LAS VEGAS, Nev. – For the second-straight season, Washington State men's basketball junior Jeff Pollard has been named to the Pac-12 Men's Basketball All-Academic First Team, conference commissioner, Larry Scott, announced Tuesday.
A native of Bountiful, Utah, Pollard is majoring in business with an emphasis on management/operations with a minor in communications and carries a 3.73 grade point average. He has started 22 of the 28 games he's played in this season, averaging 4.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Pollard will graduate following his junior year and pursue his master's degree during the 2019-20 school year.
Pollard's first team all-academic recognition marks the 29th for the Cougars, as last season he became the 18th Cougar to pick up the accolade.
The Cougars have had at least one Pac-12 All-Academic honoree each season under fifth-year head coach Ernie Kent. This season marks the fourth-straight with a WSU student-athlete on the first team.
One team of six student-athletes make up the first team, followed by the next five making up the second team. All others nominated receive honorable mention accolades. To be eligible for selection to the academic team, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.0 overall grade-point average and be either a starter or significant contributor and in at least their second year at the respective school.
The Cougars continue their season as they enter the 2019 Pac-12 Tournament as the No. 11 seed and take on No. 6 Oregon, Wednesday, March 13 at 8:30 p.m. at Las Vegas's T-Mobile Arena.
2018-19 PAC-12 ALL-ACADEMIC - MEN'S BASKETBALL
First Team
Name, School, Yr., GPA, Major
Chase Jeter, ARIZ, R-Jr., 3.54, General studies, Las Vegas, Nev.
Gligorije Rakocevic***, OSU, Sr., 3.66, Digital communications arts, Bijelo Polje, Montenegro
Jeff Pollard**, WSU, Jr,. 3.73, Business (management), Bountiful, Utah
Zach Reichle, OSU, So., 3.78, Business information systems, Wilsonville, Ore.
Stephen Thompson, Jr.***, OSU, Gr., 3.35, Interdisciplinary studies, Los Angeles, Calif.
Isaac White, STAN, So., 3.71, Undeclared, Adelaide, Australia
Second Team
Name, School, Yr., GPA, Major
Jayce Johnson**, UTAH, Jr., 3.53, Psychology, Mission Viejo, Calif.
Kodye Pugh, STAN, R-So., 3.33, Film and media studies, Baltimore, Md.
D'Shawn Schwartz, COLO, So., 3.28, Business, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Trevor Stanback, STAN, Jr,. 3.35, Psychology, Pasadena, Calif.
Ethan Thompson, OSU, So., 3.55, Digital media communications, Los Angeles, Calif.
Pac-12 Men's Basketball Honorable Mention All-Academic
Evan Battey, COLO; Oscar da Silva, STAN; De'Quon Lake, ASU; Alexander Strating, COLO; Justice Sueing, CAL; Tres Tinkle, OSU; Parker Van Dyke, UTAH.
*** three-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree; ** two-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree
A native of Bountiful, Utah, Pollard is majoring in business with an emphasis on management/operations with a minor in communications and carries a 3.73 grade point average. He has started 22 of the 28 games he's played in this season, averaging 4.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Pollard will graduate following his junior year and pursue his master's degree during the 2019-20 school year.
Pollard's first team all-academic recognition marks the 29th for the Cougars, as last season he became the 18th Cougar to pick up the accolade.
The Cougars have had at least one Pac-12 All-Academic honoree each season under fifth-year head coach Ernie Kent. This season marks the fourth-straight with a WSU student-athlete on the first team.
One team of six student-athletes make up the first team, followed by the next five making up the second team. All others nominated receive honorable mention accolades. To be eligible for selection to the academic team, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.0 overall grade-point average and be either a starter or significant contributor and in at least their second year at the respective school.
The Cougars continue their season as they enter the 2019 Pac-12 Tournament as the No. 11 seed and take on No. 6 Oregon, Wednesday, March 13 at 8:30 p.m. at Las Vegas's T-Mobile Arena.
2018-19 PAC-12 ALL-ACADEMIC - MEN'S BASKETBALL
First Team
Name, School, Yr., GPA, Major
Chase Jeter, ARIZ, R-Jr., 3.54, General studies, Las Vegas, Nev.
Gligorije Rakocevic***, OSU, Sr., 3.66, Digital communications arts, Bijelo Polje, Montenegro
Jeff Pollard**, WSU, Jr,. 3.73, Business (management), Bountiful, Utah
Zach Reichle, OSU, So., 3.78, Business information systems, Wilsonville, Ore.
Stephen Thompson, Jr.***, OSU, Gr., 3.35, Interdisciplinary studies, Los Angeles, Calif.
Isaac White, STAN, So., 3.71, Undeclared, Adelaide, Australia
Second Team
Name, School, Yr., GPA, Major
Jayce Johnson**, UTAH, Jr., 3.53, Psychology, Mission Viejo, Calif.
Kodye Pugh, STAN, R-So., 3.33, Film and media studies, Baltimore, Md.
D'Shawn Schwartz, COLO, So., 3.28, Business, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Trevor Stanback, STAN, Jr,. 3.35, Psychology, Pasadena, Calif.
Ethan Thompson, OSU, So., 3.55, Digital media communications, Los Angeles, Calif.
Pac-12 Men's Basketball Honorable Mention All-Academic
Evan Battey, COLO; Oscar da Silva, STAN; De'Quon Lake, ASU; Alexander Strating, COLO; Justice Sueing, CAL; Tres Tinkle, OSU; Parker Van Dyke, UTAH.
*** three-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree; ** two-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree