SEWARD, Neb. – A star in the classroom and on the court, junior Chandler Folkerts has been named to the 2015-16 Academic All-America® College Division Men’s Basketball First Team, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Monday. The native of Milford, Neb., rises to the first team after having garnered second team Academic All-America recognition last season as a sophomore.
The CoSIDA Academic All-America® Men’s Basketball Teams have been released to recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. For more information about the Academic All-District™ and Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit http://cosida.com.
A first team all-conference honoree in 2014-15, Folkerts elevated his game to another level in 2015-16. He completed the season with averages of 19.6 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks while shooting 66.6 percent from the field (second best among NAIA Division II players). Folkerts topped all GPAC players with 13 double-doubles. The Chanimal piled up a career high 34 points in the win at Northwestern on Jan. 9. On Concordia’s all-time lists, Folkerts currently ranks 10th in scoring (1,397) and ninth in rebounds (618).
Folkerts is a mathematics and physics major who carries a spotless 4.0 GPA. He was one of three GPAC players chosen to either the first or second team. The others were Dakota Wesleyan’s Trae Bergh (first team) and Nebraska Wesleyan’s Trey Bardsley (second team).
Folkerts is part of a long list of Concordia athletes to receive all-district accolades over the past two seasons. The 2014-15 academic year saw a school record 11 Bulldogs collect such recognition. This year’s all-district honorees include Hallick Lehmann (football), Adam Meirose (football), Becky Mueller (women’s basketball) and Folkerts. Lehman also earned Academic All-America laurels.
2015-16 academic all-district honorees
(*Academic All-American)
*Chandler Folkerts, Basketball
*Hallick Lehmann, Football
Adam Meirose, Football
Becky Mueller, Basketball
2014-15 academic all-district honorees
(*Academic All-American)
Amy Ahlers, Golf
*Brendan Buchanan, Soccer
Stephanie Coley, Track & Field
*Chandler Folkerts, Basketball
Jaydee Jurgensen, Baseball
Adam Meirose, Football
Bailey Morris, Basketball
*Rachel Mussell, Soccer
Shawn Rodehorst, Golf
Ben Sievert, Cross Country/Track & Field
Melissa Stine, Soccer