ABERDEEN, S.D. - Northern State University senior Kevin Ratzsch (Bloomington, Ill.) picked up the first accolades of the 2008-09 men's basketball season Friday when he was named to the Street & Smith's Second Team Preseason All-America squad.
    The only player from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference to be named to the publication's first or second teams, Ratzsch returns to the floor this season after leading the Wolves and finishing fourth in the conference in scoring last season with 16.8 points per game.  He also had a team-best 33 steals to go along with 44 blocks on the defensive end of the floor for the Wolves.
    The 6-foot-7 forward was a key member of the 2007-08 squad that finished 29-4 overall and advanced to the NCAA Regional championship game before falling to eventual national champions Winona State.
    Ratzsch earned All-NSIC and All-Region honors for his efforts on the court last season.
    Four other NSIC players earned honorable mention note, including Concordia-St. Paul's Craig Heiman, who led the league in scoring in 2007-08.  Minnesota State's Jake Morrow, St. Cloud State's Matt Schneck and Minnesota-Duluth's Brian Sykora were also included on the list.
    A complete listing of the preseason teams is as follows:

Street & Smith’s Top 10
1.       South Carolina-Aiken
2.       Findlay (Ohio)
3.       Gannon (Pa.)
4.       Bentley (Mass.)
5.       Augusta State (Ga.)
6.       Southwest Baptist (Mo.)
7.       Central Washington
8.       Grand Valley State (Mich.)
9.       Florida Southern
10.   C. W. Post (NY)

Street & Smith’s All-America Teams
First team
Chris Commons, USC-Aiken
Anthony Hilliard, Elizabeth City St.
Matt Rogers, Southwest Baptist
Jonathan Schmidt, C.W. Post
Garret Siler, Augusta State

Second team
Jake Beltinger, Central Wash.
Josh Bostic, Findlay
Malcolm Ingram, Philadelphia
Kevin Ratzsch, Northern State
Ted Scott, West Virginia State

Honorable Mention
Lucas Alves, BYU-Hawaii
Kenny Barker, Alaska-Anchorage
Drake Beranek, Neb.-Kearney
Stephen Dennis, Kutztown
Darren Duncan, Merrimack
Kendrick Easley, Mount Olive
Laurence Ekperigin, LeMoyne
Rob Eldridge, Florida Southern
Lew Finnegan, Bentley
Jason Genova, Lewis
Kyle Goldcamp, Gannon
Tony Gugino, Hillsdale
Stan Hall, Alderson-Broaddus
Craig Heiman, Concordia (Minn.)
Hunter Henry, NW Missouri State
Nick Kohs, Christian Brothers
Jake Linton, Saint Martin’s
Ben Madgen, Augusta State
Thad McFadden, Fairmont State
Jake Morrow, Minnesota State
Anthony Pimble, Southern Indiana
Matt Schneck, St. Cloud State
T. J. Smith, Kentucky Wesleyan
Brian Sykora, Minnesota-Duluth
Pete Trammell, Grand Valley State
Marcus Tulli, Pittsburgh-Johnstown
Jesse Wagstaff, Metro State
Jason Westrol, Bentley
DeAaron Williams, N. Kentucky
Eric Williams, Tarleton State
Tracey Williams, Clayton State