D2CCA Release

CLEVELAND – Slippery Rock University football quarterback Brayden Long added to his lengthy list of honors from the 2023-24 academic year when he was named the Atlantic Region Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association in a release from the organization Monday.
 
Long, a senior from Hanover, Pennsylvania, is the only football player in the country to be recognized as a 2023-24 Regional Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the D2CCA.
 
Each of the regional winners will advance to the national ballot for consideration for the D2CCA 2023-24 Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.
 
Long graduated from SRU in May with a degree in sport management with a minor in leadership after earning a perfect 4.0 GPA. He was the 2023 PSAC Champion Scholar Award winner for owning the highest GPA of all players competing in the PSAC title game and went on to become the PSAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Long was also one of only two quarterbacks in Division II to be named to Academic All-America honors in 2023.
 
While the 2024 season is already entering week three, this latest honor is in recognition of Long's performance during the 2023 season. Last fall, he led the PSAC and Super Region One in nearly every passing stat, including completion percent (69.4), passing yards (3,808), passing touchdowns (35) and passing efficiency (163.4). He completed 312-of-450 passes for 3,808 yards with 35 touchdowns and just six interceptions while leading Slippery Rock to the NCAA quarterfinals, a 12-2 overall record, and a No. 10 final national ranking.
 
Long was ranked in the top 10 in Division II in nearly every passing category, including: fourth in completion percentage (69.4%), seventh in completions per game (22.3), ninth in passing efficiency (163.4), fifth in passing touchdowns (35), sixth in passing yards (3,808) and sixth in points responsible for (240). His numbers last fall rank No. 2 in SRU history in single-season passing yards and passing touchdowns.
 
Long was named the 2023 Super Region One Offensive Player of the Year, the PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the year, was fifth place in the Harlon Hill Trophy voting for the Division II Football Player of the Year and became the first PSAC football player to ever win the Champion Scholar Award and be named as one of the league's Athletes of the Year.
 
Now enrolled as a post-baccalaureate student, Long has led nationally ranked Slippery Rock out to a 2-0 start to the 2024 season, guiding The Rock to wins over a pair of teams that made the 2023 NCAA Playoffs (New Haven and Shepherd). Through two games this fall, Long is completing 69.4 percent of his passes for 286 yards with three touchdowns, no interceptions and no sacks.
 
Slippery Rock continues the 2024 season Saturday with a 1 p.m. game on the road at Shippensburg.
 
 


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