Haag, Bates Earn Preseason All-American Honors

Worcester, Mass. (July 3) -- Senior defensive end Nick Haag (Grafton, Mass./Holy Name) and junior defensive back Mike Bates (Holden, Mass./Wachusett) have been named as Beyond Sports Network (BSN) Division II Preseason All-Americans for the upcoming 2012 season. Haag is a Second Team selection, while Bates is an Honorable Mention All-American.

In 2011, Haag was a Northeast-10 First Team All-Conference selection and was named to the Worcester All-Area First Team. He led the Greyhounds with 7.5 sacks for a loss of 55 yards and finished tied for second in the Northeast-10 in that category. Picking up sacks in six of his 10 games this season, Haag also leads the team with 15.5 tackles for a loss of 69 yards, ranking him 25th in the country. He also has one pass breakup, three quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles to go along with his 45 total tackles.

Bates, a Northeast-10 Second Team All-Conference honoree, was also an Academic All-Conference selection and led the Northeast-10 Conference in interceptions with six in 2011. He also had an interception return for a touchdown in three straight games, leading all of NCAA football in that category. Bates, a Worcester All-Area Second Team honoree, is the only player in Assumption history as well with more than one interception return for touchdown in a season. His 57-yard return at home vs. Southern Connecticut is the fifth-longest interception returned for a touchdown in school history. Overall Bates finished the season with 47 total tackles, along with eight tackles for a loss of 40 yards, six interceptions for 133 yards, three pass breakups, one quarterback hurry, one forced fumble and one blocked kick. He was a one-time Northeast-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Week as well after his performance in a home rout of first-place Merrimack.