MURFREESBORO, TN – After another strong year both in the classroom and on the course, Blue Raider senior Tanner Owens has been named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team for the 2020-21 season.

A May 2020 MTSU graduate, Owens was the first Blue Raider student-athlete ever to graduate in the recently created healthcare administration program while boasting a 3.92 GPA and is currently completing his graduate degree in professional studies.

At 72.9 strokes per round, the Milton, Tenn., native owns the second best stroke average on the team while his nine rounds of par or better this season are also second on the team. He claimed a Top 5 finish in October at Middle Tennessee's Intercollegiate at The Grove – after which he was named Conference USA Golfer of the Week – and logged a season low 5-under par 67 in the prior tournament, the Graeme McDowell Invitational, which is one of his six Top 20 finishes in 2020-21.

The All-Academic selection is the second of Owens' career as he was previously honored on the team in 2019. Conference USA did not award an All-Academic Team last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Owens is also a two-time All-Conference USA selection (2019, 2020), two-time GCAA All-America Scholar ( 2019, 2020), three-time C-USA Academic Honor Roll member (2018, 2019, 2020), two-time C-USA Academic Medal winner (2019, 2020), is MT's current recipient of the Jim Casteñeda Postgraduate Scholarship and has been named to the Dean's List in every semester of his Blue Raider career.

"Tanner has put together a very impressive Blue Raider career as both a golfer and a student and is extremely deserving of being honored for that hard work and dedication," Head Coach Mark McEntire stated. "It would be awesome to send him off in his final season with another Conference USA title."

Owens and the Blue Raiders are now undergoing their final preparations for the Conference USA Championship, which takes next Monday-Thursday, April 26-29, at Texarkana Country Club.