TOWSON, Md. --- Tusculum College golfer Chase Carroll has been named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® College Division Men's At-Large First Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

The Men's At-Large program for the Academic All-America® includes the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, tennis and water polo.

Carroll becomes the first golfer in school history to garner Academic All-America® distinction and only the third Tusculum student-athlete to earn First Team accolades. He joins 11 other Tusculum student-athletes who have earned Academic All-America® honors, including women's soccer player Nicole Ferris and football tight end Jarrell NeSmith, who earned Academic All-America® accolades earlier this year.

Carroll, a native of Knoxville, Tenn., graduated from Tusculum last month with a 3.87 cumulative grade point average with a degree in Business Management. He was named the South Atlantic Conference Scholar Athlete for Men's Golf for a third straight year, while also being named the SAC Player of the Year for the first time in his career. He is also a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District IV selection.

Carroll established a new school and South Atlantic Conference single-season record with his 72.08 stroke average. The three-time All-SAC performer also ended his collegiate career with the best scoring average in Tusculum history at 74.29, which is the second lowest in the league record book.

This past year, he captured medalist honors three times including individual titles at the Honda Columbia Classic, Tusculum Fall Classic and last month's South Atlantic Conference Championship, marking the second time he has garnered SAC Tournament MVP honors in his career. The Bearden High School graduate shared Tusculum Male Athlete of the Year accolades.

During his stellar career, Carroll won six tournaments, which is tied for the most in school history with former All-American and Tusculum Sports Hall of Famer Todd Ricker (1992-96). He recorded 22 sub-par rounds in his career (new school record), including a TC-best 11 rounds below par this season.

Carroll has been named to the Dean's List, President's list, Charles Oliver Gray Honors List and the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll. In the community, Carroll has volunteered assisting the homeless, the "Empty Stocking Fund," and tutoring and mentoring at a local elementary school.

Carroll joins an elite group of Academic All-America® First Team honorees from Tusculum. Former women's soccer standout Denise Fliesser earned First Team recognition in 2004 and again in 2005. Tusculum baseball player Dustin Morrow became the second to garner First Team honors in 2008.

To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America® honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.

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