COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Fifteen (15) National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) student-athletes have garnered a spot on the Academic All-District Men’s At-Large Team for their hard work in the classroom and on the ice during the 2023-24 season. College Sports Communicators (CSC), which selects the Academic All-District Teams, announced both the men’s and women’s 2024 At-Large Teams on Tuesday.
 
The 15 NCHC honorees hail from six different schools, led by four from Western Michigan. Colorado College and Denver each placed three on the Academic All-District Team, while Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State had two representatives a piece and Miami saw one student-athlete recognized. The 2024 Academic All-District Men’s At-Large Team recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes in a variety of sports for their combined performances in competition and in the classroom.
 
The 15 CSC Academic All-District Team members from the NCHC in 2023-24 are:

• *Kent Anderson, Denver, So., D
• Stanley Cooley, Colorado College, Jr., F
• *Matt Davis, Denver, Jr., G
• *Luke Grainger, Western Michigan, Sr., F
• Chad Hillebrand, Western Michigan, Sr., F
• *Carter King, Denver, Jr., F
• *Noah Laba, Colorado College, So., F
• Josh Luedtke, St. Cloud State, Jr., D
• Blake Mesenburg, Miami, So., F
• Tommy Middleton, Colorado College, Jr., F
• Samuel Sjolund, Western Michigan, So., D
• Jack Smith, Minnesota Duluth, So., F
• *Ben Steeves, Minnesota Duluth, So., F
• Tim Washe, Western Michigan, Sr., F
• Cooper Wylie, St. Cloud State, So., D

Six of the 15 NCHC student-athletes were selected as CSC Academic All-America® finalists (denoted with an asterisk above) and will advance to the national ballot: Colorado College’s Noah Laba, Denver’s Kent Anderson, Matt Davis and Carter King, Minnesota Duluth’s Ben Steeves, and Western Michigan’s Luke Grainger. The Men’s At-Large Academic All-America Teams (First, Second and Third), as voted by CSC members, will be announced on Wednesday, July 17.

Laba, Grainger and Steeves were tabbed First or Second-Team All-NCHC honorees this past season, as well. Laba also landed AHCA All-American accolades, while Grainger earned the NCHC Senior Scholar-Athlete Award for 2023-24.
 
Three NCHC student-athletes repeated on the Academic All-District Team this year in Colorado College’s Stanley Cooley, WMU’s Grainger and St. Cloud State’s Josh Luedtke. Those three also earned the same honor in 2023.
 
To be eligible for Academic All-District honors, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average (on a 4.0 scale) at his/her current institution. Nominated student-athletes must have participated in at least 90 percent of their team’s games this season or started 66 percent of the games.
 
Each school was limited to six nominees for the Men’s At-Large Academic All-District Team, which includes athletes from the NCAA men’s sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, volleyball, water polo and wrestling.
 
CSC, previously known as CoSIDA, serves as the voting body for all Academic All-America Teams. Last year the NCHC had two student-athletes chosen to the Academic All-America Teams in former WMU defenseman Aidan Fulp and former UMD forward Tanner Laderoute.