MARYVILLE, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State Universty men’s basketball student-athletes Zach Schneider and Justin Pitts have been selected to play for the USA D-2 Men’s Basketball Team’s 2016 Brazil Tour. The tour will begin in Orlando, Fla., on May 10th. The tour runs from May 10-19, and will feature stops in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Rio de Janeiro. The tour is sponsored by USA Sports Tours and Events. The men’s team will be coached by Doug Karleskint from the University of Central Missouri.

“This is an outstanding group of basketball players that come from 11 different states and 12 different colleges and universities,” said Ron Smith, Director of USA Sport Tours and Events. “We feel that we have some of the best of the best representing NCAA Division II basketball and their universities. These players have been high achievers both on the court and in the classroom. They represent everything good that the NCAA Division II institutions have to offer.”

Schneider is Northwest’s career leader in three pointers made with 262. He was a third team All-MIAA performer in 2015-16. The Prairie Village, Kan., native averaged 9.8 points per game and 35.5 minutes per contest. He started all 32 games he appeared in as a junior. Justin Pitts was the 2015-16 MIAA Player of the Year. He earned DII Bulletin Third Team All-America honors and D2 CCA honorable mention All-America accolades. Pitts averaged 21.7 points, 5.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 36.4 minutes per game as a sophomore.

The team will head to Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Wednesday, May 11 following orientation and practices in Orlando, Fla. On May 14th, the teams will hold a “Skills Clinic for the Youth of Jundiai.” The final two men’s games will take place in Rio de Janeiro. The team will tepart Brazil on May 18th and return to the USA on May 19th.

— Northwest Athletics —