AUSTIN, Texas – Veteran West Liberty University defensive back
Brandon Morrison has been honored as an NCAA Division II Academic All-American® for the second consecutive season. The announcement came Tuesday afternoon following nationwide voting by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Morrison, who carries a 3.86 GPA as a graduate student in Criminology, made history last fall as the first WLU football player to earn NCAA Division II Academic All-America® honors when he was a second-team selection. He breaks new ground once more as the program's first two-time honoree and first-team pick.
The Huntington, W.Va. native is West Liberty's second repeat Academic All-America® selection of the semester as WLU senior women's soccer standout was honored for the second consecutive season earlier this month.
A natural leader and team captain, the 5-10, 200-pound safety started in multiple positions in the WLU secondary during his final collegiate campaign. He once again ranked among the team leaders in tackles with 44 stops while stuffing the stat sheet with 3.0 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 2 pass break-up, a fumble recovery and a safety.
His big-play ability was on full display in a late-season win at W.Va. Wesleyan. Morrison's clutch fumble recovery in the final four minutes led to the Hilltoppers' game-tying touchdown with just over a minute to play. He followed that up seconds later with a diving interception to set up
Owen Rozanc's game-winning field goal in the final seconds.
Morrison was one of four players making the move from second team Academic All-America® last season to first team this year, joining Lenoir-Rhyne graduate student offensive lineman Ronnie Clifton, Grand Valley State junior linebacker Tyler Bradfield and Clarion senior defensive back Sam Fareri.
In addition, the Hilltopper standout is one of 17 repeat honorees on this year's honor roll and one of seven to earn first-team recognition. The 25 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division II football first team members hold a composite 3.85 GPA.
There's also a strong Mountain East Conference component to this year's team. Morrison and Charleston senior quarterback Brant Grisel were first-team selections with Grisel honored as the 2019 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year. Second-team honorees included junior kicker Tanner Harding of Notre Dame, senior defensive end Mikal Tolliver of Urbana, junior defensive lineman J.T. Turner of Concord and Frostburg State senior defensive back Vincent Persichetti.
The WLU athletic department has produced at least one NCAA Division II Academic All-American in each of the last eight years with Morrison becoming the fourth Hilltopper to earn multiple Academic All-America honors. He joins three-time selection C.J. Hester (men's basketball, 2013-14-15), two-time honoree Dan Monteroso (men's basketball, 2017-18) and deVries in that elite group.
West Liberty University student-athletes have now received a total of 16 NCAA Division II Academic All-America citations since the institution successfully transitioned from NAIA to NCAA Division II affiliation during the early 1990s.
The Division II Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2019-20 Division II Academic All-America® teams program.
2019 CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA TEAM
NCAA Division II Football
FIRST TEAM
Offense
Pos Name School Yr GPA Major
QB Brant Grisel* Charleston Sr. 3.95 Biology/Pre-Medical
RB Deonte Glover Shepherd Gr. 3.75 MBA
RB Austin Micci Colorado State-Pueblo Sr. 3.78 Business Management
WR Henry Litwin Slippery Rock Jr. 3.66 Safety Management
