SEWARD, Neb. – One of the most dominant post players in the nation, junior Chandler Folkerts has raked in first team all-conference honors for the second-straight season, as announced by the GPAC on Wednesday. Senior Jamie Pearson garnered second team accolades following his first and only season as a Bulldog. Two other starters, Robby Thomas and Eli Ziegler, were tabbed with honorable mention.
Folkerts, who hails from Milford, Neb., topped the GPAC in both field goal percentage (.666) and double-doubles (13). Among league players, he also ranked third in rebounds per game (8.5), third in blocks per game (1.43) and fifth in scoring (19.6). Earlier this season he received CoSIDA Academic All-America recognition for the second-straight season. 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). He has earned an all-conference award in all three seasons.
Pearson made a major impact after transferring in from Wayne State College this past fall. The native of Ypsilanti, Mich., averaged 18.3 points, 3.9 assists and 1.17 steals per game while shooting 48.6 percent from the floor, 83.8 percent from the free throw line and 36.6 percent from 3-point range. In just his second game as a Bulldog, Pearson exploded for 37 points in an overtime win over then No. 8 Bellevue University. He piled up 532 total points.
Like Folkerts, Thomas makes his third-straight all-conference appearance. The native of Shawnee, Kan., collected second team honors last year as a junior. This season he averaged 13.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.27 blocks per game while shooting 51.4 percent from the floor. He broke the program’s career blocked shots record at the Concordia Invitational Tournament on Jan. 29. Thomas ended his career ranked among the top 20 on the program’s all-time lists in four key categories: points (19th; 1,170), rebounds (eighth; 645), blocks (first; 204) and assists (13th, 226).
This marks the first career all-conference honor for Ziegler, a consistently potent outside shooter during his collegiate career. As a junior, the native of Littleton, Colo., averaged 10.3 points, 2.8 assists and 2.7 assists. He shot 44.0 percent from the field, 39.8 percent from beyond the arc and 86.8 percent from the free throw line. He will enter his senior season with 681 career points.
Concordia finished 2015-16 with an overall record of 18-12 in head coach Ben Limback’s third season at the helm of the program. The Bulldogs have increased their win total each season under Limback.