Eric Kraus

NCAA Div. III Football CoSIDA Academic All-America® release

The College of Wooster's Eric Kraus was voted to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America® Team, which was announced by the national organization on Wednesday. The Fighting Scots' junior linebacker was a second-team honoree.

"This is one of the greatest honors a true student-athlete can receive," said head coach Frank Colaprete. "Eric is one of the most deserving student-athletes for the award, not only because of his high GPA, but also because of his ability to balance athletics and academics. He balances the workload in one of Wooster's most challenging majors."

Kraus, who sports a perfect 4.0 GPA as a biochemistry and molecular biology major, ranked third on the team this fall with 53 tackles. Kraus' contributions were instrumental in a pair of signature wins for the Scots. He tallied a then-season-high nine tackles and logged one of Wooster's seven sacks during a 24-10 win over Wabash College, in what marked the Scots' first victory over the Little Giants since 2004. The junior added nine tackles during a thrilling 16-14 win over Ohio Wesleyan University, which was tied atop the North Coast Athletic Conference standings when the game took place.

Kraus is one of several Wooster football players who are actively involved with the campus organization Men Working for Change, which advocates for the prevention of sexual violence on campus and serves as an awareness group about ways to prevent sexual assaults through seminars and other planned events.

The biochemistry and molecular biology major spent this past summer shadowing physical therapists at East Suburban Sports Medicine Center in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and he's involved with the College's popular health coach program.

Wooster football student-athletes have earned 14 Academic All-America® awards – the most of any sport at the College – and the College now has 50 all-time Academic All-America® honorees. Wooster legend Blake Moore '80 headlines the football selections as a three-time Academic All-American®, while Kraus is the first football player selected since Nick Flannery '16 was a first-teamer in 2014 and 2015.