ELLENSBURG, WA.—The Central Washington Wildcats football team landed a conference leading 18 players on the GNAC Academic All-Conference list.

To qualify for the GNAC All-Academic Teams, presented by Barnes & Noble College, nominees must be of sophomore eligibility or greater, have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.20 or greater, be a letter winner on their team and must be in their second year at the nominating institution.

"We are extremely proud of the effort the team displayed in the classroom over the last four quarters. They players understand if we are going to take the next step and become a consistent national contender, it starts with accountability and discipline in the classroom. It is extremely rewarding for all the players and coaches to see our hard work paying off." Said CWU Head Coach Chris Fisk 

Will Ortner led the Wildcats as he earned himself a selection in 2018, 2019 and now 2020. Ortner has a 3.68 GPA and focuses his studies in Digital Journalism and Sport Management.

Four Wildcats received back-to-back selections from last year, including Josh Alvarez (3.41, Construction Management), Isaiah Carbajal (3.35, Safety & Health Management), Donte Hamilton (3.52, Sport Management), Christian Moore (3.31, Business Administration/Accounting).

Ray Green (3.64, Digital Journalism) & Patrick Hegarty (3.65, Clinical Physiology) Had the Wildcats highest first-selection GPA's.

Jeremy Banks (3.42, Undeclared) & James Hinson (3.43, Business Administration) held the 3.40+ mark for the 'Cats.

Jahleel Breland (3.20, Public Relations), Sonny Fuavai (3.32, Actuarial Science), Sean Gordon (3.29), JJ Lemming (3.21, Business Administration), Tai-John Mizutani (3.28), Jonathan Navarro (3.28, Sport Management), Cody O'Connell (3.26 PE & School Health), Michael Roots (3.20 Sport Management) and Donald Wilkinson (3.20 Environmental Science) completes the teams selections.

To view the GNAC's full release click HERE.