CSC Release

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Saint John's University senior quarterback Aaron Syverson (Minnetonka, Minn.) was named the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for Division III and two other Johnnies earned Academic All-America honors on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

Syverson was named to the CSC Academic All-America first team, while senior defensive lineman Zach Frank (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) and junior wide receiver Dylan Wheeler (St. Paul, Minn./Mounds View) earned second-team honors. 

All three Johnnies were All-MIAC, D3football.com All-Region and All-Americans in 2024.

SJU has now had 24 football Academic All-Americans over the last 21 seasons and 38 overall.

Nominees must be of a sophomore academic standing or better, with a 3.50 GPA or higher. Athletically, the student-athlete must appear in 90 percent of his team's games or start in 66 percent of them. The Academic All-District and All-America teams are voted upon and selected by registered members of CSC (formerly the College Sports Information Directors of America). 

Syverson and the other three CSC Academic All-Americans of the Year – Travis Hunter (University of Colorado), Brayden Long (Slippery Rock University) and Jameson Chesser (Taylor University) – will be prominently featured at the annual Maxwell Awards Gala on March 14 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

Syverson
An accounting major with a 3.70 GPA and a consensus 2024 All-American (AFCA Second Team, AP Second Team, D3football.com Second Team, Walter Camp), Syverson was named the Walter Camp Division III Player of the Year and was the runner-up for the Gagliardi Trophy. 

He ended the 2024 season as the Division III leader in completion percentage (.763), passing touchdowns (51), passing yards (4,382) and passing yards per game (365.2); second in completions per game (27.58), points responsible per game (26.0) and total offense per game (361.2); third in points responsible for (312); fourth in passing efficiency (198.0); and sixth in yards per pass attempt (10.10).

He finished 331 of 434 passing (.763) for 4,382 yards and 51 touchdowns (to four interceptions) in 12 games this season. Syverson passed for over 300 yards in 10 of the Johnnies' 12 games this fall, including four over 400, and for five or more touchdowns six times with eight games of four or more.

Syverson completed 77.1 percent (158-for-205) of his passes for 1,928 yards and 19 touchdowns (to two interceptions) in five games against nationally ranked teams (then-No. 4/now No. 12 Wartburg; then-No. 24/now No. 8 Bethel, twice; then-No. 18/now No. 21 UW-La Crosse; and then-No. 6/now No. 4 Susquehanna).

He owns the program and MIAC records for pass attempts (1,418); pass completions (983), passing yards (12,888) and touchdown passes (147), as well as the SJU marks for completion percentage (.693), passing yards per game (314.3), total offense (12,961 yards) and 300-yard passing games (20). Syverson is third in SJU history in both passing efficiency (175.8) and quarterback wins as a starter (36-5 record)

Syverson was named the 2024 MIAC Offensive Player of the Year and collected his third All-MIAC honor after he played all eight conference games and led the MIAC in every passing statistic for the second-consecutive season: completions (213), attempts (286), completion percentage (.745), passing yards (2,953/369.1 ypg.), passing touchdowns (36) and pass-efficiency rating (199.95). He set MIAC records (conference games only) for passing yards per game (369.1), 300-yard passing games (7), consecutive 300-yard passing games (6) and 400-yard passing games (3).

Frank
An accounting major with a 3.89 GPA, Frank was named to the D3football.com All-America fourth team and is a two-time All-Region and All-MIAC selection. The Johnnies have now had an All-American on the defensive line in five of the last six seasons.

He led the team in sacks (9.0) and quarterback hurries (6), and was second in tackles for loss (11.5) this fall for a defense that ended the regular season as the NCAA Division III leader on fourth down (20 percent/5-for-25), third in sacks (4.10 spg.), sixth in the red zone (.565/13-for-23); eighth against the run (53.8 ypg.) and 19th in points allowed (13.0 ppg.). He has 23.0 tackles for loss, including 15.5 sacks, with 14 quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles in 31 career games.

Wheeler
Wheeler is an accounting major with a 3.59 GPA and was a consensus All-American (AFCA First Team, AP First Team, D3football.com Third Team, Walter Camp) this fall. He ended the season second in Division III in receiving touchdowns (21); eighth in total points scored (126) and total touchdowns (21); 14th in receptions per game (7.3); and 15th in scoring (10.5 ppg.). He recorded over 100 receiving yards in seven of his team's 12 games and led SJU in receptions (88) and receiving touchdowns (21). Wheeler finished second on the team to senior wide receiver Marselio Mendez (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) with 1,164 receiving yards.

The 21 receiving touchdowns were second-most in program history, one behind the record of 22 set by Blake Elliott '03 in 2002, while the catches rank third and the yards rank 10th. Wheeler enters his senior season next fall fourth in program history in 100-yard receiving games (10), sixth in receiving touchdowns (31), eighth in receptions (149) and 12th in receiving yards (2,007).

He was a two-time MIAC Offensive Player of the Week and led the MIAC in scoring, both in touchdowns (16) and total points (96), while finishing fifth in receptions (54) and sixth in receiving yards (821) in eight conference games.

SJU (11-1, 8-0 MIAC) won its MIAC-record 37th conference championship and made its 33rd postseason appearance (29th in Division III) this fall. The 10-win season was the program's 26th.