Pitt-Johnstown senior forward
John Paul Kromka reached the pinnacle of academic success when the College Sports Communicators' (CSC) named him the 2022-23 Division II Men's Basketball Academic All-American of the Year on Tuesday. Kromka is the first Pitt-Johnstown student-athlete to receive this honor.
Kromka, a four-time Academic All-American, including being a three-time first-team honoree, has a 3.94 overall GPA in Mechanical Engineering.
Division II had five repeat selections:
Austin Andrews (University of Minnesota Duluth),
Antonin Kemkeng (Thomas Jefferson University),
John Paul Kromka (University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown),
Ronnie Silva (Adelphi University) and
Brendan Sullivan (Colorado School of Mines).
The Division II team boasted a 3.85 average GPA with the first team checking in at 3.88.
Kromka, a five-time PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week in 2022-23 and the PSAC West Athlete of the Week on Jan. 30, earned his fourth straight PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Year honor and his third straight First-Team All-PSAC West honor. The 2018-19 PSAC West Freshman of the Year and 2021-22 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-American led Pitt-Johnstown in scoring (17.3 ppg),
rebounding (7.2 rpg.), field goal percentage (67.6%), blocks (78), and steals (37) and his 68 assists were fourth on the team.
Kromka led the PSAC and ranks second in NCAA Division II in field goal percentage, while his 78 blocks and 2.69 blocks per game both lead the conference and rank fourth and fifth nationally, respectively. He is also fifth in the conference and 54
th nationally in field goals made and sixth in the conference and 93
rd in the nation in scoring.
He is Pitt-Johnstown's all-time leader in blocked shots with 320. Kromka also stands in third place on the Mountain Cats All-time Scoring (1944 points) and Rebounding Lists (941 rebounds) and 13
th on the all-time assists list with 306.
NCAA DIVISION II
CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year:
John Paul Kromka, University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown
FIRST TEAM
Name School Yr. GPA Major
Jacob Beeninga Minnesota State University, Moorhead Jr. 4.00 Business
Bryce Butler West Liberty University Jr. 3.76 Sport Management
Matt Cartwright University of Sioux Falls Gr. 3.82/3.82 MBA
John Paul Kromka (1, 4, 7) University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Sr. 3.94 Mechanical Engineering
Erik Timko Thomas Jefferson University Jr. 3.89 Management
SECOND TEAM
Name School Yr. GPA Major
Ben Gahlert Limestone University Jr. 4.00 Business General / Business Marketing
Jordan Janssen Wayne State College Gr. 3.77/3.77 Business Administration
Matt Leritz Bentley University Gr. 3.96/3.85 MBA
Rowan Mackenzie Lubbock Christian University Sr. 3.80 Social Work
Brendan Sullivan (1, 5) Colorado School of Mines Gr. 3.82/3.54 Civil Engineering (UG) / Eng. & Technology Mgmt. (G)
THIRD TEAM
Name School Yr. GPA Major
Austin Andrews (1) University of Minnesota Duluth Jr. 3.93 Civil Engineering B.S.C.E.
Antonin Kemkeng (3) Thomas Jefferson University Sr. 3.86 Finance
Sam Masten Northern State University Sr. 3.50 Business Management
Adam Moussa Black Hills State University Jr. 3.96 Business Administration
Ronnie Silva (3, 6) Adelphi University Gr. 3.71/4.00 Sport Management
(1) - 1st team Academic All-America® in 2021-22
(2) - 2nd team Academic All-America® in 2021-22
(3) - 3rd team Academic All-America® in 2021-22
(4) - 1st team Academic All-America® in 2020-21
(5) - 2nd team Academic All-America® in 2020-21
(6) - 3rd team Academic All-America® in 2020-21
(7) - 3rd team Academic All-America® in 2019-20
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.
