Brown Named 1st Team Academic All-American; Averkamp Voted to 2nd Team

TOWSON, Md. – Youngstown State senior Brandi Brown (Pomona, Calif./Pomona) was voted a Capital One First Team Academic  All-American, while Loyola senior Ben Averkamp (Germantown, Wis./Germantown) was chosen Second Team Academic All-American, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Brown is first female student-athlete in Youngstown State history to be voted First Team Academic All-American. The senior is the 14^th women’s basketball player in Horizon League history to earn Academic All-America honors and is the first First Team selection since Green Bay’s Chari Nordgaard in 1999. It is the third straight year a Horizon League student-athlete has been selected All-America.

Averkamp is the eighth Loyola individual, and the first-ever member of the men’s basketball program, to garner Capital One Academic All-America accolades. The forward is the 16^th men’s basketball player in Horizon League history to receive Academic All-America honors; this is the seventh consecutive year a Horizon League men’s basketball player has earned such a distinction.

Brown ranks in the top 25 nationally with 17 double-doubles, 19.3 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per game. A two-time Second-Team All-Horizon League selection, the senior has led the Penguins' rebirth from a winless team her freshman year to a 17-6 start in 2012-13. She already owns school records for games started, free throws made and free throws attempted, and she is only 40 rebounds shy of the rebounding record. Brown is the second player in Horizon League history with at least 1,800 points and 1,100 rebounds.

"This is a tremendous honor for a tremendous young lady," YSU head coach Bob Boldon said in a release. "Brandi epitomizes the term 'student-athlete'. She works very hard on the court and in the classroom, and she is active on campus and in the community. We are incredibly proud of Brandi. Because of her hard work, she is very deserving of such recognition."

Brown is a communications studies major with a 3.75 grade-point average. Twice this year she has been named the Horizon League Scholar-Athlete of the month, and she is a two-time Academic All-Horizon League selection.

Brown was joined on the first team by Delaware senior Elena Delle Donne, Northern Iowa graduate student Jacqui Kalin, North Carolina State senior Marissa Kastanek and Stanford junior Chiney Ogwumike. Delle Donne was voted the Academic All-America Team Member of the Year.

This is the sixth time since 2009 that a Youngstown State student-athlete has been named first, second, or third-team Academic All-America. Brown is the fifth Penguin in school history to earn first-team honors, and she is the first since Jarrod Davis (track and field) in 2006.

Averkamp was joined on the Capital One Academic All-America Second Team by Matthew Dellavedova (Gonzaga), Nathan Healy (Appalachian State), Peyton Siva (Louisville), and Andrew Smith (Butler). Aaron Craft (Ohio State), Kelly Olynyk (Gonzaga), Mason Plumlee (Duke), Matthew Sullivan (Brown), and Cody Zeller (Indiana) comprised the first team.

Although he has missed the last four games due to injury, Averkamp is one of the top players in the Horizon League and leads the team, while also ranking among the top five in the conference in both scoring (15.3 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg) this season for a Loyola team that has doubled its win total from a year ago (7).

One of only 19 players in Loyola’s storied history to have racked up over 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in his career, the team captain enters this weekend’s action needing just three blocked shots to become the first player in school history with 1,300 points, 600 rebounds, 150 assists, and 150 blocks.

As a junior in 2011-12, Averkamp collected Second Team All-Horizon League honors to become the first Loyola player since 2007 to be a first or second team all-conference pick after putting up 15.4 ppg and 7.1 rpg, both career-best averages. This season, he has scored in double figures in 18 of his 23 appearances, four times scoring 20 or more points, including a season-best, 27-point performance in a November 18 victory against Maryland-Eastern Shore. Averkamp was at his best when Loyola gave then No. 19 Michigan State all it could handle in a 73-61 loss on December 8, going for 25 points and eight boards.

Equally accomplished off the court, the biology major is a two-time Capital One First Team Academic All-District V selection (2012, 2013), and also has been named to the Horizon League Men’s Basketball All-Academic Team (2011, 2012), I-AAA Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete Team (2012), National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court (2012), National Jesuit Men’s Basketball All-Academic Team (2012), and Horizon League Academic Honor Roll (2010, 2011, 2012). During his career, the 6-foot-8 forward has been a four-time Horizon League Male Scholar-Athlete of the Month honoree and in addition to being a member of Loyola’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), he is also the president of the Horizon League chapter of SAAC.

The Division I branch of the College Sports Information Directors of America served as the nominating and voting panel for the Academic All-America teams. To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30 and be at least a sophomore.