COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Adding to the record 136 National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) student-athletes recognized back in February, 50 NCHC freshmen and first-year transfers have now garnered 2021-22 NCHC Academic All-Conference Team honors for their work in the classroom over the last academic year, the Conference announced Tuesday. Among the 50 newcomers, 29 also earned NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete recognition for their academic accomplishments following completion of their first year at their current school.

To be eligible for the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team, a student-athlete must compile a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average (or better) and have completed a full academic year at their current institution. Similarly, for NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes, a student-athlete must attain a 3.5 cumulative GPA or better with a full year of academic studies. Freshmen and first-year transfers were not eligible when the honors were first announced in late February, as they had not completed a full academic year, but with the 2021-22 academic calendar complete, the newcomers are now eligible to earn NCHC academic honors. Athletic success and playing time are not criteria for these awards.

In all, a record 186 NCHC student-athletes made the 2021-22 Academic All-Conference Team, as 136 sophomores, juniors and seniors were recognized on Feb. 23. The previous high for total members on the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team was 180 last year (2020-21). Along with that, a total of 102 student-athletes overall were also tabbed NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes this past season, including the 73 sophomores, juniors and seniors announced in February. The 102 total NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes are the second-most in NCHC history, trailing only the 109 a year ago.

Among freshmen and first-year transfers only, North Dakota led the way with 13 newcomers on the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team. Denver was second with nine newcomers honored, while Colorado College placed seven on the squad. Miami and Western Michigan each had six freshmen and first-year transfers named Academic All-Conference.

Overall in 2021-22, Colorado College and Western Michigan tied for tops among honorees with 27 student-athletes each landing on the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team. North Dakota and Omaha tied for third with 25 honorees each, while Denver placed 24 on the team and Miami 23. All eight NCHC programs had at least 15 total representatives on the Academic All-Conference Team this past season.

The Fighting Hawks also paced all teams with nine newcomers earning NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete recognition in 2021-22. Colorado College added six Distinguished Scholar-Athletes, while Miami had four newcomers receive the honor. Four other teams had two or three newcomers recognized as Distinguished Scholar-Athletes.

As a whole in 2021-22, the CC Tigers led all teams with 18 NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes, while North Dakota and Omaha each produced 17 total student-athletes that collected the honor. Western Michigan was home to 15 Distinguished Scholar-Athletes this past season, while Denver had 10. All eight teams had at least seven NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes this past season.

The complete list of freshmen and first-year transfers who earned NCHC Academic All-Conference Team and Distinguished Scholar-Athlete honors in 2021-22 is below, with Distinguished Scholar-Athletes (3.5 cumulative GPA or better) noted in bold. To see the original list of 136 NCHC Academic All-Conference Team members and 73 Distinguished Scholar-Athletes from 2021-22, click here.

COLORADO COLLEGE
Brett Chorske
Stanley Cooley
Cooper Fensterstock
Thomas Middleton
Noah Prokop
Nate Schweitzer
Danny Weight

DENVER
Sean Behrens
Shai Buium
Matt Davis
Jack Devine
Carter King
Carter Mazur
Owen Ozar
Massimo Rizzo
Jack Works

MIAMI
Red Savage
Alex Murray
Chase Gresock
Michael Regush
Nick Donato
Logan Neaton

MINNESOTA DULUTH
Owen Gallatin
Kyler Kleven
Carter Loney

NORTH DAKOTA
Luke Bast
Ashton Calder
Matteo Costantini
Zach Driscoll
Connor Ford
Jakob Hellsten
Chris Jandric
Brent Johnson
Kaleb Johnson
Jackson Kunz
Dane Montgomery
Nick Portz
Jake Schmaltz

OMAHA
Cameron Berg
Victor Mancini
Ty Mueller
Davis Pennington

ST. CLOUD STATE
Ryan Rosborough
Josh Luedtke

WESTERN MICHIGAN
Jacob Bauer
Xan Gurney
Max Sasson
Wyatt Schingoethe
Nicholas Strom
Dylan Wendt

--#NCHChockey--