UK Football Player Named to CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 16, 2019) — University of Kentucky long snapper Blake Best has been named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America first team. This is Best’s second Academic All-America award as he was named to the second team last season.

Best, a senior from Duluth, Georgia, serves as UK’s starting long snapper for field goals and extra points for the fourth straight season. He added punt snap duties this season. He is perfect on all snaps in his Wildcat career and has carried that perfect mark in the classroom. Best graduated summa cum laude in December of 2018 with a double major in economics and finance with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. He is currently working on a master’s degree in finance from the UK Gatton College of Business and Economics.

Best is a seven-time member of the Dean’s List. He also is a three-time member of the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll.

Kentucky now has had 20 Wildcats receive CoSIDA Academic All-America honors on 21 occasions. Best is the second straight football Wildcat to be named to the first team as kicker Miles Butler earned that honor in 2018.

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