Wingate’s Barnette, Newberry’s Burke Named To ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Men’s Basketball Team

BRISTOL, Conn. - Wingate University junior guard/forward Sean Barnette (Rock Hill, S.C.) and Newberry College Tommy Burke (Newberry, S.C.) have been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III men's basketball first team (college division), selected by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America).

Barnette was named to the first team and now advances to the ballot for Academic All-America honors. Burke was named to the second team.

Twelve student-athletes were named to either the first or second ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III men's basketball team. The six first team members will advance to the national ballot.

Barnette earns Academic All-District honors for the first time in his career. An Accounting major, he possesses a 3.20 GPA. Barnette is the only student-athlete from the South Atlantic Conference to earn first team honors.

Sean Barnette

On the court, Barnette leads the SAC in scoring with 20.6 points per game. He is 34th in the NCAA Division II in points per game. The Northwestern High School graduate is listed in the SAC top 10 in seven statistical categories.

A first team All-South Atlantic Conference performer in 2006, Barnette was also named to the 2005-06 Daktronics NCAA Division II Men's Basketball South Atlantic All-Region second team and the NCCSIA All-State second team following his sophomore season.

Barnette led Wingate to the 2006 Food Lion SAC tournament championship, earning tournament Most Valuable Player honors in the process. In his freshman season, Barnette was named the SAC Freshman of the Year.

Burke, a senior guard, has posted a 3.88 grade point average through the fall of 2007, majoring in sports management. This is Burke's first selection to the Academic All-District Team.

Burke has played in 106 games in his career to date, averaging 5.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game over four seasons. As an accomplished outside shooter, Burke has connected on 37.3 percent of his three-point attempts in his four years.

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution offering students active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, faith nurturing, career development, community service and study abroad.

Tommy Burke

Wingate offers more than 37 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers pre-professional programs and graduate degrees in business, education, physical education and sport administration.

In the spring of 2007, Wingate University will award its first-ever doctor of pharmacy degrees. Bulldog student-athletes compete in 17 NCAA Division II sports.

The ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District team is selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) from institutions within District III, which includes the states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

The District III College Division consists of all-non NCAA Division I colleges and universities in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina and Virginia. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with a 3.2 cumulative grade point average and must be a starter or a significant reserve on his or her team.

2007 ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT III
MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAMS (COLLEGE DIVISION)

FIRST TEAM
Beau Bauer, Florida Gulf Coast
Patrick Sanou, Armstrong Atlantic (Ga.) State
Austin Lehmann, Methodist
Sean Barnette, Wingate
Hazael Andrew, Fayetteville State
Justin Baker, Mary Washington (Va.)

SECOND TEAM
Dustin David, North Georgia College & State
Nathaniel Mann, Southern Virginia
Theo Oates, USC Aiken
Logan Call, Pfeiffer
Tommy Burke, Newberry
Chad Stapleton, Northwood (Fla.)