia, she earned first team All-BIG EAST honors while leading the Mountaineers to a 28-5 record and a runner-up finish in the BIG EAST Tournament. A native of Steubenville, Ohio, she was also named to the all-tournament team at the BIG EAST Championship. WVU is the number three seed in the Memphis regional and will face Lamar in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament on Sunday (March 21) in Austin, Texas.
A business administration major with a 3.66 GPA,
Kotsopoulos has led Vermont to a 26-6 record and the America East Conference championship. A native of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, she earned first team all-conference honors while averaging a team high 17.3 points per game. She helped the Catamounts win their second straight league championship with a 55-50 win over 22nd-ranked Hartford in the conference championship game. A four-time member of the America East’s All-Defensive team, she was a second team selection on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® University Division Women’s Basketball team. The No. 10 seed in the Kansas City regional, Vermont will face Wisconsin in the opening round of the NCAAs on Sunday in South Bend, Ind.
Honored as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year,
Fitz has led Marist to a 26-7 record and its fifth straight MAAC Championship. A fashion design major with a 3.35 GPA, Fitz is the leading scorer in the MAAC with an 18.0 average. Named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® third team, the 6-0 forward also ranks among the MAAC’s leading rebounders with an 8.2 average. The MAAC leader with a .560 field goal percentage, the Seven Hills, Ohio native was also named as the Most Outstanding Player at the MAAC Tournament. Marist is seeded 12th in the Memphis region and will face Georgetown in Berkeley, Calif. in the first round of the NCAA Tournament March 20.
A sociology major with a 3.37 GPA,
Thomas was also a member of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® University Division third team. A first team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection, the junior guard is the fifth-leading scorer in the ACC with a 15.8 average. She also ranks seventh in the ACC with 4.2 assists per game and stands fifth with 2.8 steals per contest. Honored as the Most Valuable Player at the ACC Tournament, Thomas led the Blue Devils to the title by scoring 18 points in the championship game win over North Carolina State. A native of Fairfax, Va., she has led Duke to a 27-5 record. The Blue Devils are seeded second in the Memphis regional and will host Hampton in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday.
About the CoSIDA ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America ProgramTo be eligible for Academic All-America® honors, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 15,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports. ESPN The Magazine – winner of the 2006 and 2003 National Magazine Award for General Excellence – is a provocative and innovative sports publication. Full of insight, analysis, impact and wit, the oversized biweekly with a circulation of 1.9 million looks ahead to give fans a unique perspective on the world of sports.
For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit http://www.cosida.com/Awards/allamerica.aspx .FOR MORE INFORMATION:
- Dan O’Connell, Towson University (doconnell@towson.edu) (410) 704-3102
Academic All-America ® Vice-Chair For Publicity/Communications
- Geoff Hassard, SUNY at Oneonta (hassargj@oneonta.edu) (607) 436-2106
Academic All-America ® Coordinator of Publicity
2009-10 ESPN THE MAGAZINE Academic All-America® Men’s Basketball Team (University Division) as selected by CoSIDANote: NCAA Tournament participants listed in boldMen's Basketball Academic All-America of the Year (University Division): Cole Aldrich, Kansas
FIRST TEAM[Name, School, District, Class, Hometown/GPA and Major]Tim Abromaitis: Notre Dame, V, Jr., Unionville, Conn./ 3.72 GPA, FinanceCole Aldrich: Kansas, VII, Jr., Bloomington, Minn./ 3.32 GPA, Communication StudiesPatrick Foley: Columbia, I, Sr., Blue Point, N.Y./3.87 GPA, History
Matt Howard: Butler, V, Jr., Connersville, Ind./3.77 GPA, FinanceYves Mekongo: La Salle, II, Sr., Elizabeth, N.J./3.81 International Science, Business & Technology
SECOND TEAM[Name, School, District, Class, Hometown/GPA and Major]Luke Babbitt: Nevada, VIII, So., Reno, Nev./3.51 GPA, Pre-Business Administration
Marc Larson: Bowling Green State, IV, Sr., Mattawan, Mich./ 3.97 GPA, Engineering Technology
Roman Martinez: New Mexico. VI, Sr., El Paso, Texas/3.48 GPA, Business Admin./MarketingE'Twaun Moore: Purdue, V, Jr., East Chicago, Ind./3.30 GPA, Organizational Leadership & SupervisionNick Schneiders: South Carolina Upstate, III, Sr., Rietberg, Germany/3.71 GPA, Graphic Design
THIRD TEAM[Name, School, District, Class, Hometown/GPA and Major]Devon Beitzel: Northern Colorado, VII, Jr., Lafayette, Colo./3.72 GPA, Finance & Accounting
Graham Hatch: Wichita State, VII, Jr., Mesa, Ariz./3.73 GPA, Chemistry
Gordon Hayward: Butler, V, So., Brownsburg, Ind./3.31 GPA, Computer EngineeringMatthew Mullery: Brown, I, Sr., Millstone, N.J./3.31 GPA, Modern American History
Jake Robinson: Western Carolina, III, Sr., Canton, N.C./3.40 GPA, Finance
2009-10 ESPN THE MAGAZINE Academic All-America® Women’s Basketball Team (University Division) as selected by CoSIDANote: NCAA Tournament participants listed in boldBasketball Academic All-America of the Year (University Division): Maya Moore, Connecticut
FIRST TEAM[Name, School, District, Class, Hometown/GPA and Major]Erin Anthony: U.S. Military Academy, I, Jr., Allentown, Pa./ 3.78 GPA, Civil Engineering
Angie Bjorklund: Tennessee, IV, Jr., Spokane Valley, Wash./ 3.80 GPA, PsychologyKelsey Luna: Indiana State, V, Sr., St. Louis, Mo./ 4.00 Psychology
Maya Moore: Connecticut, I, Jr., Lawrenceville, Ga./ 3.70 GPA, Individualized MajorLiz Repella: West Virginia, II, Jr., Steubenville, Ohio/ 3.95 GPA, Exercise PhysiologySECOND TEAM[Name, School, District, Class, Hometown/GPA and Major]Lori Bjork: Maryland, II, Gr., Johnston, Iowa/ 3.93 GPA, Political Science
Brandi Brown: Middle Tennessee State, IV, Gr., Jamestown, Tenn./ 3.90 GPA, AccountingAmanda Johnson: Oregon VIII So. Santa Rosa, Cal./ 4.00 GPA, Psychology
May Kotsopoulos: Vermont I Sr. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada/ 3.66 GPA, Business AdministrationLauren Sims: Long Beach State, VIII, Sr., Fullerton, Cal./ 4.00 GPA, Biology & Physiology
THIRD TEAM[Name, School, District, Class, Hometown/GPA and Major]Alysha Clark: Middle Tennessee State, IV, Sr., Mt. Juliet, Tenn./ 3.30 GPA, Electronic Media JournalismRachele Fitz: Marist, I, Sr., Seven Hills, Ohio/ 3.35 GPA, Fashion DesignAmanda Stull: Coastal Carolina, III, Sr., Rushville, Ind./ 3.94 GPA, Biology
Ashley Sweat: Kansas State, VII, Sr., McPherson, Kan./ 3.51 GPA, Kinesiology
Jasmine Thomas: Duke, III, Jr., Fairfax, Va./ 3.37 GPA, Sociology