By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
AUSTIN, Texas – Jared Vitztum of Fort Hays State Men’s Basketball was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team on Tuesday (Mar. 15). Vitztum is now a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America selection after being named to the second team last year. Sports Information and Athletic Communication professionals nationwide select the Academic All-America Team, which honors a combination of academic and athletic accomplishments of the individuals selected.
Vitztum was one of just 15 NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball student-athletes named to the Academic All-America Team. This year, he was a top-five choice among CoSIDA membership across the country. He was the only men’s basketball student-athlete from the MIAA chosen to the list of 15 this year.
Vitztum earned a master’s degree from FHSU in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance, doing so with a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average in his graduate studies. He also had a near perfect GPA as an undergraduate with a 3.9 GPA as a Finance major. Vitztum is a two-time recipient of the MIAA Academic Excellence Award, is a three-time recipient of the MIAA Scholar-Athlete Award for the seasons he earned All-MIAA honors, and a six-time member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll. He was also a finalist for the MIAA Men’s Winter Student-Athlete of the Year Award in 2021.
On the court, Vitztum is a three-time All-MIAA selection, including first-team honors in both 2021 and 2022. He also received NABC All-District honors in 2021, when he led NCAA Division II in double-doubles for points and rebounds in the regular season with 12, averaging 18.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Vitztum finished with a double-double average this season of 15.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. He became the first player in program history to record both 1,500 points and 900 rebounds, finishing fifth on the all-time scoring list and second on the all-time rebounding list at FHSU. He had 1,580 points and 944 rebounds for his career.
Vitztum is just the third Academic All-America selection from CoSIDA in FHSU Men’s Basketball history, standing alongside Mike Pauls (1978) and Carson Konrade (2014). However, Vitztum is the first-ever in FHSU Men’s Basketball program history to receive CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in multiple seasons.
| FIRST TEAM | ||||
| Name | School | Yr. | GPA | Major |
| Trenton Gibson (2) | Tusculum University | Gr. | 3.95/4.00 | Sport Management (UG) / MBA (G) |
| John Paul Kromka (1, 6) | University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown | Sr. | 3.92 | Engineering |
| Cade McKnight | Truman State University | Gr. | 4.00/4.00 | Leadership |
| Tyler Riemersma | Augustana University | Gr. | 3.90/4.00 | Data Science (UG) / Sport Administration Leadership (G) |
| Jared Vitztum (2) | Fort Hays State University | Gr. | 3.9/4.00 | Finance (UG & G) |
| SECOND TEAM | ||||
| Name | School | Yr. | GPA | Major |
| Austin Andrews | University of Minnesota Duluth | So. | 3.89 | Pre-Civil Engineering |
| Harry Cavell (3) | Seattle Pacific University | Gr. | 3.84/3.78 | Business Administration (UG) / Data Analytics (G) |
| Elijah Jenkins (2) | Embry-Riddle University (Fla.) | Gr. | 3.98/4.00 | Mechanical Engr. (UG) / Mechanical Engr. (G) |
| Andrew Sischo (5) | Daemen College | Gr. | 3.44/3.45 | Business Administration |
| Brendan Sullivan (2) | Colorado School of Mines | Sr. | 3.86 | Civil Engineering |
| THIRD TEAM | ||||
| Name | School | Yr. | GPA | Major |
| Patrick Cartier | Hillsdale College | Jr. | 3.43 | Psychology |
| Kyle Daggett | Shepherd University | Gr. | 3.85/3.85 | Biology (UG) / MBA (G) |
| Parker Hicks | Lubbock Christian University | Gr. | 3.77/3.75 | MAT in Secondary Education (G) |
| Antonin Kemkeng | Thomas Jefferson University | Jr. | 3.86 | Finance |
| Ronnie Silva (3) | Adelphi University | Sr. | 3.66 | Sport Management |
CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year: Tyler Riemersma,
Augustana University (SD)
(1) – 1st team Academic All-America® in 2020-21
(2) – 2nd team Academic All-America® in 2020-21
(3) – 3rd team Academic All-America® in 2020-21
(4) – 1st team Academic All-America® in 2019-20
(5) – 2nd team Academic All-America® in 2019-20
(6) – 3rd team Academic All-America® in 2019-20