Bucknell University Athletics
Photo by: Josh Turner
Bucknell's Pechin Named Patriot League Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year
7/24/2019 1:00:00 PM | Football
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Bucknell All-American punter Alex Pechin was named the 2018-19 Patriot League Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the league office announced Wednesday afternoon.
After voting conducted by the league's athletic communications staffs, Pechin was chosen as the top male scholar-athlete among all of the league-sponsored sports. The Scholar-Athlete of the Year from each sport is placed on the ballot for the overall top honor.
Pechin is only the third football player to be tabbed as the Patriot League's top male scholar-athlete, joining fellow Bison David Berardinelli (1992-93) and Lehigh's Nick Martucci (1998-99). He is the sixth Bucknell student-athlete to receive this prestigious award, joining Berardinelli, Bob Kelly (track & field, 1991-92), Ron Hess (track & field, 1999-2000), Jason Buursma (baseball, 2007-08) and Jeff Gottesman (baseball, 2017-18).
A rare two-time captain, Pechin returns in 2019 after being granted an extra year of eligibility due to a season-ending injury suffered in his sophomore season's second game. A year ago, he was the lone Patriot League student-athlete honored on Athlon Sports's All-America squad. It was his sixth All-America award of his senior campaign; he was also recognized on the STATS, Phil Steele and Hero Sports All-America First Teams and the AP and AFCA All-America Second Teams. He was Bucknell's first specialist to garner All-America laurels from the AFCA and AP.
Pechin's awards haul in the 2018 off-season was impressive. In addition to his six All-America awards, he earned All-Patriot League First Team accolades for the third time and All-ECAC First Team laurels for the second time. He was also a repeat finalist for the STATS FCS Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award, made the Academic All-Patriot League Team for the second-straight season and was named to the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association's Academic All-Star Team for the second year in a row.
One of the finest punters in Bucknell history, Pechin finished first in the FCS in punts (81) and punting yards (3,606) and fourth in punting average (44.5) in 2018. The only punter in the FCS's top five with at least 65 punts, and one of only two in the top 10 with that same number, he broke the school record in punts while posting the second-best punting average in the Bison annals. Of his 81 punts, a career-best 29 sailed for at least 50 yards while 28 landed inside the 20.
Pechin owns Bucknell's record in career punting average (43.7) and the program's top-three single-season averages of 45.1 (2017), 44.5 (2018) and 42.1 (2015); he also booted the third- (71) and fifth- (70) longest punts in school history over the course of the 2018 campaign. After capturing STATS Third Team All-America accolades in 2017 on the strength of his 45.1 punting average, which ranked third in the FCS, he was named to 2018 Preseason All-America First Teams by STATS, Phil Steele, Hero Sports, College Sports Madness and FreeAgentFootball.com.
Pechin interned for Orbit Biomedical, a start-up company dedicated to revolutionizing gene and cell therapy treatment for patients suffering from sight-threatening diseases, in the summers of 2019 and 2018. During the fall of 2018, he conducted gene therapy research for Orbit Biomedical in addition to his classwork. As part of his intensive five-year dual degree program at Bucknell, he has completed multiple projects; his senior design project involved creating ultrasound simulation for surgical training. A football team peer tutor, he is an active member of Bucknell's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and Leadership Institute. He also worked as a grader for Physics 211 and 212, participated in InterVarsity Bible study and volunteered at Riverwoods, a senior living community, and Geisinger, a local hospital, during his time in Lewisburg.
After voting conducted by the league's athletic communications staffs, Pechin was chosen as the top male scholar-athlete among all of the league-sponsored sports. The Scholar-Athlete of the Year from each sport is placed on the ballot for the overall top honor.
Pechin is only the third football player to be tabbed as the Patriot League's top male scholar-athlete, joining fellow Bison David Berardinelli (1992-93) and Lehigh's Nick Martucci (1998-99). He is the sixth Bucknell student-athlete to receive this prestigious award, joining Berardinelli, Bob Kelly (track & field, 1991-92), Ron Hess (track & field, 1999-2000), Jason Buursma (baseball, 2007-08) and Jeff Gottesman (baseball, 2017-18).
The highly decorated Pechin has excelled on the field and in the classroom during his time at Bucknell. A Biomedical Engineering/Management for Engineers student currently in a five-year dual degree program, he was named the football Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2018 and 2017. He was the fourth Bison to twice be recognized as the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year, joining Berardinelli (1991 & 1992), Rob Glus (1993 & 1994) and Travis Nissley (2009 & 2010). Fordham's Barry Cantrell (1996 & 1997) is the only other repeat Scholar-Athlete of the Year in Patriot League history.Huge congrats to @Bucknell_FB's Alex Pechin, the 2018-19 @PatriotLeague Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year!
— Bucknell Athletics (@Bucknell_Bison) July 24, 2019
Story: https://t.co/FCVY7jBG0k | #rayBucknell pic.twitter.com/RTYdfQp0d7
A rare two-time captain, Pechin returns in 2019 after being granted an extra year of eligibility due to a season-ending injury suffered in his sophomore season's second game. A year ago, he was the lone Patriot League student-athlete honored on Athlon Sports's All-America squad. It was his sixth All-America award of his senior campaign; he was also recognized on the STATS, Phil Steele and Hero Sports All-America First Teams and the AP and AFCA All-America Second Teams. He was Bucknell's first specialist to garner All-America laurels from the AFCA and AP.
Pechin's awards haul in the 2018 off-season was impressive. In addition to his six All-America awards, he earned All-Patriot League First Team accolades for the third time and All-ECAC First Team laurels for the second time. He was also a repeat finalist for the STATS FCS Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award, made the Academic All-Patriot League Team for the second-straight season and was named to the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association's Academic All-Star Team for the second year in a row.
One of the finest punters in Bucknell history, Pechin finished first in the FCS in punts (81) and punting yards (3,606) and fourth in punting average (44.5) in 2018. The only punter in the FCS's top five with at least 65 punts, and one of only two in the top 10 with that same number, he broke the school record in punts while posting the second-best punting average in the Bison annals. Of his 81 punts, a career-best 29 sailed for at least 50 yards while 28 landed inside the 20.
Pechin owns Bucknell's record in career punting average (43.7) and the program's top-three single-season averages of 45.1 (2017), 44.5 (2018) and 42.1 (2015); he also booted the third- (71) and fifth- (70) longest punts in school history over the course of the 2018 campaign. After capturing STATS Third Team All-America accolades in 2017 on the strength of his 45.1 punting average, which ranked third in the FCS, he was named to 2018 Preseason All-America First Teams by STATS, Phil Steele, Hero Sports, College Sports Madness and FreeAgentFootball.com.
Pechin interned for Orbit Biomedical, a start-up company dedicated to revolutionizing gene and cell therapy treatment for patients suffering from sight-threatening diseases, in the summers of 2019 and 2018. During the fall of 2018, he conducted gene therapy research for Orbit Biomedical in addition to his classwork. As part of his intensive five-year dual degree program at Bucknell, he has completed multiple projects; his senior design project involved creating ultrasound simulation for surgical training. A football team peer tutor, he is an active member of Bucknell's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and Leadership Institute. He also worked as a grader for Physics 211 and 212, participated in InterVarsity Bible study and volunteered at Riverwoods, a senior living community, and Geisinger, a local hospital, during his time in Lewisburg.
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