Brett Marhanka, Wheaton Sports Information
WHEATON, Ill. -- Recent Wheaton College graduate Drew Golz (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest) has been named the 2011-12 Capital One Academic All-American of the Year for NCAA Division III.
Golz earns the prestigious recognition in an academic year where he became the first male student-athlete in the history of the Capital One Academic All-America program to be named Academic All-American of the Year in two different sports (Men’s Soccer and Baseball). The only other person to earn the recognition in two sports in the same year was West Virginia Wesleyan’s Cynthia Capp, who was the College Division Academic All-American of the Year in both volleyball and softball in the 1990-91 school year.
Golz is Wheaton’s first overall Capital One Academic All-American of the Year. He received the honor facing competition from the other Division III recipients of Academic All-American of the Year Award in each respective sport: Carol Cayo, Milwaukee School of Engineering (Women’s Basketball); Courtney Chadburn, Castleton State (Women’s Soccer); Celena Dopart, WPI (Women’s At-Large); Seth Ecker, Ithaca College (Men’s At-Large); Rebecca Kamp, Calvin College (Volleyball); Kelsey Kittleson, Luther College (Softball); Tim Nelson, UW-Stout (Men’s Track/Cross Country); Elizabeth Phillips, Washington-St. Louis (Women’s Track/Cross Country); Aris Wurtz, Ripon (Men’s Basketball) and Michael Zweifel, Dubuque (Football).
Golz noted of the recognition, “This is an unbelievable honor, and I am extremely grateful to be this year's recipient. Further, it was a blessing to be able to attend Wheaton College and be a part of a school that values both academics and athletics. I want to thank all of my professors, teammates, and coaches, especially Coach Giuliano and Coach Driggers, for making this possible.”
Golz earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from Wheaton earlier this month, graduating with a 3.98 cumulative grade point average.
An American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) First Team All-American in 2012 as a utility selection, Golz led the Thunder with a .404 batting average (69-for-171). He also led the club in runs scored (45) and triples (3), while adding 12 doubles, four home runs and 27 RBI. As a pitcher, he tied a school-record for victories with an 8-2 record this season. Golz threw eight complete games in his 10 appearances, with three shutouts in 85-2/3 innings of work and 46 strikeouts.
In soccer, Golz is a three-time All-CCIW selection. In 2011, he scored a team-high 10 goals with six assists for the Thunder. In his three seasons at Wheaton, Golz scored 29 career goals, with 14 assists in 60 career matches.
Through the years, 48 Wheaton student-athletes have earned a total of 63 Academic All-American selections through the prestigious program. Since 2000, there have been 39 Academic All-American selections from Wheaton.