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2021-22 Academic All-America® Teams and Honorees
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Boston, Bassitt, Seeland and Tapigliani earn 2021-22 Academic All-America® Overall Team Member of the Year Honors for NCAA Division I, II, III and NAIA
Tapigliani becomes the fourth student-athlete to win the honor twice.
Overall Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year: PDF |
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AUSTIN, Texas – University of South Carolina women’s basketball forward
Aliyah Boston, Ashland University men’s track and field sprinter
Trevor Bassitt, Messiah University women’s track and field performer
Esther Seeland, and Missouri Baptist volleyball player
Giovanna Tapigliani have been named the 2021-22 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year for NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA, respectively, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Tapigliani also won the NAIA award in 2020-21 becoming her school’s first-ever recipient. She becomes the fourth student-athlete to win Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year honors twice, joining Nebraska’s
Sarah Pavan (2006-07, 2007-08), MIT’s
Maryann Gong (2015-16, 2016-17) and Carroll’s
Leah Esposito (2015-16, 2016-17).
Bassitt is the second Ashland University student-athlete to claim the award and joins
Kari Daugherty (2012-13). Boston and Seeland become the first University of South Carolina and Messiah University student-athlete, female or male, to receive the Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year award that originated during the 1987-88 academic year.
NCAA Division I
South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston, 6-foot-5 junior forward from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, maintained a 3.74 cumulative grade-point average in mass communications. She was the consensus national of the year award winner while leading South Carolina to the NCAA Division I Championship and a program-record 35 wins. Boston averaged 16.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.4 blocked shots in starting all 37 games for the 35-2 Gamecocks. She connected on 54.2 percent from the field and 77.1 percent from the free throw line.
Boston won the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and Lisa Leslie Center of the Year awards after leading the nation with 30 double-doubles, including a SEC-record 27 straight. She earned the 2020-21 Player of the Year from The Athletic and was a unanimous first-team All-American. Boston is the only player to be a Naismith Trophy and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year finalist in 2020-21. She won the Lisa Leslie Award and SEC Defensive Player of the Year in each of her first two seasons.
Said South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston:
“It means so much to win this award because growing up I always learned that it’s books before ball. So, to be a representative of that, it’s really special. And, I’m pretty sure my parents are going to love it.”
Said South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley:
“Aliyah is an incredibly gifted and focused woman raised by parents who instilled in her great character, faith and an appreciation for the value of education. It is great to see her add yet another new first at our university with this award, and I know she won’t stop there. She’s got a few things she’s like to mark as a ‘repeat’ next year, I’m sure.”
NCAA Division II
Ashland’s Trevor Bassitt, a 10-time NCAA Division II track and field national champion from Bluffton, Ohio, compiled a 3.56 GPA as an undergrad in sport management and 3.87 GPA in the 30-hour MBA program. In the recently completed World Athletics Championships held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, Bassitt earned a bronze medal in the 400-meter hurdles and ran the anchor leg to help the USA qualify for the finals in the 4x400 meter relay.
Bassitt was a 21-time NCAA Division II All-American and an important member of Ashland University’s three NCAA Division II team national titles. He is the first AU athlete to be named to the prestigious Bowerman Watch List in March 2022. Bassitt won the 2022 IAAF Worlds indoor silver medal in the 400-meter dash in Serbia and was the men’s high-point Athlete of the Meet at the 2022 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field National Championship. He was the USTFCCCA Division II Men’s Indoor Track and Field National Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Said Ashland’s Trevor Bassitt
“It’s an incredible honor to win this award, not too many people win this award. I’m thankful for my support group for staying around me and helping me through everything and making this possible.”
NCAA Division III
Messiah’s Esther Seeland, a 5-9 senior from State College, Pennsylvania, put together a 3.99 GPA majoring in biomedical engineering and mastering track and field and soccer. She was a defender on the 2019 NCAA Division III national championship women’s soccer team and was a five-time Division III national champion (4 in 800m, 1 in 1500m). Her six total national championships make her the most decorated individual student-athlete in Messiah Athletics history, despite missing parts of two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An eight-time All-American overall, she is the Division III record holder in the 800 meters (2:05.39) and 600 meters (1:30.01).
Seeland has five Middle Atlantic Conference records and six Messiah University program records to her credit. She is a four-time USTFCCCA Regional Track Athlete of the Year Seeland is a 14-time Middle Atlantic Conference individual champion and also ran on six conference champion relay teams.
Seeland finished 20th in 800-meters at the 2022 United States Track and Field (USATF) Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in late June. She is a five-time CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection overall, three in track and field/cross country and two in women’s soccer.
Said Messiah University’s Esther Seeland:
“It's a privilege to receive this award, but it wouldn't have been possible without the incredible support system I've had around me. Whether it be in the classroom, on the track, or on the soccer field, I've had a network of people encouraging me to continue pursuing excellence and using the gifts I've been given to the best of my abilities. My professors, coaches, teammates, and family have all played huge roles in my experience over the past four years and I wouldn't be where I am today without them. I'm incredibly thankful for all those who have had an impact on me throughout my college experience.”
Said Messiah University track and field head coach Dale Fogelsanger:
“Congratulations to Esther on this well-deserved honor. Esther is truly an exceptional student-athlete, who is very talented, but also consistently disciplined, focused, dependable, and independently driven. Esther also adapts well to challenges, is competitive, and appreciative of opportunities and instruction. Esther has been a pleasure to coach and has made me a better coach. Esther has represented herself with humility and grace at all levels of competition, and has represented Messiah University well by p
ursuing academic and athletic excellence, and developing Christian character.”
Said Messiah University women’s soccer head coach Scott Frey:
“I can’t think of a more deserving student-athlete for this award. Esther has epitomized both student and athlete during her athletic career here at Messiah. A two-sport athlete, in two distinct and different sports, is quite a rarity in these days of specialization.”
NAIA
Missouri Baptist’s Giovanna Tapigliani, a 6-2 graduate right-side hitter from Sao Paulo, Brazil, earned a 4.0 GPA in both as an undergrad in business administration and pursuing her MBA. She led Missouri Baptist to back-to-back NAIA National Championships on the volleyball court and was a two-time NAIA All-Tournament selection, including leading the tourney with 89 kills in 2020-21.
Tapigliani’s impressive resume includes twice being named to the NAIA All-America first team, the 2020-21 American Midwest Conference Player of the Year award, a pair of All-Region first team selections, and three-time American Midwest Conference first-team honors.
A two-time NAIA National Attacker of the Week, Tapigliani ranked among the NAIA’s top 20 in points/sets (8
th), kills/set (12
th) and hitting percentage (19th). She finished her career with 1,861 kills (3.38 k/s), 948 digs (1.74 d/s), 415 blocks (0.76 b/s) and 155 aces (0.28 sa/s).
Said Missouri Baptist University’s Giovanna Tapigliani
“Winning this award for two consecutive years is such an honor to me. Finishing my volleyball career in this way is something I would never have imagined years ago. If I could give one piece of advice to anyone, it would be to put God’s Kingdom first in your life, and He will take care of the rest. I would also say to never let anyone tell you that you are only an athlete because your purpose is much bigger than that. Once you grasp that thought, you can accomplish many things: Matthew 6:33.”
Said Missouri Baptist University women’s volleyball head coach Chris Nichols:
“We are so proud of Gi and everything she has accomplished as a Spartan these past three years. Winning back-to-back national championships and landing this prestigious honor for a second year in a row speaks volume to her pursuit of academic and athletic excellence. Gi is a model student-athlete and has set the golden standard for generations to come.”