K-State Places 29 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team Selections

MANHATTAN, Kansas (Kansas State Athletics) – Kansas State student-athletes continued to receive honors and accolades for their hard work in the classroom in 2021-22, as 29 Wildcats were named to the 2021-22 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team in an announcement by the conference office on Thursday.

In the 10 years of the award’s existence, K-State has placed 329 student-athletes on the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Teams.

The Wildcats saw five student-athletes earn the honor with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. The six recipients with 4.0 GPAs were: Adah Anderson (soccer), Jayden Brandt (rowing), Serena Sundell (women’s basketball), Chris Tennant (football) and Emil Uhlin (men’s track & field).

The remaining honorees for the Wildcats on the 2021-22 Big 12 Academic All-Rookie Team are: Madelyn Barrett (rowing), Chloe Daniels (rowing), Florentine Dekkers (tennis), Halle Fee (rowing), Faith Gates (rowing), Kenzi Gillispie (soccer), Brylee Glenn (women’s basketball), Thomas Hazen (men’s track), Remington Isaac (women’s golf), Brendan Jones (baseball), Landry Jurecka (baseball), Kavian Kerr (men’s track), Kate Kowalik (women’s track), Andrew Leingang (football), Joey Lujan (soccer), Gracyn McClain (rowing), Tyson Neighbors (baseball), Dillon Pearson (baseball), Cayden Phillips (baseball), Molly Ramsey (volleyball), Sarah Schrage (rowing), Symone Simmons (rowing), Lilly Whitley (women’s golf) and Velecia Williams (women’s track).

K-State, a Tier 1 Carnegie Foundation Institution, has had an outstanding start to the 2021-22 academic year by both individual student-athletes and by its teams.

The soccer program was honored this season by the United Soccer Coaches with its fourth Team Academic Award, while the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) recognized both Wildcat cross country programs as an Academic All-America team for their work in the classroom. The women’s basketball program owned the highest GPA in the Big 12 and received Special Mention from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) for its achievements in the classroom.

The Wildcats also saw eight student-athletes receive the 12th annual Dr. Gerald Land Academic Achievement Award, the Big 12 Conference’s highest academic honor.

K-State student-athletes recognized by the conference with 177 Academic All-Big 12 recipients.

Ayoka Lee of the K-State women’s basketball team, Brookelynn Entz of the soccer program, Kassidy Johnson of the women’s track team and TJ Shankar of the men’s track team were named College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America teams. Football’s Landry Weber and Deuce Vaughn and baseball’s Dylan Phillips were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District VII First Team.

K-State Athletics saw 93 student-athletes receive their degrees in graduation ceremonies in Bramlage Coliseum during the 2021-22 academic year.

In the latest graduation rate data released by the NCAA in December, K-State’s all-sport graduation rate of 92% tied for the highest in department history, while eight programs recorded Big 12-best graduation figures.