FLORENCE – North Alabama's Payton Youngblood has been named to the 2020-2021 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Men's Basketball Team for District IV. The senior from Birmingham is the only player from the ASUN Conference represented on the first team.

The Academic All-District Men's Basketball Team, selected by CoSIDA members, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. The CoSIDA Academic All-America program separately recognizes basketball honorees in four divisions -- NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA. First-team Academic All-District honorees advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team ballot, where first, second and third-team All-America honorees will be announced in late May.

To be considered for Academic All-District® honors, a student-athlete must have maintained a minimum 3.3 cumulative grade point average.

Youngblood holds a perfect 4.0 grade point average working toward his MBA. He graduated with a 3.63 GPA and a degree in engineering technology. The 6-5 forward was recently selected as one of the ASUN Conference Winners for Life honorees and was also an ASUN All-Academic Team selection.

During the 2020-21 season, Youngblood started 24 games for the Lions. He averaged 10.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game while ranking second on the team with 12 blocked shots. He was selected to the 2021 ASUN All-Tournament Team after scoring 26 points vs. FGCU in the semifinals and 14 in the finals against Liberty in the championship game.

For the year, Youngblood reached double digits in scoring 13 times. He has added 96 rebounds, 28 assists and 18 steals.