The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced Thursday the naming of Texas Tech high jumper Trey Culver the Google Cloud Track & Field Academic All-American of the Year. This is not his first time being honored by CoSIDA, as we was named to their Academic All-American team last year as well.

“This award is a huge honor simply from the point of view that my hard work in academics has paid off,” Culver said. “Balancing school and jumping can be tough at times, but my parents taught me how to prioritize.”

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average and have competed in at least 50 percent of the team’s competitions.

This spring, the Sport Management graduate student either won or finished runner-up in all six of his outdoor meets leading into the national meet. His first win came at the Michael Johnson Invitational thanks to a leap of 2.21m/7’-3”. Later in the season, Culver turned in a season-best mark of 2.25m/7’-4.5” to earn eight points and help the Red Raiders complete the indoor/outdoor sweep of Big 12 Championships. The height made Culver owner of his third spot inside Tech’s all-time high jump performance list. He went on to win the high jump at the NCAA West Regional, and his season ultimately culminated with a First-Team All-America performance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in which he placed fourth. 

During indoor season, he jumped in four meets, finishing either first or second in each. He began his winter with a career-best 2.33m/7’-7.75” which propelled him past JaCorian Duffield and Bradley to make him the all-time school leader in the indoor high jump. He then either tied or surpassed their previous record of 2.29m/7’-6” in each of his remaining three meets. He won the Big 12 Indoor Championships with a 2.31m/7’-7” before going on to take silver at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a jump of 2.29m. Culver now owns six of Tech’s top-10 all-time marks in the indoor event.

Culver’s recognition – both by CoSIDA and within the NCAA ranks – adds to a long list of awards racked up by the Lubbock native. Since arriving on campus in the fall of 2015, the Coronado High School product has won two NCAA Indoor titles (2016 & 2017), three Big 12 titles (2016 Outdoor, 2017 Outdoor & 2018 Indoor) and has been a member of seven USTFCCCA All-America teams. The USTFCCCA also honored him as their Male Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2017.

“Ending my career just made me reflect on how thankful I am for my family and the Red Raider nation for all the support,” Culver concluded.

Courtesy of Texas Tech Athletics Communications Department