Four Spartans Earn CSC Academic All-District Kudos

East Lansing -- Four Michigan State hockey players have been named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) All-District team to honor their achievements both in the classroom and on the ice. Honored on Tuesday is senior Nash Nienhuis (Sarnia, Ontario), and sophomores Matt Basgall (Lake Forest, Ill.), Daniel Russell (Traverse City, Mich.) and Tiernan Shoudy (Marysville, Mich.)

The requirement for nomination is at least sophomore standing and a year in residence at the athlete's current school, a 3.5 cumulative GPA, and being a starter or significant reserve.

Nienhuis earns the honor for the second consecutive season. A May graduate with a 3.65 GPA as an advertising major, Nienhuis captained the 2023-24 squad to Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles. He posted career-best scoring numbers in all offensive categories (9-15-24), and earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Tournament Team. Nienhuis received several post-season awards: the MSU athletic department's prestigious Chester Brewer Leadership Award, as well as being voted his team's Dr. John Downs Outstanding Defensive Player, the Bill Burgess Outstanding Senior Award, and the Blue Line Club President's Award as the senior with the highest grade-point average. Earlier this summer, Nienhuis signed a professional contract in Austria and will play for EC Red Bull Salzburg in the 2024-25 season.

Basgall served as an alternate captain and owns a 3.976 GPA as a kinesiology and dietetics major. Basgall also captured Academic All-Big Ten and AHCA/Krampade All-American Scholar kudos in his first year of eligibility. He has not missed a game over his first two collegiate seasons, skating in all 38 games this past year and posting a career-best 15 assists. The team's least penalized player with just one minor penalty in those 38 contests, Basgall led the team with 61 blocked shots, which ranked eighth in the Big Ten.

Russell, a civil engineering major, boasts a 3.644 grade point average. Russell has skated on MSU's top line for both of his collegiate seasons, and as a sophomore scored a career-best 13 goals, good for third on the team. He finished with 12 assists and 25 points (+5). Off the ice, Russell was a Big Ten All-Tournament Team selection and also earned his first nod on the Academic All-Big Ten team. Russell was also an AHCA All-American scholar as a freshman.

Shoudy owns a perfect 4.0 grade point average over four semesters at Michigan State, and is a finance major in MSU's prestigious business school. Like Basgall, Shoudy earned both Academic All-Big Ten and AHCA/Krampade All-American Scholar honors, and surpassed his freshman year totals in both assists (12) and points (16), and finished a +3 with 25 blocked shots. Centering MSU's energy-driven and tenacious fourth line, Shoudy owned the team's best faceoff win percentage (253-218, .537).

Players Mentioned

Matt Basgall

Nash Nienhuis

Daniel Russell

Tiernan Shoudy

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