COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Joining the 117 National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) student-athletes recognized back in February, 67 NCHC freshmen and first-year transfers have now garnered 2022-23 Academic All-Conference Team recognition for their work in the classroom during the past academic year, the Conference announced Friday. Among the 67 newcomers, 43 were also tabbed NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes for exceptional academic achievement 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 2022-23 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 total, 174 NCHC student-athletes made the 2022-23 Academic All-Conference Team, including the 117 sophomores, juniors and seniors who were recognized on Feb. 22. Among the 174 Academic All-Conference honorees, 105 student-athletes also earned NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete recognition this past season with at least a 3.5 GPA, including the 62 sophomores, juniors and seniors announced in February. The 105 total NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes are the second-most in NCHC history, trailing only the 109 in 2020-21.
 
Among freshmen and first-year transfers only, Western Michigan led the way with 11 newcomers on the Academic All-Conference Team, followed by 10 each from Minnesota Duluth and Omaha. Denver and Miami each placed eight newcomers on the Academic All-Conference Team, while all eight teams had at least six newcomers honored.
 
Overall in 2022-23, Colorado College was tops among NCHC Academic All-Conference honorees with 27, while North Dakota was right behind with 26 representatives on the team. Omaha and Western Michigan saw 25 student-athletes each land on the Academic All-NCHC squad, while Denver had 24 and Miami 22. All teams had at least 16 student-athletes earn Academic All-Conference distinction.
 
Looking at Distinguished Scholar-Athletes among freshmen and first-year transfers, Western Michigan also led the way in 2022-23 with eight Bronco newcomers garnering the honor. Miami and Minnesota Duluth each saw seven newcomers named Distinguished Scholar-Athletes, while Denver had six. Omaha and St. Cloud State each placed five newcomers on the Distinguished Scholar-Athletes list.
 
As a whole in 2022-23, Colorado College also paced NCHC teams with 17 Distinguished Scholar-Athletes, one more than Omaha’s 16. North Dakota and Western Michigan each had 15 student-athletes named Distinguished Scholar-Athletes this past season, while all eight teams had at least nine Distinguished Scholar-Athletes on their roster in 2022-23.
 
The complete list of freshmen and first-year transfers who earned NCHC Academic All-Conference Team and Distinguished Scholar-Athlete honors in 2022-23 is below, with Distinguished Scholar-Athletes (3.5 cumulative GPA or better) noted in bold. To see the original list of 117 NCHC Academic All-Conference Team members and 62 Distinguished Scholar-Athletes announced in February, click here.
 
COLORADO COLLEGE
Cade Ahrenholz
Nikolai Charchenko
Noah Laba
Kaidan Mbereko
Noah Serdachny
Ethan Straky
Gleb Veremyev
 
DENVER
Kent Anderson
Tristan Broz
Casey Dornbach
Tristan Lemyre
Rieger Lorenz
Lucas Olvestad
Aidan Thompson
Jared Wright

MIAMI
Frankie Carogioiello
Zane Demsey
Max Dukovac
William Hallén
Axel Kumlin
Carter McPhail
Blake Mesenburg
John Waldron
 
MINNESOTA DULUTH
Kyle Bettens
Riley Bodnarchuk
Derek Daschke
Aiden Dubinsky
Luke Johnson
Joey Pierce
Zach Sandy
Jack Smith
Ben Steeves
Matthew Thiessen
 
NORTH DAKOTA
Jackson Blake
Drew DeRidder
Dylan James
Owen McLaughlin
Ryan Sidorski
Ben Strinden
 
OMAHA
Michael Abgrall
Ray Fust
Jacob Guevin
Jake Kucharski
Simon Latkoczy
Griffin Ludtke
Cam Mitchell
Jake Pivonka
Tyler Rollwagen
Jacob Slipec
 
ST. CLOUD STATE
Dylan Anhorn
Dominic Basse
Grant Cruikshank
James Gray
Mason Reiners
Jack Rogers
Cooper Wylie
 
WESTERN MICHIGAN
Barrett Brooks
Cole Burtch
Zak Galambos
Will Hambley
Kirk Laursen
Lucas Matta
Jack Perbix
Cam Rowe
Sam Sjolund
Theo Thrun
Ethan Wolthers