PEORIA, Ill. -- Junior forward Jenny Van Kirk (Waconia, Minn./Waconia) has been named to the 11-member Division I-AAA Athletic Directors Association Scholar-Athlete Team announced Thursday. Van Kirk is the first Brave to earn the honor since Genny Mueller in 2004-05 and joins Mueller and Sara Bailey as the only players in program history to earn the distinction.
Enrolled in Bradley's Individualized Major Program (pre-med), Van Kirk owns a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average. She was a second-team Missouri Valley Conference scholar-athlete and also took home second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V honors this year.
A team co-captain, Van Kirk started 19 of 31 games this season and helped the Braves to a school-record 21 wins (21-10 overall). She was sixth on the team in scoring (5.2 ppg) and ranked third on the squad in rebounding (4.1 rpg). One of three players with more assists than turnovers, she was also third on the team in assists (1.8 apg) and steals (1.0 spg).
One of 10 recipients of the MVC Good Neighbor Award, Van Kirk helped lead Bradley to an 11-7 record and fourth-place finish in Valley play. The 11-7 conference mark and fourth-place finish were the best for the Braves since tying for third in the Gateway Conference with an 11-7 record in 1991-92. In addition to the regular-season success, the Braves made their first appearance in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinals since 1996-97.
Van Kirk was a three-time Bradley Country Financial Scholar-Athlete of the Week pick this season and has been named to the Bradley Athletic Director's Honor Roll all five semesters on The Hilltop. In 2007-08, she was selected as the Carl Grose Service Award winner, given annually to recognize a student-athlete who is committed to volunteerism on campus and in the local community.
Basketball players from all Division I-AAA ADA member institutions are eligible for these prestigious awards. Each of the nominees was required to have a minimum grade point average of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale) in undergraduate study and have been a starter or important reserve with legitimate athletics credentials. He/she must have reached junior athletics and academic standing at the nominated institution (true freshmen, red-shirt freshmen and ineligible athletics transfers are not eligible) and have completed at least three academic semesters/five quarters at the nominated institution. Nominated student-athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games listed on the nomination form.
Now in its eighth year, the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association's mission is to enhance initiatives common to its Division I-AAA membership (the 95 Division I institutions that do not sponsor football), in particular, aspects related to their flagship basketball programs. The Division I-AAA ADA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 44th year.
