Goracke, Turner named CSC Academic All-District
3/31/2024 8:40:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Two starters who helped lead Bobcats to third straight Big Sky title and NCAA Tournament appearance earn academic recognition for performance on the court and in the classroom this year
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Brian Goracke and Eddie Turner III were named to the 2023-2024 CSC Academic All-District Team, College Sports Communicators announced this past week.
The 2023-24 Academic All-District Basketball Teams recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. Honorees must have at least a 3.5 GPA and have played in 90% of their team's games.
Academic All-District honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot. First-, second and third-team Academic All-America honorees will be announced April 17.
Goracke, a junior from Monroe, Oregon, holds a 3.54 cumulative GPA and is majoring in Business-Accounting. The wing appeared in all 35 games for the Bobcats this season, starting in 33, and finished second on the team and tied for tenth in the Big Sky in scoring (13.5 points per game).
Goracke was third in the conference in free throw percentage (86.5%), the ninth-highest mark in a single season in program history, and was instrumental in Montana State's remarkable run at the Big Sky Tournament in Boise, getting named to the Big Sky All-Tournament Team after averaging 12.3 points per game over three wins in three days, shooting 50% from the floor and 46.7% from deep. The Division II transfer from Point Loma dropped 25 points in a dramatic come-from-behind win over Weber State in the Big Sky quarterfinals to keep the Cats' season alive, shooting 8-of-12 from the floor and 5-of-9 from distance.
In Montana State's overtime loss to Grambling State at the First Four in the NCAA Tournament in Dayton, Ohio, Goracke scored 15 points while connecting on 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Turner, a graduate student from Seattle, Washington, holds a 3.53 cumulative GPA and is pursuing a master's degree in Sport and Coaching. The guard appeared in 32 games for the Cats, starting 30, and averaged 9.4 points, 3.7 assists, and 1.9 steals per game.
The grad transfer from Columbia University finished fifth in the Big Sky in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.83) and seventh in total assists (119). Turner scored at least 18 points in six games this season, including a career-high 27 against Portland State (Feb. 22) and 24 against Eastern Washington (March 2).
The guard's 60 steals were tied with Darius Brown II for the fifth-most in a single season in program history, and ranked fourth in the conference and 72nd in NCAA Division I.
In the Big Sky Championship game in Boise on March 13, Turner came up clutch in one of the most memorable wins in program history, scoring 15 points--including 13 in the second half—to spur a double-digit comeback against arch-rival Montana and cap a legendary three-day stretch at Idaho Central Arena.
Both Goracke and Turner headline a group of returners for the Cats in 2024-2025 as they aim for a fourth straight Big Sky title and NCAA Tournament appearance.
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