Hyland & McFarland Chosen for CoSIDA Academic All-America Team
Two of the nation's top ten Division II men's basketball student-athletes play for the Bentley University Falcons as both guard Keegan Hyland (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS), a graduate student, and senior forward Tyler McFarland (Rockport, Maine/Camden Hills HS) have been selected for the 2016 CoSIDA Division II Academic All-America® team by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Hyland was voted to the Academic All-America first team for the second straight season while McFarland was a second-team honoree.
In addition to excelling in the classroom, the two 20-point per game scorers helped Bentley to a 21-7 record, the Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division championship and a berth in Saturday's NE-10 championship game against Southern New Hampshire.
"This is terrific news that both Keegan and Tyler have been chosen as Academic All-Americas" said longtime Bentley head coach Jay Lawson. "It's a testament to the high level of success they have both had as student-athletes and a very unique achievement highlighting our special university. What's even bigger is the character, growth and leadership exhibited by both over the past four years. They're exceptional men and we couldn't be prouder of all they have represented during their time at Bentley."
Hyland, who is currently pursuing his MBA, with a concentration in finance, after graduating Summa Cum Laude last May, is the program's first-ever two-time first-team Academic All-America selection. He's earned a sensational 3.92 GPA, both as an undergrad and a grad student, while being a regular on the university's President's List.
On the court, Hyland is averaging 20.7 points and 7.5 rebounds, ranking second to McFarland in both categories. The owner of 19 20-point games this winter, he also leads the club in assists (91) and steals (34) while shooting 52 percent overall and 42 percent from three. Hyland, Bentley's top scorer in conference games, was selected to the All-Northeast-10 second team and was the NE-10's 2015 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award recipient for men's basketball.
On the verge of moving into Bentley's top 25 scorers, Hyland has the fifth highest career scoring average in program history (17.9) with his point total currently 1,341.
McFarland, a mathematical sciences major, took off in the classroom the last two semesters, posting a 3.91 to raise his overall GPA to 3.46.
Just 24 points away from becoming the program's all-time leading scorer, McFarland is averaging 22.9 points this season, a production level on pace to break the single season school record (22.8). He has a shot at leading the Falcons in both scoring and rebounding for the fourth straight season, and his .911 free throw percentage is also better than the school record.
McFarland, whose scoring average has improved each year he's worn a Falcon uniform, will enter Saturday's NE-10 final with 2,080 points, second only to Bill Holden's 2,103 from 1986-90. On the program's career lists, the first-team All-Northeast-10 honoree also ranks first in minutes per game (34.7) along with second in scoring average (18.9), field goals (770), free throw percentage (.874) and blocked shots (160).
Hyland and McFarland are the third and fourth Bentley student-athletes to earn Academic All-America honors this season. The Falcons have a total of 71 Academic All-Americas all-time, 12th best among Division II programs, and 25 over the last five academic years.
The Division II Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2015-16 Division II Academic All-America® teams program.