Academic All-America Teams

GOLDEN, Colo. - Colorado School of Mines golfer Lukas Taggart has been named a Third-Team Academic All-America honors as a member of the At-Large team from the College Sports Communicators organization. 

It is the first career honor for Taggart, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, as he becomes Mines golf's first Academic All-American since Mark Vallee in 2007 and 2008. 

A native of Washoe Valley, Nevada, Taggart earned First-Team All-RMAC and First-Team Academic All-RMAC honors shooting a team-leading 71.72. He ended the season ranked #69 in Division II after notching four top-10s and three top-5s. He qualified for the NCAA West/South Central Regional, and was par or better 21 times in 32 rounds. Taggart, along with teammate Max Lange, was named to the CSC Academic All-District team in late June. 

Taggart was honored on the At-Large Team, which combines candidates from a number of sports including fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, tennis, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling. All nominees must have a 3.5 or above GPA while holding sophomore or higher academic standing. Taggart was joined as an honoree by Mines wrestler Cody Thompson; they are the 26th and 27th Academic All-Americans of the 2023-24 season for Mines Athletics, which marks both the most in NCAA Division II this year and the most ever in a single year for the Orediggers.