Tyler Zeller of UNC, Delaware's Elena Delle Donne headline Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Basketball Teams

Tyler Zeller of UNC, Delaware's Elena Delle Donne headline Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Basketball Teams


2011-12 Basketball Academic All-America Team® announcements:
• Monday, Feb. 20: College Division
• Tuesday, Feb. 21: NCAA Division III
• Wednesday, Feb. 22: NCAA Division II
• Thursday, Feb. 23: NCAA Division I (below)

2011-12 Capital One Men's & Women's Basketball Academic All-America® Teams (Div. I) - PDF

2011-12 Capital One Men's & Women's Basketball Academic All-America Teams (Div. I) - doc

TOWSON, Md. – Senior forward Tyler Zeller of the University of North Carolina and junior forward Elena Delle Donne of the University of Delaware headline the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Zeller and Delle Donne have been chosen as the winners of the Academic All-America® of the Year award for the men’s and women’s basketball, respectively.

Zeller, a business administration major with a 3.62 grade point average (G.P.A.), is a repeat selection on the Capital One Academic All-America® Men’s Basketball Division I first team. The first two-time Academic All-America® first team selection in the Tar Heels’ storied basketball history, Zeller is UNC’s leading active career scorer with 1,316 points. Averaging 15.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots per game, he has led the No. 7 Tar Heels to a 24-4 record to date. Named to several mid-year Player of the Year Award watch lists, Zeller has led North Carolina to an 11-2 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference. UNC is tied for first place in the ACC.

The 2011 recipient of the Skip Prosser Award as the ACC’s top men’s basketball scholar-athlete, the 7-foot Zeller was named to the 2011 NCAA East Regional all-tournament team after scoring 103 points in four games, the highest total since Charlie Scott in 1969. He was also named to the ACC all-tournament last season and is a three-time All-ACC Academic pick.

In the ACC statistics, Zeller ranks second in rebounding (9.4), field goal percentage (.541) and double-doubles. A native of Washington, Ind., he is the fourth-leading scorer in the ACC. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels’ national championship team.

An early childhood education major with a 3.60 grade point average, Delle Donne has led Delaware to the best season in school history. The Wilmington, Del. native has led the No. 9 Blue Hens to a 24-1 record and their first-ever national ranking. A two-time All-American who averages 28.1 points per game, she is the leading scorer in NCAA Division I, nearly four points per game more than Tavelyn James of Eastern Michigan.

Ranked among the nation’s top twenty rebounders with a 10.5 average, the 6-foot-5 guard-forward also owns a .520 field goal percentage, including 42.7 percent from three-point range. Her .892 free throw percentage ranks her fourth in the nation.

A candidate for the Wooden Award, Naismith Award and Wade Trophy, she is already Delaware’s career scoring leader with 2,033 points. A two-time selection as first team All-Colonial Athletic Association, she was the CAA Pre-Season Player of the Year and already owns more than 20 school records. She led the United States to the gold medal at the World University Games in 2011. A Dean’s List student, she is a Special Olympics volunteer.

Capital One Academic All-America® Men's Basketball Division I Team

Joining Zeller on the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Men’s Basketball first team are sophomore guard Aaron Craft of Ohio State, junior guard Matthew Dellavedova of Saint Mary’s College (Cal.), senior guard Brad Loesing of Wofford and junior forward Mason Plumlee of Duke.

The five members of the Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Men’s Basketball first team have an average G.P.A. of 3.62.

Craft, an exercise science (pre-med) major with a 3.89 G.P.A., is one of 20 finalists for the 2012 Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard. The Big Ten Conference leader, he ranks sixth in the nation with 2.3 steals per game. A native of Findlay, Ohio, he has helped the No. 8 Buckeyes post a 23-5 record. The winner of the 2011 Big Ten Conference Sixth Man of the Year award, Craft is second in the Big Ten, averaging 4.6 assists per game and owns the school record with 15 assists in game. The Buckeyes’ fourth-leading scorer with an 8.3 average, he was named to the Big Ten’s all-Freshman and all-Defensive Teams.

A junior psychology major with a 3.61 G.P.A., Dellavedova has led Saint Mary’s to a 23-5 record this season. While averaging 15.5 points and 6.4 assists, he has led the Gaels to first place in the West Coast Conference standings and a No. 23 national ranking. A native of Maryborough, Australia, he is a member of the Australian national team that qualified for the 2012 London Olympics. He has led the Gaels to a pair of NCAA tournament appearances including a Sweet 16 berth in 2010. A first team All-WCC selection last year, Dellavedova is a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, honoring the nation’s top point guard.

