COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Adding to the 112 National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) student-athletes honored back in February, 63 NCHC freshmen and first-year transfers have now joined the 2023-24 NCHC Academic All-Conference Team for their work in the classroom during the past academic year, the Conference announced Tuesday. Among the 63 newcomers, 38 were also bestowed NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete distinction for exceptional academic achievement following completion of the first year at their current school.
 
To earn a spot on 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, to garner NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete honors, 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 NCHC academic accolades were first announced in late February, as they had not completed a full academic year, but with the 2023-24 academic calendar complete, the newcomers are now eligible to earn NCHC academic honors. Athletic success and playing time are not criteria for these awards.
 
Just topping last year's mark, a total of 175 NCHC student-athletes landed on the Academic All-Conference Team, including the 112 sophomores, juniors and seniors who were recognized on Feb. 28. Among the 175 Academic All-Conference honorees in 2023-24, a total of 107 student-athletes were also tabbed NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes this past season, including the 69 sophomores, juniors and seniors announced in February. The 107 combined NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes are the second-most in conference history, trailing only the 109 in 2020-21.
 
Among freshmen and first-year transfers only, Colorado College leads the way with 10 newcomers on the Academic All-Conference Team, followed by nine (9) each from Miami and North Dakota. Denver, Omaha and St. Cloud State each placed eight (8) newcomers on the Academic All-Conference Team, while all eight teams have at least five newcomers honored.
 
Overall in 2023-24, Colorado College is tops among NCHC Academic All-Conference honorees for the second straight season with all 28 players on the roster garnering recognition. Omaha is second with 26 Mavericks landing on the Academic All-Conference Team, while Denver has 23 representatives and Western Michigan placed 22 on the squad. All NCHC teams have at least 16 student-athletes earning Academic All-Conference distinction.
 
Looking at Distinguished Scholar-Athletes among freshmen and first-year transfers, Colorado College and Miami pace all NCHC teams in 2023-24 with seven (7) newcomers earning the recognition. Denver sees six (6) newcomers named Distinguished Scholar-Athletes, while Omaha has five. All eight NCHC teams have at least two newcomers landing the honor.
 
As a whole in 2023-24, the Tigers were again tops with 20 players collecting Distinguished Scholar-Athlete accolades. Omaha is home to 15 NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes, while Denver, Miami and Western Michigan each have 14 student-athletes picking up the honor. All eight NCHC teams had at least nine (9) Distinguished Scholar-Athletes on their roster in 2023-24.
 
In addition to its Academic All-Conference Team, the NCHC announced Omaha defenseman Kirby Proctor as its 2024 recipient of the annual NCHC Postgraduate Scholarship on June 12, while Western Michigan’s Luke Grainger earned the 2024 NCHC Senior Scholar-Athlete Award in March. The NCHC is also home to 15 student-athletes who earned Academic All-District honors this past season from College Sports Communicators (CSC), as well as 38 student-athletes who were tabbed Krampade All-American Scholars by the AHCA.
 
The complete list of freshmen and first-year transfers who earned NCHC Academic All-Conference Team and Distinguished Scholar-Athlete honors in 2023-24 is below, with Distinguished Scholar-Athletes (3.5 cumulative GPA or better) noted in bold. To see the original list of 112 NCHC Academic All-Conference Team members and 69 Distinguished Scholar-Athletes announced in February, click here.
 
COLORADO COLLEGE
Max Burkholder
Tyler Dunbar
Antonio Fernandez
Bret Link
Drew Montgomery
Riley Stuart
Klavs Veinbergs
Evan Werner
Henry Wilder
Zaccharya Wisdom
 
DENVER
Cale Ashcroft
Garrett Brown
Boston Buckberger
Kieran Cebrian
Paxton Geisel
Freddie Halyk
Sam Harris
Alex Weiermair
 
MIAMI
Tanyon Bajzer
Bruno Bruveris
Spencer Cox
Teddy Lagerbäck
Brayden Morrison
Albin Nilsson
Rihards Simanovics
Ryan Sullivan
Raimonds Vitolins
 
MINNESOTA DULUTH
Luke Bast
Braden Fischer
Anthony Menghini
Matthew Perkins
Aaron Pionk
 
NORTH DAKOTA
Nate Benoit
Logan Britt
Hobie Hedquist
Hunter Johannes
Keaton Pehrson
Jayden Perron
Ludvig Persson
Garrett Pyke
Abram Wiebe
 
OMAHA
Will Craig
Seth Eisele
Noah Ellis
Jesse Lansdell
Tanner Ludtke
Charlie Lurie
Zach Urdahl
Dom Vidoli
 
ST. CLOUD STATE
Tynan Ewart
Karl Falk
Tyson Gross
Verner Miettinen
Nick Portz
Isak Posch
Jack Reimann
Kaleb Tiessen
 
WESTERN MICHIGAN
Alex Bump
Sam Colangelo
Cole Crusberg-Roseen
Owen Michaels
Ean Somoza
Garrett Szydlowski