Morehead State student-athletes once again demonstrated their determination and excellence in the classroom last year.
Student-athletes combined for a 3.07 grade-point average, while 46 athletes recorded a perfect 4.0 GPA. Football led the way with nine perfect scores, while volleyball and beach volleyball had seven students with a 4.0. Men’s cross country/track and field garnered six all-A students, while soccer had five.
In addition, 14 NCAA teams earned a team GPA above 3.0.
Teams with a 3.0 or above GPA include:
- Baseball
- Men’s Cross Country
- Men’s Outdoor Track and Field
- Men’s Golf
- Women’s Basketball
- Women’s Cross Country
- Women’s Indoor Track and Field
- Women’s Outdoor Track and Field
- Women’s Golf
- Rifle
- Softball
- Soccer
- Volleyball
- Beach Volleyball
In addition to the overall academic success, some programs and student-athletes received distinct academic honors.
For the 11th consecutive season, the American Volleyball Coaches Association honored Eagle Volleyball with its highest academic achievement award. The Eagles’ 3.43 cumulative GPA during the 2017-18 academic year earned the program its 19th total AVCA Team Academic Award.
The award, which was first awarded during the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball programs who excel in the classroom, maintaining a minimum 3.30 cumulative team GPA. In total, 973 programs were honored with the AVCA Team Academic Award, with 540 programs competing in women’s collegiate volleyball competition.
The AVCA Team Academic Award is the single largest academic achievement honor awarded to volleyball programs around the country in quantity of schools, student-athletes and coaches honored.
Eagle Volleyball had five student-athletes each register a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2017-18 academic year. Redshirt senior Jessie Wachtman, senior Maddie Fella, redshirt junior Danielle McCarson, redshirt sophomore Chandler Clark and sophomore Olivia Lohmeier registered perfect GPAs across both the fall and spring semesters, while Wachtman was named the Morehead State Female Scholar Athlete of the Year.
For the fifth consecutive season, Eagle Football has landed at least three players on the Academic All-Pioneer League teams. Seniors Jarin Higginbotham, Sayyid Kanu and Nathan Sames were named to the second team.
The Academic All-PFL teams are selected by the league’s media relations personnel. Athletes must have appeared in 50 percent of a team’s games and have a cumulative 3.30 or better grade point average. Kanu appears on the team for the second straight season.
Higginbotham, also a Second Team All-PFL pick this year, sports a 3.38 GPA in exercise science. The Liberty Township, Ohio, native finished his career with 2,107 receiving yards and 115 catches to rank third all-time in both of those categories at MSU. He led the team with 667 yards and 39 passes hauled in this season.
Kanu, a native of Columbus, Ohio, holds a 3.33 GPA as a radiology major. He was named the PFL Defensive Player of the Week after his effort in the win over Valparaiso. He wrapped up his career with a team-best 62 tackles in 2018 while having a team-high six pass breakups and two pickoffs. In his four-year Eagle career, he amassed 225 tackles and had 13 passes defended. Kanu was named Honorable Mention All-PFL in 2018.
Sames, who came to MSU from Shelbyville, has a 3.48 GPA and is majoring in engineering technology. He had 18 catches for 224 yards and a touchdown in 2018. He was also a force on special team coverage, amassing 30 career tackles and a fumble forced and a fumble recovered in his four-year playing career.
The PFL Academic Honor Roll, honoring those who achieved a 3.00 GPA or better for the fall, will be released in early 2019.
For additional information about MSU Athletics, visit www.msueagles.com.
