Sophomore guard Parker Wentz was recently selected to the Capital One Academic All-District seven men’s basketball team on Thursday, Jan. 30. Wentz was one of five players selected from district seven which includes all NCAA Div. I schools within Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
“It’s a great honor,” Wentz said. “I feel extremely blessed to have been selected.”
Joining Wentz on the Academic All-District team is Nebraska’s Shavon Shields, Oklahoma State’s Christien Sager and Phil Forte III and Montana’s Jordan Gregory.
To be eligible for selection, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his or her current institution and be nominated by his or her sports information director.
“It’s an incredible honor and one that he definitely deserves,” head coach Joe Golding said. “He’s been incredible for us this year and he’s the type of person that the ACU student body, staff and alumni should really be proud of.”
Wentz is a native of Lubbock where he played at Trinity Christian high school. As a pre-dentistry/biology major, Wentz has a 3.9 GPA, has made the ACU Dean’s Honor Roll on three occasions and was selected as the ACU Athletics Student-Athlete of the Month in November of 2013.
“I’ve always tried to put in my very best in everything I do,” Wentz said. “Whether it’s basketball or school, I try to give everything I have.”
Wentz is averaging 11.1 points per game, a Southland conference leading 2.5 three-point FG made per game and is fifth in the conference in three-point percentage with 43 percent. He is one of the conference leaders in minutes played per game, especially with the lack of depth the Wildcats have this year.
Wentz’s highlight play of the year so far came on his game-winning lay-up against the Universtiy of Central Arkansas. With just 4.4 seconds left in the game, and the Wildcats trailing by one, Wentz caught the inbound pass and sprinted the entire length of the court to put up the game-winning shot for ACU.
With the selection, Wentz now has the opportunity to become the program’s first Academic All-American since Athletics Director Jared Mosley received the distinction in 1999.
“It’s exciting to be put into the same conversation as him,” Wentz said. “He’s a legend and I just hope I can have a career like he did.”
The Div. I Academic All-American team for men’s basketball will be released Thursday, Feb. 20.