WR Shane Zylstra MSU-Mankato Sr. 3.44 Biomedical Science
TE Preston Guerra Colorado State-Pueblo Jr. 3.96 Business Management
OL Ronnie Clifton Lenoir-Rhyne Gr. 3.85 Business Administration
OL Ryan Dodd Pittsburg State Gr. 4.00 Business Administration (UG)/MBA (G)
OL Derek Ivey Stonehill Jr. 3.91 Economics
OL Shawn Rouse Missouri Western Sr. 3.86 Construction Engineering
OL Ryan Spelhaug NW Missouri State Sr. 3.92 Business Economics
K Ethan Knudson Wayne State Sr. 3.92 Industrial Technology
ST Stevann Brown Chadron State Sr. 3.69 Education
Defense
Pos Name School Yr GPA Major
DL Ned Bingaman Pittsburg State Sr. 3.97 Justice Studies
DL Zach Mohs Northern State Sr. 3.98 Biology/Chemistry
DL Ricky Robinson Shepherd Jr. 3.87 Business Administration
DL Levi Wyrick Pittsburg State Sr. 4.00 Education
LB Tyler Bradfield Grand Valley State Jr. 3.98 Finance
LB Kyle Rosenbrock Colorado State-Pueblo Sr. 3.94 Engineering
LB Clay Shreve Ashland Sr. 3.96 Music Education
DB Sam Fareri Clarion Sr. 3.82 Rehab Science
DB BRANDON MORRISON WEST LIBERTY GR. 3.86 CRIMINOLOGY (G)
DB Braden Sweet SW Oklahoma State Gr. 4.00 Accounting (UG)/Business Admin. (G)
DB Kyle Toth Wayne State Sr. 3.83 Kinesiology
P Logen Neidhardt Ohio Dominican Jr. 3.78 Exercise Science
SECOND TEAM
Offense
Pos. Name School Yr. GPA Major
QB Jaden Barr Truman State Gr. 4.00 Leadership
RB Deshawn Jones Missouri S&T Sr. 3.49 Biological Sciences
RB Antonio Wimbush Carson-Newman Sr. 3.50 Business
WR Nate Couturier Davenport Gr. 4.00 Accounting
WR Dakota Larson Northern State So. 3.88 Environmental Science
TE Marqus Andrews NW Missouri State Sr. 3.48 Chemistry
OL Nathan Belisle MSU-Moorhead Sr. 3.79 Accounting
OL Dan List Colorado State-Pueblo Sr. 3.72 History
OL Levi Murphy East Stroudsburg Sr. 3.90 Secondary Education/History
OL Andrew Strickland Wingate Sr. 3.80 Accounting
OL Nick Zimmerman Sioux Falls Gr. 3.82 Business, Management, Marketing
K Tanner Harding Notre Dame (Ohio) Jr. 3.87 Psychology
ST Pippin Davis Valdosta State Jr. 3.67 Middle Grades Education
Defense
Pos Name School Yr GPA Major
DL Kolbie Foster Wayne State Sr. 3.82 Family Consumer Sci. & Fashion Merchandising
DL Dan Monson Minnesota-Duluth Sr. 3.75 Civil Engineering
DL Mikal Toliver Urbana Sr. 3.76 Sport Management
DL J.T. Turner Concord Jr. 4.00 Business Administration
LB Alex Goettl MSU-Mankato Sr. 3.93 Biology
LB Clayton Horn Lenoir-Rhyne Sr. 3.78 Accounting
LB Jace McDown Emporia State Sr. 3.98 Health & Human Performance
DB Ben Gutschow St. Cloud State Sr. 3.91 Bio-Medical Studies
DB Geoff Keating Colorado School of Mines Sr. 3.96 Mechanical Engineering
DB Vincent Persichetti Frostburg State Sr. 3.57 Sociology/Law & Society
DB Alex Shillow Texas A&M-Commerce Gr. 3.85 Sports Management (UG)/MBA (G)
P Todd Morrow Pittsburg State Sr. 3.52 Construction Management
*- CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year
x x x
NCAA D2 Academic All-Americans
West Liberty University
Year Sport Honoree Team
1995-96 Women's Tennis Kelly Brown 3rd
2003-04 Women's Basketball Ashlea Bland 1st
2010-11 Women's Basketball Tori Hansen* 1st
2012-13 Men's Basketball C.J. Hester 3rd
2013-14 Men's Basketball C.J. Hester 3rd
2014-15 Men's Basketball C.J. Hester 2nd
Women's Tennis Lauren Howard 2nd
2015-16 Men's Basketball Seger Bonifant 2nd
2016-17 Men's Basketball Dan Monteroso 1st
2017-18 Men's Basketball Evan French 2nd
Men's Basketball Dan Monteroso* 1st
2018-19 Football
Brandon Morrison 2nd
Women's Soccer Caitlin deVries 3rd
Men's Basketball Dalton Bolon 2nd
2019-20 Women's Soccer Caitlin deVries 1
st
Football
Brandon Morrison 1
st
*Academic All-Americans of the Year
