GREENWOOD, Ind. – Due to his strong play and impressive classroom credentials, Santa Clara's Nate Kratch earned one of the five spots on the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District VIII Men's Basketball team.
Kratch is now eligible for the 2016-17 CoSIDA Academic All-America team, with voting commencing later this month and selected from the eight geographical districts.
The senior is in his third season as a starting forward and was named Academic All-West Coast Conference as a sophomore and junior. He earned his bachelor's degree in psychology in three-plus years is now pursuing a master's in counseling psychology, maintaining a 3.89 grade-point average in graduate school.
Kratch has played in all 122 games the last four seasons, with starts in 78, including 73 of the last 76. This year, he is averaging 10.1 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game (No. 6 in the WCC). He is averaging nearly 34 minutes per contest, scoring in double digits 12 times, including a pair of double-doubles.
The Watertown, Minnesota, native was joined on the District VIII team by Nigel Williams-Goss (Gonzaga), Joshua Braun (Grand Canyon), Eric Mika (BYU) and Joe Rahon (Saint Mary's).
Four Broncos have earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. Mark Trasolini was the most recent, earning a spot on the 2012-13 third team. He secured an all-district nod the previous two years. Dennis Awtrey was a three-time first team honoree, beginning in 1967-68. Pete Eisenrich (1992-93; 1993-94) and Brendan Graves (1995-96) were the other two.
Santa Clara's CoSIDA Academic All-America Honorees
• 1967-68 Dennis Awtrey (First Team)
• 1968-69 Dennis Awtrey (First Team)
• 1969-70 Dennis Awtrey (First Team)
• 1992-93 Pete Eisenrich (Second Team)
• 1993-94 Pete Eisenrich (Third Team)
• 1995-96 Brendan Graves (Third Team)
• 2006-07 Mitch Henke (All-District)
• 2007-08 Mitch Henke (All-District)
• 2009-10 Marc Trasolini (All-District)
• 2010-11 Marc Trasolini (All-District)
• 2012-13 Marc Trasolini (Third Team)
Connect with the Broncos on Social Media
Athletics: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
Men's Basketball: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Snapchat (SantaClaraHoops)