MOORHEAD, Minn. (3/17/16)--- The awards keep getting bigger for Concordia senior Jordan Bolger.
On Thursday Bolger became the first Cobber player to be named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-American First Team. The honor is the highest a basketball player can achieve and is made even more special by the fact that there have only been three other players in the history of the MIAC to earn NABC All-American First Team honors.
Bethel's Kyle Zimmerman earned All-American First Team honors last season while Isaac Rosefelt of St. Thomas was named a first team selection in 2006 and 2007 and Carleton'sGerrick Monroe earned the award in 1993.
Bolger is also only the 12th player in MIAC history to be placed on any of the three NABC All-American teams. He is also the first player in school history to earn NABC All-American honors.
This year's NABC All-American honor was released in conjunction with the NABC West All-District awards where Bolger was named the West All-District Player of the Year. He is the first athlete in the history of the school to be named the District Player of the Year.
The two honors are the most prestigious of all the awards that Bolger has received during the postseason. Bolger started the postseason by being named the Joe Hutton MIAC Most Valuable Player as well as earning his third straight MIAC All-Conference award. Bolger was also the team's selection to the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team and claimed MIAC Player of the Week honors twice during the season.
Bolger followed his All-Conference accolades by being voted in to the Reese's NABC Division III All-Star game which will take place on Saturday, Mar. 19 at 3:30 p.m. prior to the NCAA Division III Championship Game in Salem, Va.
This start of this week brought another milestone achievement as Bolger became the first player in program history to be named to the D3hoops.com All-West Region First Team.
Bolger's unbelievable haul of honors capped a season where he helped Concordia post a 16-10 overall record and a 13-7 mark in conference play. The Cobbers finished in a tie for third place in the final MIAC standings and earned a spot in the conference playoffs for the third time in the past four seasons.
Bolger was a part of a senior class that won at least 15 games in three years. There have only be 10 seasons in program history that Concordia has won at least 15 games.
Bolger's individual prowess was only outdone by his unselfishness on the court. He was a true "team" player throughout the season and finished in the top 10 in the MIAC in 13 different statistical categories.
Bolger helped Concordia lead the nation in shooting percentage in 2016. Bolger put up career numbers in every statistical category in 2016. He averaged 18.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game and scored at least 10 points in 23 of the 24 games he played during the season and put up at least 20 points on 13 occasions.
Bolger also came away with a pair of career milestones during the year. He became only the third player in school history to score at least 1,000 points and collect 500 rebounds in a career. Bolger joined the elite 1000/500 club when he scored his 1,000th point on Jan. 9 against St. John's. He surpassed the 500-rebound mark on Dec. 2 vs. St. Thomas.
Bolger finished his career fifth on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,268 points. He also came away with 679 rebounds which is second on the school's all-time chart. Bolger also recorded 17 double-doubles throughout the course of his storied career.
2016 COACHES' NABC WEST ALL-DISTRICT
First Team
Trey Bardsley, Nebraska Wesleyan
Jordan Bolger, Concordia Moorhead
Taylor Montero, St. Thomas
Andre Norris, Dubuque
Cam Haslam, Chapman
George Valle, Whitworth
Second Team
Ben Figini, St. Olaf
Tim Howell, Whitman
Zach Schradle, Wisconsin-Superior
Colby Taylor, Central
Nick Clark, Buena Vista
West District Player of the Year: Jordan Bolger, Concordia-Moorhead
West District Coach of the Year: John Tauer, St. Thomas
2016 NABC COACHES' DIVISION III ALL-AMERICA FIRST TEAM
Jordan Bolger, Concordia Moorhead, 6-6, Senior, Forward, Apple Valley, Minn.
Marcus Carter, Christopher Newport, 6-2, Sophomore, Guard, Williamsburg, Va.
AJ Edwards, Marietta, 6-5, Junior, Forward, Twinsburg, Ohio
Joey Flannery, Babson, 6-5, Junior, Guard/Forward, Acton, Mass.
Alex Graves, Lynchburg, 6-4, Senior, Forward, Waynesboro, Va.
Hunter Hill, Augustana, 5-9, Senior, Guard, Byron, Ill.
Jordan McDaniel, Rutgers-Newark, 6-5, Senior, Forward, Colonia, N.J.
Kyle Richardson, Plattsburgh State, 6-4, Senior, Guard/Forward, Baldwin, N.Y.
2016 NABC COACHES' DIVISION III ALL-AMERICA SECOND TEAM
Will Fonseca, Staten Island, 6-5, Senior, Forward, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Mitch Ford, Nazareth, 6-5, Senior Forward, Victor, N.Y.
Ted Hinnenkamp, Dickinson, 6-7, Senior, Guard/Forward, York, Pa.
Sterling Holmes, Texas Lutheran, 6-0, Junior, Guard, San Antonio, Texas
Luke Johnson, Benedictine, 6-9, Senior, Forward, Naperville, Ill.
Scott Nikodemski, Alma, 6-1, Senior, Guard, Rockford, Mich.
Andre Norris, Dubuque, 6-7, Senior, Forward, Plainfield, Ill.
Jordan Rezendes, UMass Dartmouth, 6-2, Senior, Guard, Onset, Mass.
2016 NABC COACHES' DIVISION III ALL-AMERICA THIRD TEAM
Shay Ajayi, Trinity College, 6-6, Senior, Forward, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Nate Axelrod, Ohio Wesleyan, 5-7, Sophomore, Guard, Dublin, Ohio
Brendan Boken, Scranton, 6-6, Senior, Forward/Center, South Pasadena, Calif.
Anthony Gaines, Jr., Louisiana College, 6-4, Senior, Guard/Forward, Shreveport, La.
Evan Kupferburg, NYU, 6-6, Senior, Forward, Boca Raton, Fla.
Ty Sabin, Ripon, 6-2, Junior, Guard, New Berlin, Wis.
Jamail Stanley, Old Westbury, 6-2, Junior, Guard, Syracuse, N.Y.
George Valle, Whitworth, 6-4, Senior, Guard, Bellevue, Wash.