Nine Colorado College rising sophomores were recognized for excellence in the classroom during their initial year on campus as they were added to the 2016-17 National Collegiate Hockey Conference's Academic All-Conference Team on Wednesday.

Press Release from NCHC

The players added to the team were Kristian Blumenschein, Nick Halloran, Cole Josefchak, Kade Kehoe, Alex Leclerc, Branden Makara, Alex Pernitsky, Maxime St. Pierre and Bryce Van Horn. Two of them, Josefchak and Van Horn, were placed on the NCHC Scholar-Athlete Team by achieving a 3.5 cumulative GPA or better. Only Miami University (10) had more freshmen placed on the team than Colorado College among NCHC teams. In all, CC had 24 of its 29 players from the 2016-17 roster on the Academic All-Conference Team.

To be eligible for the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team, a student-athlete must compile a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average (or better) and have completed a full academic year at their current institution. Similarly, for the NCHC Scholar-Athlete Team, a student-athlete must achieve a 3.5 cumulative GPA or better with a full year of academic studies. Freshmen and first-year transfers were not eligible in February as they had not completed a full academic year, but with the 2016-17 academic calendar complete, the rising sophomores and transfers are now eligible to earn NCHC academic honors. Athletic success and playing time are not criteria for these awards.

In all, a record 174 student-athletes earned NCHC Academic All-Conference Team in 2016-17, topping the 158 from 2015-16, while 59 student-athletes garnered a spot on the NCHC Scholar-Athlete Team this past season.