Five basketball players earn academic all-district honors

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Five Simpson College basketball players were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Men's and Women's Basketball Team on Tuesday.

Dylan Holland, Cassie Nash, Haley Rasmussen and Anna Wanek were all named to the women's squad, while Buck Eagleburger represented Simpson on the men's team.

All five are making their first appearance on the academic all-district basketball team. Nash has previously earned two academic all-district honors from the organization for soccer, and Wanek has previously been named to the Women's At-Large Team for tennis.

The College Sports Communicators, formerly known as College of Sports Information Directors of American (CoSIDA), recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. To qualify, all nominees must be a sophomore in academic standing, a starter or key reserve, and have a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher.

A business management major from Montezuma, Iowa, Holland has played in all 25 games for the Storm this season. She leads the team in rebounding with 134, averaging 5.4 per game, and ranks fourth on the team with 6.5 points per game. The sophomore has registered two double-doubles this season. 

Nash is double majoring in sports administration and multimedia journalism. She has started all 22 contests she's played in, averaging 14.6 points (3rd A-R-C), 5.0 assists (1st A-R-C), 4.7 rebounds, 4.1 steals (1st A-R-C, 6th DIII), and 1.0 block. Nash is shooting 57.9 percent from the floor (1st A-R-C, 11th DIII) and has two logged two double-doubles this season.

Rasmussen is originally from Atlantic, Iowa and is studying elementary education at Simpson. One of three players to start all 25 games, Rasmussen ranks second on the team with 13.4 points per game and has swished a team-high 47 3-pointers (6th A-R-C). She is shooting 43.4 percent from the floor, 35.3 percent from deep (4th A-R-C), and 78.5 percent at the line (6th A-R-C).

Wanek graduated with a degree in health and exercise science last spring and is currently pursuing a certificate of trauma and resiliency. She has started all 25 games and ranks second on the team with 109 rebounds and third with 11.7 points per game. Wanek has 46 makes beyond the arc, shooting 29.1 percent, and has tallied 48 assists, 20 steals and two blocks.

Originally from Mesa, Ariz., Eagleburger is double majoring in physics and mathematics. He started 22 of 24 games for the Storm, averaging 3.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steal. Eagleburger is a three-time academic all-conference selection and was named to the NABC Honors Court last season.

All five honorees will now be placed on the Academic All-America ballot with first-, second- and third-team honorees slated to be announced in mid-March.