FRISCO, TEXAS – UIW senior forward
Kyle Hittle has been named the Southland Conference Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year, the league office announced Tuesday in conjunction with the release of the men's basketball all-academic teams.
After earning second-team all-conference honors this season, Hittle wraps up his career at UIW by being named the sport's student-athlete of the year. The senior from New Braunfels, Texas (New Braunfels H.S.), finished the year ranked third in the conference in 3-pointers made (2.5) and minutes played (33.4), fourth in defensive rebounds (4.8), sixth in scoring (16.2) and 3-point percentage (.421), and 12th in rebounding (5.9). Hittle connected on a career-high 72 treys this season and was named the league's player of the week on Feb. 29.
Hittle, who posts a 3.62 grade-point average in business administration, is the first UIW men's basketball player to earn this distinction. He is also the first UIW student-athlete in any sport to be the Southland Conference Student-Athlete of the Year. The forward finished his career ranked second in school history in career three-pointers made (224), fifth in career points (1,569) and rebounds (576) and he shot an even 50.0 percent from the field.
There were three automatic selections on the all-academic teams with Hittle, who earned a spot on the CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District 7 Team, Stephen F. Austin senior Thomas Walkup and Central Arkansas sophomore Jordan Howard, both of whom earned a spot on the first-team all-conference team. The remaining seven all-academic honorees were selected by a vote of the league's head coaches, sports information contacts and academic advisors.
Walkup is earning all-academic selections for the fourth time in their career, while Hittle and Abilene Christian senior Parker Wentz are being recognized for the third time. New Orleans senior Kevin Hill, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi senior Bryce Douvier and UIW senior
Mitchell Badillo (Houston/Cy-Falls HS) are all receiving their second all-academic honor.
Joining Hittle on the first team are Walkup, Howard, Wentz and Sam Houston State junior Aurimas Majauskas. Walkup, a senior from Pasadena, Texas, is a marketing major with a 3.12 GPA. Howard, a sophomore who hails Chandler, Ariz., carries a 3.74 GPA in marketing. Wentz is a senior from Lubbock, Texas, with a 3.65 GPA in biology/pre-dental. Rounding out the first team is Majauskas, a junior from Marijampole, Lithuania, with a 3.82 GPA in international business.
Second-team honorees include Douvier (3.43 GPA in communication), Northwestern State junior Sabri Thompson (3.71 GPA in business administration and accounting), Badillo (3.45 GPA in business administration), Houston Baptist junior Reveal Chukwujekwu (3.47 in accounting) and New Orleans senior Kevin Hill (3.24 in interdisciplinary studies).
UIW landed two all-academic selections while ACU, UCA, HBU, UNO, Northwestern State, Sam Houston, SFA and A&M-Corpus Christi had one selection each.
The Southland Conference awards committee, which consists of one administrator from each of the 13 member schools, voted for the student-athlete of the year.
The student-athlete of the year award is presented to the student-athlete who achieves excellence in both academics and athletics. All nominees shall have earned at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale and demonstrated achievement in athletics for at least two years at the nominating institution.
The all-academic teams are voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic advisors from each Southland Conference university. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA, have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution and participated in at least 50 percent of the team's competition to qualify for the all-academic squad.
2015-16 Southland Conference Men's Basketball All-Academic Teams| First Team | |
| Name | University | Class | Hometown | GPA | Major |
| Kyle Hittle^,*,1,3 | UIW | Sr. | New Braunfels, Texas | 3.62 | Business Administration |
| Thomas Walkup1,4 | Stephen F. Austin | Sr. | Pasadena, Texas | 3.12 | Marketing |
| Jordan Howard1 | Central Arkansas | So. | Chandler, Ariz. | 3.74 | Marketing |
| Aurimas Majauskas | Sam Houston State | Jr. | Marijampole, Lithuania | 3.82 | International Business |
| Parker Wentz3 | Abilene Christian | Sr. | Lubbock, Texas | 3.65 | Biology/Pre-Dental |
| |
| Second Team |
| Name | University | Class | Hometown | GPA | Major |
| Bryce Douvier2 | A&M-Corpus Christi | Sr. | Sedgwick, Kan. | 3.43 | Communication |
| Sabri Thompson | Northwestern State | Jr. | Newark, Del. | 3.71 | Business Administration & Accounting |
| Mitchell Badillo2 | UIW | Sr. | Houston, Texas | 3.45 | Business Administration |
| Reveal Chukwujekwu | Houston Baptist | Jr. | Houston, Texas | 3.47 | Accounting |
| Kevin Hill2 | New Orleans | Sr. | Westwego, La. | 3.24 | Interdisciplinary Studies |
| | | | | | |
^2015-16 Southland Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year
*Capital One Academic All-District
1Automatic selection
2Two-time all-academic selection
3Three-time all-academic selection
4Four-time all-academic selection
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