CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Bucknell senior punter Alex Pechin was named the Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season in addition to being selected to the 15-member Academic All-Patriot League squad when the League office announced academic honors on Wednesday.
Pechin becomes the fifth student-athlete in League history to repeat as football scholar-athlete of the year and the fourth two-time winner from Bucknell. He joins David Berardinelli (1991-92), Rob Glus (1993-94) and Travis Nissley (2009-10), as past back-to-back winners from Bucknell. Fordham’s Barry Cantrell (1996-97) was also the League’s football scholar-athlete of the year in consecutive years.
2018 Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Alex Pechin, Bucknell, Sr., Punter, Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville
*Pechin - the two-time football scholar-athlete of the year - holds a 3.93 cumulative grade point average (GPA) as a biomedical engineering and management for engineers major.
*In 2018, he earned his third First Team All-Patriot League punter honor while leading the League and finishing fourth among the FCS punters with a 44.5 punting average.
*A three-time Patriot League Academic Honor Roll selection, Pechin conducted gene therapy research for a start-up company last summer in addition to completing a variety of class projects within the biomedical engineering/management for engineers dual degree program.
*Pechin is second in Patriot League football history and third among all active FCS punters with a 43.7 yards per punt career average.
Cerra Leads Six Multi-Year Football Academic All-League Selections
Colgate senior punter Josh Cerra makes the Academic All-Patriot League Football team for the third time. The Coral Springs, Fla. native and political science major is carrying a 3.61 cumulative GPA and averaged 34.6 yards per punt during his senior season. Five more student-athletes are making their second appearance on the academic all-League team; Pechin, Holy Cross senior linebacker Ryan Brady (political science, 3.43 GPA), Lafayette senior defensive back Trent Crossan (economics, 3.87) and senior defensive lineman Andrew Chuma (economics/finance, 3.95 GPA), along with Lehigh senior defensive lineman Harrison Kauffman (accounting and finance/political science, 3.45 GPA).
Six Academic All-League Picks are CoSIDA Academic All-District Honorees
Six members of the Academic All-Patriot League squad were selected to one of the CoSIDA Academic All-District teams. Fordham senior defensive back Bryce Petty (applied accounting and finance, 3.61 GPA) represented the League in District I. Five more made the District II squad, including Chuma, Crossan, Kauffman, Bucknell sophomore linebacker Rick Mottram (mechanical engineering, 4.00 GPA) and Georgetown sophomore defensive back Ahmad Wilson (business, 3.72 GPA).
Four First-Team, Two Second-Team All-League Selections Make Academic Squad
Six members of the academic squad were honored as all-League selections on Tuesday. Pechin, Brady, Colgate sophomore quarterback Grant Breneman (undeclared, 3.58 GPA) and Fordham senior wide receiver Austin Longi (economics, 3.36 GPA) were all first-team picks. Wilson and Bucknell senior defensive back Bryan Marine (geography, 3.22 GPA) made the second team.
The Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Academic All-Patriot League Team honors student-athletes who excel both on and off the field and is made up of 14 student-athletes. This season, 15 student-athletes were recognized due to a tie in the voting. The awards are nominated and voted on by the Patriot League Football sports information directors.
To be eligible for the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and the Academic All-Patriot League Team, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and be a starter or key player in his/her sport. Freshmen or student-athletes in their first academic year at their school are not eligible for the honor.
The Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year for each individual sport comprises the pool of nominees for the Patriot League Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards, given out over the summer. One male and one female are selected for this honor.
2018 Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Alex Pechin, Bucknell, Sr., P
2018 Academic All-Patriot League Football*
Bryan Marine, Bucknell, Sr., DB
Rick Mottram, Bucknell, So., LB
Alex Pechin, Bucknell, Sr., P
Grant Breneman, Colgate, So., QB
Josh Cerra, Colgate, Sr., P
Dillon DeIuliis, Colgate, Sr., LB
Austin Longi, Fordham, Sr., WR
Bryce Petty, Fordham, Sr., DB
Gunther Johnson, Georgetown, Jr., QB
Ahmad Wilson, Georgetown, So., DB
Ryan Brady, Holy Cross, Sr., LB
Andrew Chuma, Lafayette, Sr., DL
Trent Crossan, Lafayette, Sr., DB
Pete Haffner, Lehigh, So., LB
Harrison Kauffman, Lehigh, Sr., DL
*15 student-athletes make the academic all-League team due to a tie in the voting
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its third decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.