Thursday, February 22, 2018

PORTLAND, Ore – Standouts both on the court and in the classroom, a trio of Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball student-athletes have been announced as first-team selections to the 2017-18 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Division II  Academic All-District 8 Teams.

Western Washington men’s basketball junior guard Trey Drechsel is joined by Montana State Billings women’s basketball senior forward Alisha Breen and Seattle Pacific women’s basketball junior guard Jordan McPhee as the three GNAC representatives to the list.

Drechsel has been an all-around threat this season as he leads a Vikings team primed for its eighth-straight GNAC postseason appearance. Maintaining a 3.53 GPA as a business administration major, Drechsel is within the GNAC top-10 this season in scoring (14.9 points per game, rebounding (7.3 per game), assists (four per game), free throw percentage (.863), steals (1.3 per game), defensive rebounds (six per game) and minutes played (33.3 per game).

Pursuing a degree in health and human performance, Breen holds a 3.67 GPA and is a three-time Academic All-GNAC selection. On the court, Breen leads the GNAC in scoring with 20.5 points per game and is second in the league in rebounding with 9.7 boards per game. She enters this week No. 12 in Division II in scoring. Her career total of 1,783 points is No. 3 in MSUB and No. 4 in GNAC history. She is also 13th in Division II with 14 double-doubles this season.

With a place in the GNAC Championships secured, Seattle Pacific has relied on McPhee’s scoring all season. Shooting 44.3 percent from the field, her 14.4 points per game is seventh in the GNAC. McPhee continues to get things done on the defensive end as well by ranking fourth in the league with 2.2 steals per game. McPhee currently holds a 3.98 GPA in business administration and is a three-time GNAC All-Academic selection.

To be eligible for the CoSIDA All-Academic All-America nomination process, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) and must have completed one full calendar year at the nominating institution. Nominated athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games at the position listed.

The Academic All-District teams are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. The CoSIDA Academic All-America separately recognizes honorees in four divisions; NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and College Division.

First-team Academic All-District honorees advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team ballot, where the All-America honorees will be announced in March.