INDIANAPOLIS – Eighteen student-athletes from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference reaped the rewards at the highest level from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America program timeline rolled out in the summer.
Ten different sports had representation from Great Midwest institutions in the 2020-21 academic year. At the time, additional future member Ashland also had multiple selections while officially joining the conference on July 1.
Each CoSIDA Academic All-American selection was previously on the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team in the previous step of the voting structure.
Football was the high sport with four selections while both men's and women's track and field had three each. Women's soccer had a pair, both from Ohio Dominican, and men's soccer, volleyball, women's lacrosse, wrestling and women's tennis, all had one.
Ohio Dominican quarterback Evan Ernst was named the CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year and Ashland track and field star Trevor Bassitt was announced with the same honor in his sport, respectively.
Ernst and his Panther teammates played an abbreviated spring season. Based on the absence of most fall sports competition, the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Committee revised some rules and procedures for nominating student-athletes this season. Due to the low percentage of games completed this season, the nominees were selected based on career statistics and achievements.
A finance major with a sterling 4.00 cumulative grade-point average, Ernst earned All-Great Midwest accolades for the third straight season this spring. He completed 67.8 percent of his passes for 986 yards in six games. Ernst led the conference in completion percentage, while his passing efficiency rating of 123.1 was third-best in the league.
Ernst threw a season-high three touchdowns in the spring finale against Hillsdale, giving him seven passing scores for the year. He also added a pair of rushing touchdowns for the Panthers. In 2019, Ernst ranked eighth nationally in completion percentage as he connected on 168-of-257 passes for 1,911 yards and 17 touchdowns.
For his career, Ernst has guided Ohio Dominican to a 20-6 overall record (16-5 G-MAC) as a starter. He was number one in the NCAA Division II in completion percentage and passing efficiency as a redshirt freshman in 2018. Ernst and the Panthers won nine games in his first season as a starter.
Bassitt, who is from Bluffton, Ohio, is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection after being named to the second team in 2019-20. Bassitt finished with a 3.56 cumulative grade-point average as a sport management major, and a 4.00 GPA in post-graduate work.
Bassitt helped the Eagles capture their third consecutive NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field team title in 2021. He claimed national titles in the 60-meter hurdles, 200 dash and 4 x 400 relay this season as he was named the United States Track & Field Coaches Association NCAA Division II Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year. He also set new Division II records in the 200 and 400-meter dashes this season.
During the outdoor season, Bassitt registered a national title in the 4 x 400 relay as he was named the USTFCCA Midwest Region Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year in Ashland's final season as a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
2020-21 Great Midwest CoSIDA Academic All-Americans
| Sport |
Name |
School |
Year |
Major |
GPA |
| Football (1st Team) |
Evan Ernst |
Ohio Dominican |
Senior |
Finance |
4.00 |
| Football (1st Team) |
Konnor Maloney |
Hillsdale |
Senior |
Exercise Science |
3.72 |
| Football (1st Team) |
Alex Anschutz |
Hillsdale |
Senior |
Biochemistry |
3.86 |
| Football (2nd Team) |
Cole Johnson |
Hillsdale |
Senior |
Financial Management |
3.83 |
| Football (2nd Team) * |
Logan Bolin |
Ashland |
Graduate |
Finance - MBA |
3.60/3.75 |
| Football (2nd Team) * |
Gavin Posey |
Ashland |
Junior |
Accounting |
3.83 |
| Women's Soccer (2nd Team) |
Samantha Buck |
Ohio Dominican |
Senior |
Psychology |
3.69 |
| Women's Soccer (3rd Team) |
Alaina Behnke |
Ohio Dominican |
Junior |
Psychology |
3.94 |
| Men's Soccer (2nd Team) |
Jonny Stephens |
Cedarville |
Junior |
Civil Engineering |
3.86 |
| Men's Soccer (3rd Team) * |
Kieran Patterson |
Ashland |
Senior |
Dietetics & Exercise Science |
3.76 |
| Women's Lacrosse At-Large (2nd Team) |
Elle Hamilton |
Tiffin |
Graduate |
Forensic Psychology |
3.98/4.00 |
| Wrestling At-Large (3rd Team) |
Bryan LaVearn |
Tiffin |
Graduate |
Homeland Security/Terrorism |
3.95/3.90 |
| Men's Track & Field/XC (1st Team) * |
Trevor Bassitt |
Ashland |
Senior |
Sport Management |
3.56 |
| Men's Track & Field/XC (1st Team) |
Cameron Burrows |
Tiffin |
Graduate |
Management |
3.84/4.00 |
| Men's Track & Field/XC (1st Team) |
Nikolas Curtiss |
Tiffin |
Graduate |
Cyber Security |
3.67/3.69 |
| Men's Track & Field/XC (2nd Team) |
Tommy Ansiel |
Cedarville |
Senior |
Business Finance |
3.53 |
| Women's Track & Field/XC (1st Team) |
Maryssa Depies |
Hillsdale |
Senior |
Biochemistry |
3.93 |
| Women's Track & Field/XC (1st Team) |
Rachel Sweeney |
Cedarville |
Senior |
Pharmaceutical Science |
4.00 |
| Women's Track & Field/XC (1st Team) * |
Rachel Miller |
Ashland |
Senior |
PR & Strategic Communication |
3.96 |
| Women's Track & Field/XC (2nd Team) |
Marisa Gwinner |
Tiffin |
Junior |
Digital Media Design |
3.70 |
| Volleyball (2nd Team) |
Allyssa Van Wienen |
Hillsdale |
Senior |
Excercise Science |
3.54 |
| Softball (2nd Team) |
Bailey Byers |
Malone |
Senior |
Excercise Science |
3.55 |
| Women's Tennis At-Large (3rd Team) |
Abbie-Jade Riley |
Tiffin |
Senior |
Forensic Science |
4.00 |
* Competed as a member of the GLIAC during the 2020-21 Academic Year