FRISCO, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana University junior golfer Rhys West was one of five student-athletes selected Tuesday to the Southland Conference All-Academic Golf Team, announced by the league office.

West, from Johannesburg, South Africa, carried a 3.13 grade point average in Finance and earned third-team all-Southland Conference honors after posting a 73.49 stroke average in 35 rounds of play.

A nominee for the Golf Coaches of America Association All-American Scholar, West recorded 13 rounds of par or better, including a career-best four rounds in the 60s. In his sixth-place finish at the 27th Annual Louisiana Classic, West shot his season-low round of 68.

West was joined on the team by Sam Houston State senior James Glenn, who was named the Southland Conference Men's Golf Student-Athlete of the Year, fellow SHSU senior Kort O'Leary, UT Arlington junior Hunter Brown and UTSA junior Taylor Koser.

Glenn, a native of Tyler, Texas is the first men's golfer from SHSU to be named Student-Athlete of the Year. Glenn, a business major, posted the highest grade-point average on the all-academic team with 3.78.

Glenn ranked 25th in the Southland with a 74.73 stroke average in 11 tournaments played. Glenn won individual medalist honors at the Butler Invitational with a two-round total of 149 (71-69). He finished second at the Sam Houston State Harold Funston Invitational and posted three other top-20 individual finishes on the season.

O'Leary, a business major with a 3.51 GPA, finished fifth for SHSU with a stroke average of 75.13 in five tournaments. A Waco, Texas, native, O'Leary had two top 20 finishes, including 17th at the UTA Waterchase Open and 18th at the Sam Houston Harold Funston Invitational.

Brown, a native of Richardson, Texas, is an interdisciplinary studies major with a 3.74 GPA. Brown recorded a 73.91 stroke average through 34 rounds of play for the Mavericks and was named third-team all-conference. His best finish of the season was a sixth-place showing at the UTA Waterchase Open. Brown also finished tied for 12th at the Mercer Invitational and tied for 18th at the Wichita State Shocker Invitational.

A native of Rice Lake, Wisc., Koser ranked third for the Roadrunners with a 76.15 stroke average in 27 rounds of golf. A business major with a 3.42 GPA, Koser shot a career-low 2-under-par 70 in the second round of the Jim West Intercollegiate, a tournament in which Koser had his best finish of the season (26th). A two-time Southland Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll recipient, Koser finished tied for 29th at the conference championship.

The Southland Conference awards committee, which consists of one administrator from each of the 12 member schools, voted for the student-athlete of the year.

The student-athlete of the year award is presented to the student-athlete who achieves excellence in both academics and athletics. All nominees shall have earned at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale and demonstrated achievement in athletics for at least two years at the nominating institution.

The all-academic teams are voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic advisors from each Southland Conference university. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA, have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution and participated in at least 50 percent of the team's competition to qualify for the all-academic squad.

2012 Southland Conference Men's Golf All-Academic Team
Name – University – Class – GPA – Major - Hometown
James Glenn^ - Sam Houston State - Sr. - 3.81 – Business - Tyler, Texas
Rhys West - Southeastern Louisiana - Jr. - 3.13 – Finance - Johannesburg, South Africa
Kort O'Leary - Sam Houston State - Sr. - 3.51 – Business - Waco, Texas
Hunter Brown (2) - UT Arlington - Jr. - 3.74 - Interdisciplinary Studies - Richardson, Texas
Taylor Koser – UTSA - Jr. - 3.42 – Business - Rice Lake, Wisc.

^ - 2012 Southland Student-Athlete of the Year
2 - Two-time all-academic Selection