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INDIANAPOLIS – West Liberty University’s dynamic duo of Audrey Tingle and Bryce Butler were each named to the 2021-22 NCAA Division II Academic All-District® 2 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Teams when the prestigious honor rolls were announced on Wednesday.
The 2021-22 NCAA Division II Academic All-District® Teams are selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) to recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. Only 5 players from each of the eight districts are accorded All-District laurels in the highly-selective process.
Tingle, who maintains a perfect 4.00 GPA as a graduate student in West Liberty’s MBA program, is in the midst of a record-breaking season. The 5-6 guard from West Lafayette, Ohio tied the all-time NCAA Division II single-season record for triple-doubles with four of them in the month of January alone. She holds the WLU school record with 127 games started and will break the school record for games played on Saturday with her 128th appearance in Black and Gold.
Tingle’s 815 career assists rank No. 1 among all active NCAA women at any level and she ranks No. 2 in NCAA Division II this season with an average of 6.8 assists/game. Averaging a double-double (13.8 ppg., 10.4 rpg.) for the season, Tingle ranks among the Hilltoppers’ Top 20 career scorers with 1,164 points. She’s also the second-leading rebounder in school history with 944 retrieves and one of the Top 5 all-time in assists and steals.
Joining Tingle on the 2021-22 NCAA Division II Academic All-District® 2 Team are Fairmont State’s Sierra Kotchman, Shepherd’s Marley McLaughlin, Mercyhurst’s Grace Centrulla and Bryanna Brown of Lincoln (Pa.).
Butler, a third-year sophomore guard from Latrobe, Pa. who maintains a 3.70 GPA as a Sport Management major, has exploded onto the national scene in his first full season as a starter. The second-leading scorer (17.4 ppg.) and leading rebounder (7.3 rpg.) on the highest scoring team in the nation, he’s helped West Liberty rise to No. 2 in the national coaches’ poll and No. 1 in the Mountain East Conference standings with a sparkling 23-2 record.
Earlier this week, the 6-5 jumping jack joined teammate Pat Robinson III on the Top 50 Watch List for the Bevo Francis Award, which honors the top small-college basketball player in America. Butler has posted 24 double-figure scoring games this season and leads the Hilltoppers with 7 double-doubles. He scored a combined 45 points in back-to-back wins against West Virginia State and Charleston to earn MEC Player of the Week honors earlier this month.
Joining Butler on the 2021-22 NCAA Division II Academic All-District® 2 Team are Pitt-Johnstown’s John Paul Kromka, Kyle Daggett of Shepherd, Millersville’s James Sullivan and Cole VanHandorf of Fairmont State.
As Academic All-District selections, Tingle and Butler advance to the ballot for 2021-22 NCAA Division II Academic All-America® honors. Voting gets under way next week with the 2021-22 NCAA Division II Academic All-America® Team to be announced in March.
2021-22 CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS
NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball
District 2 (MEC, CIAA, PSAC)
Player School Yr GPA Major
Bryanna Brown Lincoln Sr. 3.95 Finance
Grace Centrulla Mercyhurst So. 3.91 Exercise Science
Sierra Kotchman Fairmont State Sr. 3.98 Business Administration
Marley McLaughlin Shepherd Gr. 3.55/4.00 Sociology (UG)/MBA (G)
Audrey Tingle West Liberty Gr. 4.00/4.00 Speech Pathology & Audiology (UG)/MBA (G)
NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball
District 2 (MEC, CIAA, PSAC)
Player School Yr GPA Major
Bryce Butler West Liberty Jr. 3.70 Sport Management
Kyle Daggett Shepherd Gr. 3.85/3.85 Biology (UG)/MBA (G)
John Paul Kromka Pitt-Johnstown Sr. 3.92 Engineering
James Sullivan Millersville Sr. 3.91 International Studies
Cole VonHandorf Fairmont State Gr. 3.66 Business Administration