Senior outfielder Nolan Lodden (West Des Moines, Iowa/West Des Moines Valley [Heartland CC]) was elected to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American First Team on Friday. This marks the first such honor in program history.

"It's a well-deserved honor for a guy who works just as hard in the classroom as he does on the field. As a coach, Nolan's everything you want out of a student-athlete," head coach Brian Schmack said.

Lodden carved out a 3.94 grade-point average as an electrical engineering major in the classroom. On the diamond, he tallied team watermarks in hits (83), runs (57), doubles (18), and walks (36) in 2016. Lodden's hits and runs totals both ranked third in a single season in team history. He was a First Team All-Horizon League selection last month after garnering Second Team accolades in 2015, his first season with the Crusaders. Lodden logged two doubles as part of an 8-for-17 (.471) Horizon League Championship last week in Dayton. He added six runs scored and nine RBIs during his five-game offensive onslaught at Nischwitz Stadium to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team.

For his two-year career with Valpo, Lodden batted .343 with a remarkable .446 on-base percentage in 110 games. He accumulated 102 runs scored, 30 doubles, 79 runs batted in, 74 walks, and 26 stolen bases. 

Lodden is the third Valparaiso University student-athlete to receive an Academic All-American First Team nod this academic year. Seniors Rita Craven (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way North) and Jenny Fassbinder (Hudson, Wis./Hudson), both of women's soccer, were also bestowed the honor this past November.