Tusculum's Tham and Carson-Newman's Wykle Named College Sports Communicators Academic All-America in Women's Basketball

AUSTIN, Texas – The College Sports Communicators (CSC) announced Wednesday the 2022-23 Academic All-America® women's basketball teams for NCAA Division I-II-III and NAIA. Tusculum graduate student Jami Tham was voted first team Academic All-America and Carson-Newman junior Braelyn Wykle was named second team Academic All-America.  

The 2022-23 Academic All-American® Women's Basketball Team, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes women's basketball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.

Tham, a forward from Arlington, Va., was a first-team All-SAC selection and a two-time SAC Varsity Gems Player of the Week for the 2022-23 season. She held a 3.91 grade point average in Exercise Science (undergrad, Barton College) and currently holds a 4.00 grade point average in Sports Administration (graduate) while at Tusculum. Tham is the first Tusculum player in program history to be named DII Academic All-American.

On the court, Tham averaged 17.6 points and 13.3 rebounds per game for the Pioneers. She led the conference and ranked third in Division II in rebounding and finished second in the SAC in field goal percentage at 51.9 percent (202-for-416). Tham is tied for first in Division II for double-doubles with Samantha Bowman of Central Washington with 26. She set a SAC single-season record for double-doubles with 25 in 28 regular-season games, including a streak of 22 straight to open the season. Tham led the conference in made free throws (102) and ranks second in Division II in total rebounds with 385.

Wykle, a guard from Greeneville, Tenn., is a four-time first-team All-SAC selection and was a two-time SAC Varsity Gems Player of the Week for the 2022-23 season. She holds a 3.59 grade point average in Nursing and joins Kayla Marosites (2019-20) as the only two players in Carson-Newman program history to be an Academic-All American.

Nationally, Wykle ranked fourth in the country making 92.1 percent of her foul shots, 12th in scoring average at 20.9, 11th in field goals with 215, 10th in three-point percentage with 43.5, and 24th in three-pointers made with 74. The junior made 26 consecutive foul shots between Feb. 11 and Feb. 25, the second-best by a player in school history with the school record of 29 in row set by Vickee Kazee during the 1981-82 season. Since Jan. 7, Wykle went 51-for-54, 94 percent, at the charity stripe.

Six of the 16 members of the Academic All-America® Division II women's basketball teams sustain an unblemished 4.0 GPA in their undergraduate work or graduate school. The five members of the first team have an average GPA of 3.92, with the entire Division II team maintaining a collective average GPA of 3.87.

The Division II Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2022-23 Division II Academic All-America® program.

A full list of the 2022-23 Academic All-America women's basketball teams can be found HERE