The Valparaiso University men’s golf program continued to haul in accolades as the Golf Coaches Association of America has announced its Division-I All-American Scholars presented by Srixon/Cleveland Golf for the 2020-2021 academic and athletic year.

Four members of the 2020-21 team earned the distinction as Drew Alexander (McCordsville, Ind. / Hamilton Southeastern), Brett Seward (Aurora, Ill. / Aurora Christian), Caleb VanArragon (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) and Garrett Willis (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Homestead) were honored. In addition, newcomer Yianni Kostouros (Crown Point, Ind. / Crown Point [Ball State]) received the recognition for his academic and athletic performance while at Ball State this past season.

“Every year, our players and coaches set aggressive goals that really stretch each one of us – tournament wins, individual wins, winning percentage, scoring average, MVC Championship, all-conference, fundraising, philanthropy and many more,” Valpo head coach Dave Gring said. “One of our goals this past year was to get all six of our players who could qualify for the GCAA All-America Scholar Award to the finish line. We had the most players recognized that we’ve ever had in a single season.”

To be eligible for Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar status, an individual must be a sophomore, junior or senior both academically and athletically. In addition, the player must participate in 40 percent of his team’s competitive rounds, have a stroke average under 76.0 and maintain a minimum cumulative career grade-point average of 3.2 or better. A recipient must also be of high moral character and be in good standing at his college or university.

“I continue to marvel at the effort that each one of our student-athletes puts toward their classroom studies and their practice and tournament play,” Gring said. “Our coaching staff wants to see our guys ‘all-in,’ and they are relentless in their preparation and performance in the classroom and on the golf course. This past season was our best tournament winning percentage since I have been the head coach, with numerous top-5 team and individual finishes. Add to that four of our players finishing the year as GCAA All-America Scholars and a team GPA of 3.618, and our coaching staff could not be prouder of our guys.”

The program also received Presidents’ Special Recognition as the GCAA released its outstanding team academic award recipients in late July. That distinction is bestowed upon teams with a grade point average of 3.5 or above. This marks the 11^th consecutive year that the team has garnered academic recognition from the GCAA.

“The Outstanding Team Academic Award and the All-America Scholar awards are very important awards to our team – they represent an integral part of our team identity,” Gring said. “Every year, we strive to be the best we can, both in the classroom and on the golf course. When you consider the numerous challenges that all of our student-athletes undertook in battling through the conditions of COVID-19 and the extra effort that went toward achieving exemplary grades in the classroom and low scoring averages on the golf course, our players and coaches will celebrate a job very well done.”