Abby Selzer, criminal justice sophomore and basketball center, received a national academic and athletic honor for women’s basketball.
The College Sports Information Directors of America named Selzer to the list of 2020 men’s and women’s basketball Academic All-District team.
CoSIDA announced the All-District team on Feb. 20. Oklahoma City University is in District Four of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes.
Selzer is one of five students in the district selected for the All-District Team and one of 21 players in the NAIA to be selected.
According to the Academic All-American team website, CoSIDA “recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom.”
The program is the only intercollegiate awards program to acknowledge and select students based on both athletic and academic success.
This year is Selzer’s second year on the women’s basketball team but her first year on the All-District team list. She is the first OCU women’s basketball player to receive this honor since Lauren Gober in 2013.
Selzer said she’s grateful to be acknowledged in the district.
“It’s an honor to be chosen and to represent my school in a positive way,” Selzer said.
Selzer has scored 451 points in the women’s basketball games, averaging 18 points per match, according to ocusports.com. She scored her 1,000th career point on Feb. 8 at Texas Wesleyan University.
In addition to athletic achievement, nominees must have at least a 3.30 GPA on a 4.0 scale to be considered for the All-District team and must have attended the academic institution for at least a year. Selzer has maintained a 3.95 GPA her first three semesters at OCU. She is one of eight sophomores to be selected for the All-District team in any of the 28 districts of the NAIA and the three National Collegiate Athletic Association divisions.
Selzer said she came to OCU on an athletic scholarship and has been playing basketball since she was a child.
“I first played on a little kids’ basketball team at school when I was five years old,” Selzer said. “We would play our half-court games between the high school matches. I’ve been playing basketball ever since.”
Selzer also said she’s thankful for her teammates and is excited to play in the national tournament.
“My favorite part about playing basketball at OCU is the teammates and the relationships we’ve formed with each other since I’ve been here,” Selzer said.
Brennyn Seagler, mass communications senior, has played on the women’s basketball team with Selzer for two years now.
“Abby definitely is the best post player I’ve ever played with,” Seagler said. “Not only is she strong, but she has amazing reflexes. She makes up for the little things we do wrong. Even if you throw a bad pass to her, she’s always going to somehow catch it.”
Seagler also said she admires Selzer’s optimistic attitude.
“She is always very positive, and she’s always there to encourage us if we feel down,” she said.
Nashyla Hammons, human performance senior, also said she enjoys being on a team with Selzer.
“Playing on the team with Abby is just all-around fun,” Hammons said. “She’s so talented that I sometimes stop what I’m doing in shock of an amazing play she’s just done or a great pass she’s just caught. It’s even more mind-blowing that she’s only a sophomore. She’s made me a better person on and off the court.”
Selzer is now eligible to be selected for the Academic All-America teams, which will be decided March 12. To stay updated with the OCU women’s basketball team’s schedule, visit the OCUSports website.
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