Bragg and Czerniak Celebrated as Academic All-Americans

Volleyball | Sun, Dec. 19, 2021
| by Jake Chipka

CoSIDA NAIA Volleyball Academic All-American Team | TU Honors Page

UPLAND, Ind. – The College Sports Information Directors of America have voted on and announced the 2021 NAIA Volleyball Academic All-American teams, and both Kacy Bragg and Ryan Czerniak received awards.

Taylor received the second-most team awards in the NAIA behind Missouri Baptist and was one of just 12 schools in the nation across all four levels of play to receive multiple All-American honors.

Bragg and Czerniak have now accumulated the seventh and eight Academic All-American awards in Taylor volleyball program-history.

Meanwhile, including the four 2021 Trojan football awards, Taylor Athletics now boasts an astounding 106 Academic All-American selections in school-history, 56 of which have been first-team recognitions.

Furthermore, Taylor athletics boasts a total of eight Academic All-American awards thus far into the 2021-2022 athletic year, which leads the NAIA and is third in the nation across all levels of play, trailing only Johns Hopkins and MIT.

As a junior psychology major, Bragg maintained an excellent 3.83 grade-point average while excelling in equal measure on the court. Named the Crossroads League Setter of the Year, Bragg led the league with 1,278 assists, a mark that sat seventh in the nation, and finished second on the team with 338 digs.

Czerniak ever so slightly outdid Bragg in the classroom, posting a 3.86 grade-point average in the context of a treacherous human physiology and preventative medicine course load. Meanwhile, the senior Pittsboro, Indiana, native struck 368 kills, the league’s fifth-most, to the tune of a .318 hitting percentage.

The CoSIDA Academic All-American award is designed to recognize student-athletes for outstanding achievements in the classroom, as well as on the court or field of play. In order to be eligible for the honor, an athlete must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.30, must have reached sophomore status academically with at least one full year at their current institution and must have participated in over half of the team’s competitions as a key contributor during the current season.

Student-athletes are nominated for the award by their institution’s Sports Information Department and voted on by members of CoSIDA.