FRISCO, Texas – Nicholls State University men's golfer Ryan O'Neil has been named Southland Conference Men's Golf Student-Athlete of the Year for the second straight time, as the league announced Tuesday it's academic all-conference teams.

In addition to taking the SLC's highest academic honor for back-to-back seasons, O'Neil also repeated as a first-team academic selection and was joined on the squad by sophomore teammate Braxton Kuntz. 

O'Neil had another outstanding year in his final go-around with the Colonels, posting a 3.51 grade point average in business administration while earning All-Southland Second Team.  He was twice named Southland Golfer of the Month and registered a 74.13 stroke average for the year, claiming two top 5 finishes in the spring. Last season, the Charlotte, North Carolina nativel was named Southland Men's Golf Student-Athlete of the Year, Srixon/Cleveland All-America Scholar, All-Southland First Team, Southland All-Academic First Team and All-Louisiana Second Team. 

Kuntz posted a perfect 4.0 GPA as a finance major and was a first-team All-Southland honoree after a stellar spring semester. A native of Winnipeg, Canada, Kuntz had the second lowest scoring average in the Southland at 72.33. He racked up three top 10 finishes out of six events  and also had a strong showing in the Southland Championships, tying for 11th with a 3-over.

Lamar has three total all-academic selections, with HCU and Nicholls having two picks each. Francis Marion, New Orleans, and A&M-Commerce each have one selection.
 
The all-academic teams are voted on by a head coach, sports information director and an academic/compliance staff member from each Southland Conference institution. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA and completed one full academic year at the nominating institution to qualify for All-Academic selection. Student-Athlete of the Year nominees must have earned at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale and demonstrated athletics achievement for at least two years at the nominating institution.

Student-Athlete of the Year: Ryan O'Neil, Nicholls

First Team

Name	School	Yr.	Hometown	GPA	Major
Ryan O'Neil	Nicholls	Sr.	Charlotte, N.C.	3.51	Business Administration
Henry Augenstein	New Orleans	Gr.	Columbia, S.C.	3.89	Master's – Business Administration
Carl Hardin *	Lamar	Jr.	Loddekopinge, Sweden	3.04	Business Education
Braxton Kuntz *	Nicholls	So.	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada	4.00	Finance
Jacob Lindh	Lamar	R-Sr.	Skanor, Sweden	3.91	Industrial Engineering

Second Team

Name	School	Yr.	Hometown	GPA	Major
Braeden Barnett	Francis Marion	R-Fr.	Gallivants Ferry, S.C.	3.81	Physics
Ben Caton	HCU	Sr.	St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland	3.94	Finance
Hugo Hellman	Lamar	Gr.	Salem, Sweden	3.80	Finance
Kittiphong Phaituncharoensuk	A&M-Commerce	Sr.	Phuket, Thailand	3.70	Sport & Recreation Management
Michael Townsend	HCU	Sr.	Montgomery, Texas	4.00	Management