LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska Wesleyan's strong tradition of academic success continues as junior men's basketball player Cooper Cook was named the CoSIDA Academic All-American® of the Year for NCAA Division III men's basketball.
 
Cook (Overland Park, Kan.) has a perfect 4.0 GPA as an accounting major to earn 1^st-Team CoSIDA Academic All-American@ recognition.  It is the second straight season that Cook has earned CoSIDA Academic All-American@ honors as he was a 2^nd-team selection as a sophomore in 2017.
 
He becomes Nebraska Wesleyan's 170^th CoSIDA Academic All-American@ ranking NWU 8^th among all institutions and 4^th among Division III schools.  Cook is the 4^th Nebraska Wesleyan student-athlete to be named Academic All-American@ of the Year joining Connor Zumpfe (football, 2014), Erin Powell (women's track & field, 2006) & Matt Kechely (baseball 1995).
 
Cook ranks second on the Prairie Wolves team in scoring averaging 16.5 points per game.  He leads the team with 72 made 3-pointers and now ranks 5^th all-time at NWU in career 3-pointers.  As a senior he was named 1^st-Team All-IIAC, the second straight season he was an All-Conference honoree.
 
Earlier this season, Cook set the NWU career record for blocked shots as a junior.  He needs just one more block shot to tie the single season school record.
 
Cooper's father Kevin Cook was also a two-time Academic All-American@ during his basketball playing career at Nebraska Wesleyan.  They are one of just two father/son duo's all-time to earn Academic All-America@ honors at the same school in the same sport.
 
The 17-man CoSIDA Academic All-America@ men's team has an average GPA of 3.84 with the first team checking in at 3.91.  Cook is one of two players with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
 
The Division III Academic All-America program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2017-18 Division Academic All-America@ programs.
 
Cook and the Prairie Wolves are preparing for the 2018 NCAA III Final Four where they will meet Springfield College on Friday night (March 16) in the national semifinals.