FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A leader on the floor for the Nova Southeastern men's basketball team, guard Nick Smith has proven to be a leader in the classroom as well after being named First Team Academic All-District by CoSIDA on Thursday.

Smith becomes the third Shark in as many seasons to earn the honor, joining former players David Dennis and Gerard Tarin.

The owner of a 3.56 cumulative Grade Point Average in Finance, Smith has developed into an all-around threat for the Sharks as a junior. In 23 starts in 2019-20, the Pittsburgh native has averaged 14.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals for the nation's No. 10 team. Smith has scored in double figures 17 times, while adding three double-doubles in the process.

"Nick is your prototypical student-athlete," said NSU head coach Jim Crutchfield. "He is not only an outstanding student and basketball player, but an outstanding person. He is the type of person NSU will always be proud to claim as one of its graduates."

Comprised of schools from the Gulf South Conference and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, in addition to the Sunshine State Conference, Smith is accompanied on the All-District 5 First Team by Clay Guillozet (Valdosta State), Elijah Jenkins (Embry-Riddle), JJ Kaplan (Alabama in Huntsville), Luka Majstorovic (Embry-Riddle), Sam Orf (Alabama in Huntsville), Jack Rauch (Florida Southern) and Gresyn Rogers (Spring Hill).

Smith will now advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot. First-, second- and third-team (if applicable) Academic All-America honorees will be announced in mid-March.

For more information about CoSIDA's Academic All-District and Academic All-America Teams program, visit AcademicAllAmerica.com or the Academic All-America home page on CoSIDA.com.

For a complete list of the Academic All-District teams, click here.