KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For just the fourth time in program history, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has named a Campbellsville University football student-athlete a First Team All-American.

Campbellsville, Ky. native Bradley Bates earned First Team All-American honors as the top place kicker in the NAIA. In addition, Lexington, Ky. native Tyus Alcorn earned NFCA/NAIA Second-Team honors.  

The First-Team honor is the first since Calvin Bini earned the award as a defensive back in 2010. Greg Fountain (2008) and Demetrius Forney (2001) were the other First-Team All-Americans. The Second-Team honor is the second-straight for CU, as Jacob Russell earned the feat last season. Before that, the Tigers last Second-Team All-American was Forney in 2000.

The awards keep piling up for Bates who was also named Second-Team All-Conference and Second-Team NCCAA All-American.

Bates eclipsed Donnie Johnson's single-season record with 85 points on the season and made 14 fields goals this season to tie Johnson's mark set in 2003. In addition, Bates made 43 PATs – the second-most in a single-season.

"Having Bradley and Tyus named to the NAIA All-American Teams is a blessing for them and our program," said coach Perry Thomas. "To have two guys earn All-American honors off of a team that finished with a 2-8 record speaks of the respect that coaches in NAIA have for our program and also the type of year these two had.

"Bradley has worked tirelessly year around to develop into an All-American kicker. He spends countless hours in the weight room throughout the off season, on the field improving his strength and improving his technique. That work has paid off for him."

Alcorn, who is arguably one of the best receivers to come through the program, also racked up the awards in 2016. He earned Mid-South Conference West Division Co-Offensive Player of the Year and was named an NCCAA First-Team All-American.

He finished the season with 1,095 receiving yards and 109.5 receiving yards per game, which led the Mid-South Conference in both categories. He now joins Shane Riley, Trevon Chatman and Jarrod Harrington as the only 1,000-yard receivers in program history.
 
Alcorn also led the Mid-South with 6.6 receptions per game this season. At the NAIA level, Alcorn ranked fifth in receiving yards, sixth in receiving yards per game and receptions per game.
 
Highlighting his senior season, Alcorn hauled in 235 yards vs. Union College to break the single-game record, which was previously set by Shane Riley with 172 (2002).
 
Over the previous three seasons, Alcorn totaled 36 receiving touchdowns – breaking the career record which was previously set by Demytreus Gipson (2011-2014) with 29. He also holds the single-season mark of 19 touchdowns set in 2015.
 
"It's hard to imagine anyone out there much better than Tyus," said Thomas. "He is as good as you get in the wide receiver spot. We have been blessed to have some good ones and he is one of the very best. He has bounced back from major shoulder surgery and ACL surgery to have an outstanding college career and is well deserving of his All-American recognition. We have been blessed to have some First and Second Team All-Americans during my tenure here and these two are as deserving as any of them."

Campbellsville finished the 2016 with a 2-8 record and 0-5 inside the Mid-South Conference. The Fighting Tigers are scheduled to host University of Pikeville to kickoff the 2017 season at home on Thursday, Aug. 24.
 
2016 AFCA-NAIA Coaches' All-America Team - First Team?
 
Offense

Pos.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Hometown (High School)
QB	Logan Brettell	6-0	190	Jr.	Baker (Kan.)	Overland Park, Kan. (Blue Valley)
RB	*Nolan Saraceni	5-10	200	Sr.	Montana Tech	Billings, Mont. (Billings Senior)
RB	Bryce Lidtka	5-10	190	Jr.	Dordt (Iowa)	Grinnell, Iowa (Grinnell)
WR	*Krishawn Hogan	6-4	215	Sr.	Marian (Ind.)	Indianapolis, Ind. (Warren Central)
WR	TJ Brown	6-0	170	Sr.	Sterling (Kan.)	Stockton, Calif. (East Union)
TE	Seth Coate	6-3	215	Sr.	Saint Francis (Ind.)	Fort Wayne, Ind. (Homestead)
OL	Blake Frank	6-3	285	Sr.	Morningside (Iowa)	Mapleton, Minn. (Maple River)
OL	Mitch Butterfield	6-1	270	Jr.	Friends (Kan.)	Wichita, Kan. (Maize South)
OL	Xavier Carter	5-11	240	Jr.	Reinhardt (Ga.)	Snellville, Ga. (Shiloh)
OL	Justin Hunter	6-2	305	Jr.	Saint Xavier (Ill.)	Crest Hill, Ill. (Joliet Catholic Academy)
OL	Dajshon Oliver	6-5	305	Jr.	Warner (Fla.)	Tampa, Fla. (Chamberlain)

