April 29, 2008

CANYON, Texas - West Texas A&M men's basketball senior forward Tyler Cooper has been honored as a second team Academic All-American by ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA, capping off a prolific four-year career on the hard court for the Maroon & White.

Cooper, who has earned Lone Star Conference Academic Player of the Year honors and Academic All-District honors from ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA each of the last two seasons, has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom while majoring in biology. He becomes one of only 15 players from all of NCAA Division II to receive the academic accolade following the conclusion of the 2007-08 campaign.

In addition to his work in the classroom, Cooper has been recognized for his on the court performances each of the last two seasons by being named an honorable mention All-LSC selection. As a senior, Cooper led the Buffs in rebounds with a 5.6 rebounds per game clip, while also contributing 6.9 points per game to help guide the Buffs to their third straight NCAA-II postseason appearance.

Following his graduation from WTAMU, Cooper plans on attending medical school at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.