PEORIA, Ill. -- Junior forward Jenny Van Kirk (Waconia, Minn./Waconia) was named a second-team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District V selection, according to an announcement Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Van Kirk is the first women's basketball player to earn the distinction since Genny Mueller in 2004-05.

A team co-captain, Van Kirk is averaging 5.7 points and a career-high 4.9 rebounds per game, while helping the Braves to a 14-6 overall record. She is scoring 5.3 points and grabbing 4.1 rebounds per game in Missouri Valley Conference play, as she Bradley to its first winning record (5-4) in the first half of Valley play since the 1996-97 season.

Van Kirk has started 17 of 20 games this season and is averaging 25.8 minutes per contest. A three-time selection for Bradley Scholar-Athlete of the Week, she is second on the team in assists (2.1 per game) and also ranks second on the squad in steals. Van Kirk opened the season by making 15 consecutive free throws and turned in her first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds against Air Force.

Sporting a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average, she is enrolled in Bradley's Individualized Major Program (pre-med) and has been named to the Bradley Athletic Director's Honor Roll all five of her semesters on The Hilltop. Last year, Van Kirk received Bradley's Carl Grose Service Award, given annually to recognize a student-athlete who is committed to volunteerism on campus and in the local community.

To be eligible for the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America program, a student-athlete must be a starter or key reserve, maintain a 3.30 cumulative grade point average and reached sophomore athletic and academic standings in order to be nominated for the award.

Van Kirk is the third Bradley player to earn ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District honors under ninth-year head coach Paula Buscher. Washington, Ill., native Sara Bailey earned the award in 2002-03, while Mueller was a two-time selection (2003-04 & 2004-05). Van Kirk is one of six Missouri Valley Conference players represented on the Academic All-District V team and one of eight MVC players to earn Academic All-District plaudits.

Van Kirk and the Braves return to action tonight when they face Southern Illinois in a 7:05 p.m. game in Carbondale, Ill.