Valparaiso University senior forward Alec Peters (Washington, Ill./Washington) was honored for his work both in the classroom and on the court on Thursday, as he was recognized as a First Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Peters is one of only five players in the nation to earn the honor, and the first men’s basketball player in program history to be named a First Team Academic All-American. In addition, Peters also earned a spot on the Horizon League Academic All-League squad on Thursday.

Peters has been simply outstanding for the Crusaders this season on the hardwood in leading the team to another Horizon League regular season championship, averaging 23 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Peters, who ranks among the top-10 in the nation in scoring and top-20 in rebounding, has proven to be a consistent force, scoring in double figures in all 29 of his games, including 20 or more points on 23 occasions while registering 16 double-doubles.

Over the course of the season, Peters has broken four of the program’s career benchmarks, all within a six-game span – including breaking the team’s career rebounding and scoring records in back-to-back games. He ranks third on the program’s single-season scoring chart and seventh on the single-season rebounding list, and has moved up to third position on the Horizon League’s all-time scoring list.

In the classroom, Peters has performed just as admirably over his four years at Valpo. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sports management last year and began his post-graduate work this year in Valpo’s sports administration master’s program, where he currently holds a 3.53 grade point average. Peters earned CoSIDA First Team Academic All-District accolades each of the last three years, while this marks his third consecutive appearance on the Academic All-League team.

Peters is the first player in Crusader men’s basketball history to earn CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American honors, and is the first Crusader since Dan Oppland (2004-05) to earn any level of Academic All-American recognition. He is the 29^th student-athlete in Valpo Athletics history to receive Academic All-American accolades from CoSIDA, including the 11^th to earn a spot as a First Team choice.