ST. LOUIS – Missouri Baptist University senior Pablo Hernandez was named to the 2018-19 Google Cloud Academic All-District® Men's Basketball Team, selected by CoSIDA, on Thursday. Acknowledged as one of the most selective and prestigious awards in college athletics, the Google Cloud Academic All-America® program recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom.
 
Hernandez is the fourth Spartan this year to be recognized on a Google Cloud Academic All-District team joining the likes of K.J. Satcher (football), Davide Bucarelli (men's soccer) and Caterina Cigarini (women's volleyball).
 
First-team Academic All-District® honorees advance to the Google Cloud Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team (if applicable) Academic All-America® honorees will be announced in mid-March.
 
"Pablo is the definition of student-athlete," head men's basketball coach Matt Brock said. "He pursues excellence on and off the court. With his focus and leadership has had such a positive influence on each member of our team."
 
Majoring in Physical Education (K-12) with a 3.62 cumulative GPA, Hernandez will be a two-time Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete and four-time AMC Academic All-Conference honoree. The Ames, Spain native has twice been named American Midwest Conference's Emil S. Liston Award winner, which is annually awarded to the top men's basketball player in three areas of academics, athletics and character.
 
As the only active Spartan to play in 100 games, Hernandez's basketball resume is quite impressive. He is one of just 15 players in school history to reach 1,100 career points and continues to rise in the record books with two regular season and multiple postseason games remaining. In 2017-18, Hernandez was named an NAIA All-American (Honorable Mention) and All-AMC Second Team selection.
 
The 6-foot-7 power forward is on pace to have his best season yet averaging 14.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He leads the team in scoring and has helped propel MBU to a No. 3 national ranking, the highest in program history. Hernandez was selected as the AMC Player of the Week on Feb. 4 after a superb week in home games against Park, Central Baptist and Lyon.
 
Hernandez and the Spartans have already locked in the No. 1 seed for the 2019 AMC Tournament and an automatic berth to the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championships in Kansas City, Mo.
 
For more information about CoSIDA's Google Cloud Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® Teams program, visit AcademicAllAmerica.com or the Academic All-America® home page on CoSIDA.com.