?
Defense

Pos.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Hometown (High School)
DL	*Sam Van Ginkel	6-5	245	Sr.	Northwestern (Iowa)	Rock Valley, Iowa (Western Christian)
DL	Trey Barnes	6-2	255	Sr.	Concordia (Neb.)	Seward, Neb. (Seward)
DL	Noey Tauave	6-2	270	Sr.	Dickinson State (N.D.)	Sacramento, Calif. (Nuvnli Poly Tech)
DL	Jeff Branch	6-2	236	Sr.	Presentation (S.D.)	Virginia Beach, Va. (Landstown)
DL	Evan Sprayberry	6-2	210	So.	Tabor (Kan.)	Moore, Okla. (Moore)
LB	*Alden Mann	5-10	200	Sr.	Wayland Baptist (Texas)	Wimberley, Texas (Wimberley)
LB	Stephen Thayer	5-9	202	Sr.	Missouri Valley	Manteca, Calif. (Sierra)
LB	KyRandall Smith	6-0	227	Sr.	Saint Mary (Kan.)	Amarillo, Texas (Little Elm)
DB	*Nate Moore	5-9	170	Sr.	College of Idaho	Meridian, Idaho (Mountain View)
DB	Rickey Rodriguez	5-10	175	Sr.	Bethel (Kan.)	Port St. Lucy, Fla. (West Centennial)
DB	Robert Lewis	6-0	180	Sr.	Grand View (Iowa)	Hewitt, Texas (Midway)

?
Specialists

Pos.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Hometown (High School)
P	Derek Brush	6-2	200	Jr.	Arizona Christian	Whittier, Calif. (Whittier Christian)
PK	Bradley Bates	5-10	165	Jr.	Campbellsville (Ky.)	Campbellsville, Ky. (Campbellsville)
AP	Quincy Walden	5-7	170	Sr.	Bethel (Tenn.)	Milan, Tenn. (South Gibson)

?*-2015 AFCA-NAIA All-American??
 
 
 
2016 AFCA-NAIA Coaches' All-America Team - Second Team?
Offense

Pos.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Hometown (High School)
QB	Cedrick Phillips	5-11	185	So.	Sterling (Kan.)	Stockton, Calif. (Edison)
RB	Nate Meier	6-0	205	Sr.	Doane (Neb.)	Pierce, Neb. (Pierce)
RB	Korey Rogers	5-6	160	Sr.	Robert Morris (Ill.)	Chicago, Ill. (Joliet West)
WR	Tyus Alcorn	6-2	190	Sr.	Campbellsville (Ky.)	Lexington, Ky. (West Jessamine)
WR	Matt Retzlaff	5-10	190	R-Sr.	Southern Oregon	Medford, Ore. (South Medford)
WR	Austin Opdahl	6-1	185	Jr.	Dakota State (S.D.)	Madison, S.D. (Chester Area)
OL	Zach Reeves	6-3	244	Sr.	Doane (Neb.)	Central City, Neb. (Central City)
OL	Keegan Bruner	6-1	310	Sr.	Saint Francis (Ind.)	Warsaw, Ind. (Warsaw)
OL	Lars Lind	6-1	220	Sr.	Sterling (Kan.)	Golden, Colo. (Golden)
OL	Logan Glaze	6-6	285	Jr.	Marian (Ind.)	Leo, Ind. (Leo)
OL	Spencer Baalman	6-5	300	Jr.	Tabor (Kan.)	Wichita, Kan. (Maize)

?
Defense

Pos.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Hometown (High School)
DL	Brady Mudder	6-3	240	Sr.	Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)	Garretson, S.D. (Garretson)
DL	Dillon Dittemore	6-4	240	Sr.	Marian (Ind.)	Lebanon, Ind. (Lebanon)
DL	Lucas Sparks	6-1	239	Sr.	Saint Francis (Ind.)	Springfield, Ohio (Shawnee)
DL	Josh Kock	6-0	260	Jr.	Baker (Kan.)	Concordia, Mo. (Concordia)
DL	Luke Gibbs	6-3	245	Jr.	Morningside (Iowa)	Maxwell, Iowa (Ankeny)
LB	*Aaron Cooper	6-4	231	Sr.	Kentucky Christian	Mayfield, Ky. (Graves County)
LB	Nathan Jernigan	6-0	202	R-Sr.	Cumberland (Tenn.)	Eagleville, Tenn. (Eagleville)
LB	Nicholas McBeain	6-1	240	Sr.	Valley City St. (N.D.)	Shakopee, Minn. (Shakopee)
DB	Darrain Winston	5-10	205	Sr.	Baker (Kan.)	Midwest City, Okla. (Carl Albert)
DB	Gunnar Kayser	6-4	220	Sr.	Montana Tech	Colbert, Wash. (Mead)
DB	Cain Boschee	6-3	185	So.	Dickinson State (N.D.)	Kalispell, Mont. (Glacier)

?
Specialists

Pos.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Hometown (High School)
P	Will Anderson	6-1	190	Sr.	St. Ambrose (Iowa)	Glen Ellyn, Ill. (Glenbard South)
PK	*Clarence Clark	5-10	185	Jr.	Baker (Kan.)	Phoenix, Ariz. (Brophy Prep)
AP	Cornell Brown	5-9	180	Jr.	Baker (Kan.)	Baldwin City, Kan. (Baldwin)