College Sports Information Directors of America

2016-17 CoSIDA Academic All-America Men's/Women's Basketball Teams release dates:

College Division Teams: PDF | doc
NCAA Division III Teams: Tues., Feb. 28
NCAA Division II Teams: Wed., Mar. 1
NCAA Division I Teams: Thurs., Mar. 2

Academic All-America Program Index Page

Chandler Folkerts of Concordia (Neb.) and Cassidy Deno of Purdue Northwest Leads CoSIDA Academic All-America® College Division Basketball Teams

AUSTIN, Texas - Seniors Chandler Folkerts from Concordia University, Nebraska and Cassidy Deno of Purdue University Northwest headline the 2016-17 Academic All-America College Division Men's and Women's Basketball Teams as released by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The CoSIDA Academic All-America College Division basketball teams include student-athletes from NAIA, Canadian and two-year institutions.

Folkerts and Deno have been chosen as the CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year award winners for the men's and women's basketball teams, respectively.

The CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year acclaim is just the latest in a long string of honors for Folkerts. He joined that rare class of being selected to Academic All-America team for the third time - he was named to the first team as a junior and the second team as a sophomore. This past September, the NAIA announced Folkerts as the winner of the 2016 Emil S. Liston Scholarship Award, which recognizes academic and athletic excellence by junior student-athletes in men's and women's basketball.

A native of Milford, Nebraska, Folkerts carries a cumulative 4.0 G.P.A. while majoring in mathematics and physics. Named a 2015-16 NAIA honorable-mention All-American, Folkerts has garnered first-team All-Great Plains Athletic Conference accolades in each of the past two seasons and has also been tabbed to the NAIA All-Nebraska team by the Omaha World-Herald three times. The NAIA Scholar-Athlete took most valuable player honors at the 2016 and 2017 Concordia Invitational Tournaments. Folkerts has served as a YMCA youth basketball coach, a volunteer at the Lincoln City Mission Food Pantry and is a leader within his church.

Folkerts ranks second in rebounds (868), third in scoring (1,963) and fourth in blocked shots (142) on the Concordia all-time career list. In 2016-17, Folkerts produced 18.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.39 blocked shots per contest while ranking second in NAIA Division II with a 68.6 percent field-goal percentage. The "Chanimal" led Concordia to a 21-10 record and a quarterfinal appearance in the GPAC Tournament.

Deno carries a 3.81 G.P.A. studying hospitality and tourism management major with an emphasis in fitness management.

The senior from Otterbein, Indiana, recently eclipsed the 2,000-point plateau, becoming just the second player in Purdue Northwest history to do so, and stands No. 2 on the all-time career scoring list. She also put together the highest single-game scoring effort in PNW history, netting 51 points on 18-of-24 shooting from the floor in a 119-105 win over Olivet Nazarene University Feb. 1.

Deno has posted 20.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.36 steals a game this season. She stands fifth in NAIA Division II in total scoring (547), sixth in points per game (20.3) and 10th in both total 3-point makes (76) and 3-point percentage (43.7).

Deno was a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference First-Team selection, NAIA Third-Team All-American and NAIA Scholar-Athlete in 2015-16. She is a three-time all-conference honoree, two-time Academic All-District pick and a two-time Academic All-American.

The cumulative G.P.A. for the CoSIDA Academic All-America College Division Men's Basketball first team was 3.98 while the first team for the CoSIDA Academic All-America College Division Women's Basketball amassed a 3.87 G.P.A. Three of the five first-team men's Academic All-Americans and four men's team members hold 4.0 G.P.A.'s, while one women's Academic All-American recorded a 4.0 G.P.A.

Members of the 2016-17 CoSIDA Academic All-America College Division Men's Basketball Team to earn multiple All-American honors were Folkerts and Kyle Steigenga of Cornerstone University. On the women's team, Deno and Kara Krolicki of Saint Xavier University became two-time Academic All-Americas.

The men's first team includes Folkerts, Steigenga, Jeremy Deemer of Graceland University, Kevin Rich from Davenport University and Stefan Kecevic of Keiser University.

The second team is comprised of Jacob Bamke of Viterbo University, Toby Baxter from Friends University, Joe Burt of Lyon University, Tyler Crater from Olivet Nazarene, Jack Hackman of Northwest Christian University, Indiana Wesleyan University's Lance Mahurin and Saint Xavier's Quinn Niego.

The CoSIDA Academic All-America College Division Women's Basketball Team includes first teamers Deno, Krolicki, Indiana Institute of Technology's Haley Cook and Bailey Hooker, and Christin Strawbridge from Southeastern University.

Second-team selections were Kari Borowiak of Concordia (Mich.) University, Jordan Giddings of Saint Francis (Ill.) University, Joclyn Kirton from Biola University, College of Idaho's Petra Lumpert, and Jordyn Miller of Southwestern (Kan.) College.

Steigenga became a two-time first-team Academic All-America selection. Steigenga led Cornerstone in scoring (22.5), rebounding (9.7) and field goal percentage (63.5 percent). The junior from Holland, Michigan, finished the regular season with 16 double-doubles and scored in double-figures in 29 of the 30 games. He took the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Player of the Year accolade and made the top 50 watch list for Bevo Francis Award, which will go to the nation's top small-college basketball player.

Krolicki picked up a first-team Academic All-America nod after being named to the second team as a sophomore. Krolicki has taken four Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week awards this season while ranking second in NAIA Division II with 21.8 points per game, 112 3-pointers and 3.73 treys made per game.




FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Michael MacEachern, Young Harris College
Academic All-America Co-Director of Publicity
mfmaceachern@yhc.edu
(706) 379-5106

Aaron Sagraves, Cornerstone University
Academic All-America Coordinator of Publicity
aaron.sagraves@cornerstone.edu
(616) 977-5415