Brackett Named To SportingNews Preseason All-America Squad

PEMBROKE – UNC Pembroke junior guard Shahmel Brackett has been named to the 2011-12 Sporting News NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Preseason All-America list as an honorable mention, the publication announced recently.  

The Florence, S.C., native earned his second NCCSIA All-State selection last season after leading the Braves in scoring for the second-consecutive year. He was named Peach Belt Conference Freshman of the Year in 2010 and was named Third Team All-PBC in 2011 after leading UNCP to the school's first NCAA Tournament berth as well as an appearance in the PBC Tournament Championship game. He was also named to the PBC All-Tournament Team after averaging 22.0 points per game during the tournament, including a 26-point performance against Georgia Southwestern in the semifinals. He scored a season-high 31 points and grabbed a season high 10 rebounds in UNCP's win over Francis Marion on February 2, and he scored 20 or more points on seven occasions last season.

Brackett joins fellow PBC athletes Phillip Brown (Georgia Southwestern – First Team), Alvin Brown (USC Aiken – Honorable Mention) and Liki Turner (Francis Marion – Honorable Mention) as members of the Preseason All-America Team.

UNCP opens their season on October 28 when they travel to Chapel Hill for an exhibition matchup with the UNC Tar Heels at the Dean Smith Dome. 

Sporting News Preseason All-America Team

First Team
Phillip Brown (Georgia Southwestern)
Jet Chang (BYU-Hawaii)
Braydon Hobbs (Bellarmine)
Jeremy Kendle (Bellarmine)
Josh Magette (Alabama-Huntsville)

Second Team
Marcus Goode (Benedict)
Desmond Johnson (Lincoln Memorial)
Trevin Parks (Johnson C. Smith)
Taylor Rohde (Alaska-Anchorage)
Cody Schilling (Augustana, S.D.) 

Honorable Mention
Jason Adams (Missouri Southern)
Daniel Bailey (Queens, N.C.)
Stefan Bonneau (C.W. Post)
Shahmel Brackett (UNC Pembroke)
Alvin Brown (USC Aiken)
Zane Campbell (Alabama-Huntsville)
Kyle Caiola (Findlay)
Xavier Collier (Benedict)
Dan Comas (Chestnut Hill)
Jarrell Douglass (Limestone)
Brent Eaton (Hillsdale)
Brent Evans (Queens, N.C.)
Reggie Evans (Metro State)
Dwayne Fells (Cal Poly Pomona)
Gerald Fulton (Missouri-St. Louis)
Patrick Grubbs (Pitt Johnstown)
Rob Gutierrez (St. Rose)
Ali Haidar (Michigan Tech)
Alex Hall (Drury)
Trevon Hamlet (Southern Connecticut)
Ahmad Harris (Bloomfield)
Cedric Harris (West Liberty)
Greg Hayes (Mount Olive)
Mike Hollingsworth (Wayne State, Mich.)
Randy Hunter (Humboldt State)
Travis Hyman (Bowie State)
Thomas Manzano (New Mexico Highlands)
Cameron McCaffrey (Augustana, S.D.)
Adrian Moss (Indianapolis)
Andy Poling (Seattle Pacific)
Da'Ron Sims (West Georgia)
Ashton Smith (Indiana, Pa.)
Derek Staton (Mount Olive)
Isaac Thornton (Fairmont State)
Liki Turner (Francis Marion)
Odell Turner (Wingate)
Clayton Vette (Winona State)
Anthony Young (Kentucky Wesleyan)