MANHATTAN, Kan. – For a third-straight season, Kansas State football produced its program high in Academic All-Big 12 honorees as 34 Wildcats – including 27 first-team members – earned the nod as the conference office announced the 310-member Academic All-Big 12 teams on Thursday.
K-State, which tied its school-record mark from a year ago for first-team honorees, now has a Big 12-leading 234 total citations since 2014, which is 29 more than the next closest program (Oklahoma State, 205).
Those that earned first-team accolades were Ben Adler (Construction Science & Management), Nick Allen (Finance), Mason Barta (Management), Cooper Beebe (Education – Social Studies), Cameron Cotton (Finance), Ross Elder (Finance), Jace Friesen (Communication Studies), Reed Godinet (Communication Studies), Ryan Henington (Professional Strategic Selling), Will Howard (Business), Eli Huggins (Finance), Noah Johnson (Marketing), Wayne Jones (Communication Studies), KT Leveston (Human Development & Family Science), Jaren Lewis (Social Sciences), Logan Long (Political Science), Nate Matlack (Personal Financial Planning), Austin Moore (Kinesiology), Christian Moore (Sociology – Criminology), Jaylen Pickle (Management Information Systems), Randen Plattner (Mechanical Engineering), Seth Porter (Communication Studies), Ben Sinnott (Kinesiology), Skylar Thompson (Management), Deuce Vaughn (Business), Landry Weber (Accounting) and Sammy Wheeler (Kinesiology).
K-State’s second-team members included Cody Fletcher (Management), Kirmari Gainous (Human Development & Family Science), Hunter Henry (Kinesiology), Robert Hentz II (Physical Education / Health), TJ Smith (Business), Tyrone Taleni (Biology) and Ty Zentner (Physical Education / Health).
Nominated by each institution’s director of student-athlete support services, the 2021 football academic all-league squad is comprised of 221 first-team members combined with 89 on the second team. First-team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA, and the second team are those who have a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.
To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 20% of their team’s scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.