Devin Rankin, a Carmi-White County High School graduate of 2021, has been named an Academic All-American as well as the National Student Athlete of the Year by the United States Collegiate Athletic Association.
Rankin has played basketball at Southeastern Illinois College for the past two seasons. In his sophomore campaign, he saw action in all 29 games played, registered double-figures 11 times, and saw a career high of 17 points on November 5th.
Along with success on the basketball court, Rankin has excelled academically at SIC. He maintains a 4.00 GPA and is on track to graduate in May with his Associate in Arts degree. Additionally, Rankin has served as the Student Trustee on the Southeastern Illinois College board for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Rankin was selected by a committee comprised of National Office members, board members, and Athletic Directors from a pool of student-athletes from two-year and four-year institutions spread throughout the country.
“Devin is a shining example of what it means to be a student-athlete,” said SIC Men’s Basketball Coach Sam Swinford. “His dedication to both his sport and his studies has been an inspiration to his teammates and a testament to the values of the college and our program alike. He will be missed in our program but we are very proud of the bar that he has set for our players moving forward – both on and off the court.”
Balancing academics and athletics is something Rankin has done his whole life. Along with graduating near the top of his class, Rankin was a 3-sport athlete at CWCHS, including an All-Conference nod in his senior basketball season.
“I really enjoyed coaching Devin, he was one of my favorites to be around,” said CWC head basketball coach, Kevin Wolff. “I hated that his senior season got cut short because of COVID, I really think he would’ve had an even better season. He’s a great player and an even better person.”
Although Rankin’s basketball career has come to a close, he will continue to pursue his degree in Secondary Education at Eastern Illinois University this fall in hopes to become a High School History Teacher and a coach.
