Hartzler selected as Capital One Academic All-District
For the first time in program history, a member of the Rogers State men’s basketball team was honored on the 2015 Capital One Academic All-District® Men’s Basketball Team as J.C. Hartzler was recognized on the District 6 First Team Thursday.
Hartzler becomes the 15th Hillcat student-athlete to be selected for the prestigious award and first since 2013 where the Hillcats landed four during the year. He owns a 3.80 grade point average while majoring in applied technology.
The junior guard from Tulsa, Oklahoma leads RSU in scoring this season averaging 14.6 points per game helping the team into a tie for first place in the conference standings on a six-game winning streak. He has started 18 of 20 games played and ranks second in the league knocking down 88 percent of his free throws.
Hartzler was joined by Myles Johnson of Dallas Baptist as the only members representing the Heartland Conference while Nicholas Kay and Mitch McCarron of Metropolitan State and Gokul Natesan from Colorado School of Mines were the other selections.
The 2015 Capital One Academic All-District® Men’s and Women’s Basketball Teams, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, have been released to recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. Capital One has been the entitlement rights holder to CoSIDA’s Academic All-America teams programs since 2011.
First-team Academic All-District® honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All-America® Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.
To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 20,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
Hartzler and the Hillcats continue their push for a Heartland Conference regular season championship Thursday at St. Mary’s in a battle between two of the five teams currently tied for first place.
For more information on RSU Basketball, visit www.rsuhillcats.com.