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• 2018-19 Academic All-America® Teams and Honorees
Trent Solsma of Morningside Headlines 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-America® NAIA Football Teams
Trent Solsma
Morningside
NAIA Football Release: PDF | doc
AUSTIN, Texas – Trent Solsma from Morningside College highlights the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-America® NAIA football team as honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The NAIA Google Cloud Academic All-America® program is financially supported by the NAIA national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2018-19 NAIA Goggle Cloud Academic All-America® teams.
Solsma, a senior quarterback from Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, collected the Google Cloud Academic All-America® of the Year accolade for NAIA football. Solsma boasts a 3.68 cumulative GPA, studying American history and world history.
Solsma has guided No. 1-ranked Morningside to a 14-0 record, an appearance in the NAIA football national championship game and the Great Plains Athletic Conference championship. The Mustangs completed the season with a 34-game league winning streak and a 29-game regular-season winning string. Morningside faces seventh-ranked Benedictine College at 4 p.m. EST Saturday (Dec. 15) in Daytona Beach, Florida, for the national title.
This year, Solsma tops the NAIA in passing yardage (5,097), passing yards per game (364.1), total offense (5,040) and passing efficiency (199.9) while leading the NAIA’s top offensive attack in scoring (754 points), total offense (571.5 yards per game) and passing yards (5,361 yards and 382.9 yards per game). Solsma has thrown for 68 touchdowns with a 72.6 percent completion percentage and only six interceptions. His career numbers include 13,739 passing yards, 161 scoring passes and a 69.7 percent competition percentage. He has established GPAC career records in passing yards and touchdown passes.
Solma’s 2018 accolades include being named to the American Football Coaches Association NAIA All-America first team, Hauff Mid-America Sports/GPAC Offensive Player of the Year, Tier 2 Sports All-Region, two GPAC and NAIA Offensive Player of the Week honors and Academic All-District.
The 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-America® NAIA football team includes four players – Keithen Drury of Dordt College, Piercen Harnish from the University of Saint Francis (Ind.), Hastings College’s Alex Stogdill and Dylan Wheeler from Ottawa University – that have been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® team twice.
The 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-America® NAIA football team honored seven student-athletes who have maintained 4.00 GPAs and another with a 4.00 GPA in graduate work as well as 14 who own a 3.90 GPA or better. The 27 members of the first team have an average GPA of 3.86.
2018 Academic All-America® Football Team – NAIA
| FIRST TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| QB |
Trent Solsma |
Morningside College |
Sr. |
3.68 |
American History / World History |
| RB |
Keithen Drury (1) |
Dordt College |
Sr. |
3.93 |
Engineering |
| RB |
Darrius Lee |
Evangel University |
So. |
3.98 |
Finance |
| WR |
Max Gray |
Rocky Mountain College |
Sr. |
3.73 |
English Education |
| WR |
Connor Niles |
Morningside College |
Sr. |
3.36 |
Biology |
| TE |
Michael Berry |
Robert Morris University (Ill.) |
Sr. |
3.68 |
Applied Health Science |
| TE |
Dylan Wheeler (1) |
Ottawa University |
Sr. |
4 |
Engineering |
| OL |
Kade Kelley |
Evangel University |
Sr. |
3.81 |
Exercise Science |
| OL |
Samuel Lemin |
Oklahoma Panhandle State University |
Sr. |
3.94 |
Accounting |
| OL |
Blaine Morrow |
Hastings College |
Sr. |
4 |
7-12 Social Science |
| OL |
Adam Smith |
University of the Cumberlands |
Sr. |
3.81 |
Health & Physical Education |
| OL |
Braden Smith |
Graceland University |
Sr. |
4 |
Agricultural Business / Business Administration |
| K |
Alex Stogdill (1) |
Hastings College |
Sr. |
4 |
Biology |
| ST |
Cole Fisher |
Hastings College |
Sr. |
4 |
Exercise Science / Coaching |
| DL |
Brian Billingsley |
Cumberland University |
Sr. |
3.76 |
Accounting |
| DL |
Andreas Moeller |
Evangel University |
Sr. |
3.94 |
Biblical Studies |
| DL |
Izayah Newsom |
Siena Heights University |
Sr. |
3.81 |
Business |
| DL |
John Trout |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
Jr. |
3.98 |
Business Technology & Marketing |
| LB |
Caleb Coe |
Olivet Nazarene University |
Sr. |
3.86 |
Exercise Science |
| LB |
Piercen Harnish (1) |
University of St. Francis (Ind.) |
Sr. |
3.96 |
Finance |
| LB |
Jacob Katzer |
Morningside College |
Jr. |
4 |
Biology |
| DB |
Dominic DeLuca |
McPherson College |
Sr. |
3.96 |
Business Administration |
| DB |
Timothy Koehler |
Concordia University (Mich.) |
Sr. |
3.73 |
Athletic Training |
| DB |
Drew Melton |
Carroll College |
Sr. |
3.88 |
Finance |
| DB |
Andrew Poppen |
Evangel University |
Jr. |
3.83 |
Accounting |
| P |
Ryan Curran |
Faulkner University |
Gr. |
3.55/4.00 |
Justice Administration |
| P |
Camdon Griffiths |
Midland University |
So. |
4 |
Elementary Education |
Google Cloud Academic All-America® of the Year: Trent Solsma, Morningside
(1) – CoSIDA Academic All-America® College Division first team selection in 2017
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Michael MacEachern, Young Harris College | Google Cloud Academic All-America® Co-Director for Publicity
mfmaceachern@yhc.edu | (706) 379-5106
Rich Tortorelli, Oklahoma City University | Google Cloud Academic All-America® Coordinator of Publicity
rtortorelli@okcu.edu | (405) 208-5304