SEWARD, Neb. – The epitome of a student-athlete, senior Chandler Folkerts received one of the highest honors attainable for a NAIA basketball player. On Thursday the NAIA announced Folkerts as the winner of the 2016 Emil S. Liston Scholarship Award. The announcement was made in conjunction with the NAIA’s annual National Awards Day.
The Emil S. Liston award, presented by Daktronics, recognizes academic and athletic excellence by junior student-athletes in men’s and women’s basketball. Named in honor of the NAIA’s first executive secretary and a prime mover behind the men’s basketball tournament, the Emil Liston Scholarship Award has been presented annually since 1950 to one junior men’s and one junior women’s basketball student-athlete. Each student is awarded a $1,000 scholarship.
A native of Milford, Neb., Folkerts carries a cumulative 3.99 GPA while majoring in mathematics and physics. Named a 2015-16 NAIA honorable mention All-American, Folkerts has twice been chosen as an Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). In addition, Folkerts has garnered first team all-GPAC 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 home MVP honors at the 2016 Concordia Invitational Tournament. Folkerts has served as a YMCA youth basketball coach, a volunteer at the Lincoln City Mission Food Pantry and a leader within his church.
After averaging 19.6 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks while shooting 66.6 percent from the floor as a junior, Folkerts continued his rise up the Concordia men’s basketball program’s all-time lists. He enters the 2016-17 with career school rankings of seventh in blocked shots (99), ninth in rebounds (618) and 10th in scoring (1,397).