Deptula Claims Hal Chasey Scholar-Athlete Award from FCSAA
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Santa Fe College Men's Basketball Player Cole Deptula won the 2023 Hal Chasey Award, given to the top men's basketball scholar-athlete in the NJCAA Region 8/Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA), a recognition for outstanding academic achievement, athletic achievement, and service to the community.
Th award is named after Hal Chasey, who was a long-time supporter of athletics at the former Manatee Community College, now State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, and the FCSAA.
The complete list of Scholar-Athlete of the Year winners across the championship sports in the FCSAA are included in the story here: FCSAA announces Scholar-Athlete of the Year award winners
From a total of 37 nominees, nine individuals (one for each sport) were selected through a process coordinated by each FCSAA sport chair. The nine individual winners are now under consideration for FCSAA Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, which are part of the FCSAA's End-of-Year Awards that includes Male and Female Athlete of the Year and Male and Female Academic Teams of the Year. The finalists for all awards will be released Friday, June 23, while the winners will be announced Tuesday, June 27.
Deptula recently earned his A.A. degree from Santa Fe College, and recorded a 3.55 GPA. The native of Middleton, Wis. was a critical part in the Saints' success this season on the court. After redshirting his first season with the Saints, Deptula played in all 29 games in 2022-2023 and was a starter for 28 of them in the backcourt. The sharpshooter averaged 8.3 points per game, 3.3 rebounds, and was one of the SaintS' leading three-point shooters at 40.3 percent from beyond the arc. Deptula sunk a team-high 2.2 triples per game (64 total) and saved his best for last, pouring in a career-high 22 points with 5-of-8 shooting from deep in the 82-81 season-ending victory over Polk State College.
In the 2021-2022 season, Deptula was a member of the FCSAA and Central Conference All-Academic Teams.
Chris Mowry, Head Coach, SF Men's Basketball - "This is a great honor for Cole and our Saints Men's Basketball program. Cole epitomizes what it means to be a scholar-athlete! We have nominated many players in the past, but there is a lot of competition each year for the Hal Chasey Award and Cole is the first player we've had win the award in my 20 years as head coach at Santa Fe. Congratulations to Cole."
Chanda Stebbins, SF Director of Athletics - "Cole makes those around him better and is always doing the extra needed to not just be sucessful temporarily, but in the long term. I hope that all student-athletes display his maturity, work ethic and commitment in all areas of the college, including academically and athletically as well as in the community."
In 2023-2024, Deptula will be attending Young Harris College in Young Harris, Ga. | Story