Isaac Sieling
Sieling intercepting pass against St. Olaf
Gustavus Adolphus College football player Isaac Sieling has been named a First Team All-America selection by the College Football Coaches Association of America (AFCA). A senior linebacker from Watertown, Minnesota, Sieling is the second Gustavus player to be honored by the AFCA following Kurt Ploeger, who was recognized in 1984. Sieling and Nick Didier, an offensive lineman from Concordia, were the only two players from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selected to the AFCA All-America team.
Sieling, a senior from Watertown, Minn., was an All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection this season. He finished the year with 157 total tackles which set a new school record for tackles in a season. His 157 stops led the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and ranked second in all of Division III. He finished his career ranked fourth on the Gustavus all-time tackle list with 266.
Sieling recently played in the Aztec Bowl in Cancun, Mexico. He joined 41 other Division III players representing the United States against the Mexican National Team. The U.S. team defeated the Mexican team 23-3 in the game which was played this past Saturday, December 11.
A standout both on the field and in the classroom, Sieling is one of only two players in Division III to be named to both the AFCA All-America Team and the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team. Sieling, who is majoring in financial economics, maintains a 3.98 grade point average.
The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all four of its divisions. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best – the coaches themselves.