The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association released its 2017 USILA/Nike Scholar All-American teams earlier today and Centre senior long stick midfielder Mason Paas (Louisville, Ky. / Christian Academy) was named a Scholar All-American.
A Scholar All-American must be nominated by his coach and be a student with a senior year academic standing and a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. He will have behaved in a manner that has brought credit to himself, his institution, and to college lacrosse both on and off the field. He must also be an All-American, a member of a North/South team, or an outstanding league or conference player.
In addition to his success in the class room as a biochemistry and molecular biology major, Paas was a three-time First Team All-SAA performer and was named the SAA Man of the Year. He was also the Centre Male Student-Athlete of the Year in 2017.
Paas tallied four goals and three assists during his senior campaign, but it was on the defensive end where he flourished, scooping up a team-high 46 ground balls to go with 21 caused turnovers, good for second on the team.
Paas, Berry’s Quentin Johnson and Sewanee’s Jake Rubenstein represented the Southern Athletic Association (SAA).
Paas becomes the second Centre player in as many years to earn Scholar All-American honors after Matt Hughes (Vero Beach, Fla. / Vero Beach) accomplished the feat last season.
In 1989 the USILA Scholar All-America Program was established to recognize student-athletes from USILA member institutions who have distinguished themselves academically, athletically and as citizens of their communities. The USILA Selection Committee selects an overall team representing Division I, II and III.
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by Liam P. Halferty