A business economics major with a 3.90 G.P.A., Loesing has led Wofford to a 17-12 record as the Terriers seek their third straight Southern Conference Tournament championship. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, he is Wofford’s all-time leader with 126 career starts and leads the nation by averaging 38.7 minutes per game. The Terriers’ second-leading scorer, Loesing is averaging 14.4 points. He also leads the team with 5.5 assists per game.

Plumlee, a psychology and cultural anthropology major with a 3.44 G.P.A., is the fourth-leading scorer at No. 4 Duke, averaging 11.9 points per game. The second-leading rebounder in the Atlantic Coast Conference, he is averaging 9.7 rebounds per game while connecting on 55.8 percent from the field. The only player to start all 27 games so far for the Blue Devils, Plumlee has led Duke to a 23-4 record and a share of first place in the ACC.

Graduate student Brian Conklin of Saint Louis University heads up the Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Men’s Basketball second team. Joining him on the second team are senior Scott Saunders of Belmont and Ronald Nored of Butler University. For Saunders, this marks his second consecutive appearance on the second team. Juniors Logan Aronhalt of Albany (N.Y.) and Drew Crawford of Northwestern University complete the second team.

The Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Men’s Basketball third team is led by senior Chris Wroblewski of Cornell who earned second team honors last year. He is joined on the third team by seniors Zack Novak (Michigan) and Brian Stafford (Denver). Juniors JP Kuhlman of Davidson and Matthew Sullivan of Brown complete the third team.


Capital One Academic All-America® Women's Basketball Division I Team

Senior guard Roxana Button of the University of Houston, junior guard Caroline Durbin of the University of New Mexico and senior forward Glory Johnson of Tennessee round out the Capital One Academic All-America® Women’s Basketball Division I first team.

The five members of the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® Women’s Basketball Division I first team have an amazing average G.P.A. of 3.84.

A psychology major with a 3.87 G.P.A, Button averages 17.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game for Houston. The leading scorer in Conference USA, she has played in all 118 games during her career and ranks second in school history in three-point percentage (35.8). Button has scored in double figures in 22 of 25 games this season and 52 times in her career. A native of Coppell, Tex., she graduated in December and plans to attend medical school.

A business major with a 4.16 G.P.A., Durbin is averaging 15.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game for New Mexico. She leads the Mountain West Conference in three-point field goal percentage (51.8) and ranks second in scoring. The Austin, Tex. native is also third in the conference in field goal percentage (47.5) and fourth in minutes played (34.1).

Johnson is a graduate student at Tennessee who is studying communication and information and has a 3.6 G.P.A. A native of Knoxville, Tenn., she earned her undergraduate degree in global studies last May in just three years. She is averaging 13.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game to date while leading the Lady Vols to a 20-7 record and to a share of first place in the Southeastern Conference. A member of the Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch list, she was selected to the 2011-12 preseason All-SEC first team. Last season, Johnson received All-SEC first team honors.

North Carolina State was the only school with more than one member on the three Capital One Academic All-America® Women’s Basketball Division I teams as junior Marissa Kastanek was a second team selection while Kody Burke was named to the third team.

Joining Kastanek on the Capital One Academic All-America® Division I second team are senior Lacey Boshe of Missouri State, senior Brittany Rayburn (Purdue), senior Julie Wojta (Wisconsin Green Bay), junior Ashley Eide (South Dakota State) and junior Rachel Semansky (Montana State).

Junior Janae Burich of North Dakota State, sophomore Alyssa Charlston of Idaho and senior Jericka Jenkins of Hampton joined Burke on the Capital One Academic All-America® third team.

About Capital One

Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $122.2 billion in deposits and $197.5 billion in total assets outstanding as of December 31, 2010. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. Capital One, N.A. has approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.

Capital One, an NCAA Corporate Champion, began its affiliation with college sports with the sponsorship of the 2001 Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (now the Capital One Bowl) and ESPN’s Capital One Bowl Week. In 2010, Capital One launched the Capital One Cup, a prestigious new program rewarding NCAA Division I athletics programs for their cumulative on-field performance across multiple men’s and women’s sports. In addition, Capital One sponsors the ABC College Football Halftime Report, Capital One All-America Mascot Team, all 88 NCAA Championships including the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, and numerous other collegiate athletics programs.

About the Capital One Academic All-America® program

To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. 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 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Dan O’Connell, Towson University
Academic All-America® Vice-Chair for Publicity/Communications
(410) 704-3102
doconnell@towson.edu

Hope Shuler
Western Athletic Conference
Academic All-America® University Division Publicity
hshuler@wac.org

Jeff Schwartz
North Dakota State
Academic All-America® University Division Publicity
jeff.schwartz@ndsu.edu