McDonald is NCAA D2 Academic All-American
WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – West Liberty University senior linebacker Clay McDonald is the latest Hilltopper to earn NCAA Division II Academic All-America® honors for the 2020-21 academic year. The Valley Grove, W.Va. native was a second-team selection when the 2021 Academic All-America® Football Team was announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), the 2021 Academic All-America® Teams recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their impressive accomplishments on the field and in the classroom.
A 6-3, 235-pounder from Wheeling Park High School, McDonald checked off all the boxes on both sides of that ledger as he closed out his West Liberty career in style during the abbreviated spring season.
The Hilltopper veteran was a team captain and back-to-back All-Mountain East Conference selection as one of the team’s leading tacklers from his inside linebacker spot. He started all four games this spring and ranked second on the team with 25 tackles, highlighted by a program-high 11 stops against Wheeling.
His academic accomplishments were even more impressive. McDonald had the honor of carrying the College of Business banner at commencement as the graduate with the GPA in the College. Twice voted West Liberty’s Outstanding Management Student as an undergraduate, he currently maintains a perfect 4.00 GPA as a graduate student working toward his Master’s in Business Administration on the hilltop.
McDonald is West Liberty’s second NCAA Division II Academic All-American of the 2020-21 academic year, joining 2021 NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball National Academic All-American of the Year Dalton Bolon. The Hilltopper athletic department has produced at least one Academic All-American in each of the last nine years and earned a total of 18 Academic All-America Awards since transitioning to NCAA Division II membership during the mid-1990s.
FOOTBALL
CoSIDA 2021 Academic All-America Team
NCAA Division II
FIRST TEAM
Offense
Pos. Name School Yr. GPA Major
QB Evan Ernst Ohio Dominican Sr. 4.00 Finance
RB Brandon Blair West Texas A&M Sr. 4.00 Biology
RB Andrew Brazicki Bentley Sr. 3.70 Corporate Finance & Accounting
WR Henry Litwin Slippery Rock Gr. 3.66/4.00 Safety Management (UG)/MBA (G)
WR Konnor Maloney Hillsdale Sr. 3.72 Exercise Science
TE Preston Guerra Colorado State-Pueblo Sr. 3.94 Business Management
OL Derek Ivey Stonehill Sr. 3.94 Economics
OL Lane Potter Wayne State (Mich.) Gr. 3.83/3.60 Global Supply Chain Mgmt. (UG)/MBA (G)
OL Andrew Strickland Wingate Gr. 3.81/3.88 Accounting (G)
OL Austin Wayt Slippery Rock Gr. 3.50/4.00 Safety Management (UG)/MBA (G)
OL Madison Wrather Northeastern State Sr. 4.00 Cellular & Microbiology/Business
K Tanner Harding Notre Dame (Ohio) Sr. 3.91 Psychology
Defense
Pos. Name School Yr. GPA Major
DL Alexander Findura Bloomsburg Sr. 3.59 Business Management
DL Patrick McMahon Davenport Sr. 4.00 Accounting
DL Ricky Robinson Shepherd Gr. 3.88/4.00 Business Administration (UG)/MBA (G)
DL JT Turner Concord Sr. 3.94 Business Administration
LB Jackson Cauthen Tusculum Sr. 3.95 Nursing
LB Jace McDown Emporia State Sr. 3.99 Health & Human Performance
LB Nathan Moore Notre Dame (Ohio) Jr. 3.96 Management
DB Alexander Anschutz Hillsdale Sr. 3.86 Biochemistry
DB Brock Floyd Southern Arkansas Jr. 3.77 Business Administration/Management
DB Alex Shillow Texas A&M-Commerce Gr. 3.85/3.75 Sports & Rec Management (UG)/MBA (G)
DB Eli Weber Augustana Jr. 3.67 Nursing
P Lane Spiker Washburn Sr. 3.70 Health Services Administration
ST Max Drinon Bentley Sr. 3.56 Supply Chain Management
ST Tucker Mullis Wingate Sr. 3.82 Management
SECOND TEAM
Offense
Pos. Name School Yr. GPA Major
QB Grayson Willingham Lenoir-Rhyne Gr. 3.75/3.80 Business Administration
RB Toriano Clinton Indianapolis Jr. 3.42 Sport Management
RB Payton McAlister Missouri S&T Jr. 3.41 Civil Engineering
WR Logan Bolin Ashland Gr. 3.60/3.75 Finance/MBA
WR Cole Thurness Chadron State Gr. 3.37/4.00 Organizational Management
TE Jordan Smith Gannon Sr. 4.00 Biomedical Engineering
OL Demetrius Blackwell Catawba Sr. 3.65 Business Administration
OL Eric Hudanick California (Pa.) Gr. 3.51/3.77 Business Administration
OL Cole Johnson Hillsdale Sr. 3.83 Financial Management
OL Gavin Posey Ashland Jr. 3.88 Accounting
OL Kyle Urich Missouri S&T Jr. 3.81 Mechanical Engineering
K Chase Allbaugh Lenoir-Rhyne Sr. 3.68 Business Management & Marketing
Defense
Pos. Name School Yr. GPA Major
DL Shawn Aarhus Concordia-St. Paul Jr. 3.75 Health & Physical Education
DL Zach Howard NW Missouri State So. 3.51 Physical Education
DL Karron Jeter Winston-Salem State Sr. 3.52 Exercise Science
DL Luc Leszczynski Winona State Sr. 3.72 Economics/Finance
LB Jackson Barnes NW Missouri State Jr. 3.96 Chemistry/Medicinal Chemistry
LB CLAY McDONALD WEST LIBERTY GR. 3.84/4.00 BUSINESS MANAGEMENT (UG)/MBA (G)
LB Dalton Smerchek Concordia-St. Paul Sr. 3.97 Exercise Science
DB Luke Fritsch Augustana Sr. 3.81 Biology
DB John Merica W.Va. Wesleyan Jr. 3.76 Accounting
DB Dominique Ramsey Texas A&M-Commerce Sr. 3.43 Industrial Engineering
DB Connor Steeb Indianapolis Gr. 3.53/3.80 MBA
P Andrew Cantrell Tusculum Jr. 3.64 Chemistry & Pre-Pharmacy