Smith named KCAC Freshman of the Year, Garrison, Austin honorable mention
WICHITA, Kan. — The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference is pleased to announce the 2024-25 KCAC Men's Basketball all-conference teams and award winners. Student-athletes were selected for all awards by vote of the KCAC head men's basketball coaches.
Oklahoma Wesleyan University took home the regular-season conference title for the fourth consecutive season, with a 19-3 record in conference play, as part of a 22-6 overall record.
KJ Spiller of Friends University and Derrick Talton Jr. of Oklahoma Wesleyan were named KCAC Men's Basketball Co-Players of the Year by the coaches. Spiller ranks fifth in the KCAC in points per game (17.0) and is the Falcons' leading scorer, while being a very efficient shooter (50.9% from the field, 40.9% from three-point range, and 74.8% from the free-throw line). He also pulls down 5.9 rebounds per game and dishes out 2.3 assists per game.
Talton is a force on both ends of the floor for the Eagles, scoring 12.6 points per game (second-leading scorer for the Eagles). while pulling down 4.3 rebounds per game and dishing out 5.1 assists per contest (first in the KCAC; 14th in the NAIA). On the defensive end, he average 2.9 steals per game (second in both the conference and the NAIA behind Bethany College's Devin Spencer) and pulls down 3.3 defensive rebounds per game as a guard.
For his efforts on the defensive end, Talton was also named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year for the third season in a row.
Najee Jones of Ottawa University was named the KCAC Men's Basketball Newcomer of the Year. Jones scored 16.4 points per game in the regular season (was the Braves' second-leading scorer), dished out 3.2 assists per game (ranks ninth in the KCAC), and pulled down six rebounds a game (rankes 15th in the KCAC). He led his squad in assists and was third on the team in rebounding.
Julian Smith of Sterling College earned the KCAC Men's Basketball Freshman of the Year honor. Smith averaged 9.4 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, and 0.8 assists per game. He was the Warriors' third-leading scorer, third on the team in rebounding, and tied for fifth on the team in assists.
Phil McClintock of Friends University was named the KCAC Men's Basketball Coach of the Year by his peers. In only his second season at the helm of the Falcons' men's basketball program, McClintock orchestrated a turnaround from a team that went 9-18 overall and 6-16 in KCAC play a year ago, to a team that went 22-6 overall, 18-4 in the conference, and finished second in the regular season standings.
The following athletes were selected by the conference men's basketball coaches as All-KCAC First Team, Second Team, Third Team, Honorable Mention, Defensive Team, and Freshman Team.
Statistics and rankings can be found at the following links:
FIRST TEAM
| NAME | INSTITUTION | CLASS | POSITION | HOMETOWN |
| KJ Spiller (U)@ | Friends University | Sr. | G | Kansas City, Mo. |
| Derrick Talton Jr. (U)@(D) | Oklahoma Wesleyan University | Sr. | G | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Carmelo Yakubu (U) | Bethel College | Jr. | G | Houston, Texas |
| Jaden Lietzke (U) | Oklahoma Wesleyan University | Sr. | F | Owasso, Okla. |
| Najee Jones (U)# | Ottawa University | Sr. | G | Baton Rouge, La. |
SECOND TEAM
| NAME | INSTITUTION | CLASS | POSITION | HOMETOWN |
| Alex Littlejohn (U) | Kansas Wesleyan University | Sr. | F | Newton, Kan. |
| Jordan Brown (U) | University of Saint Mary | So. | G | Lawrence, Kan. |
| Wyatt Bell | Southwestern College | Jr. | G | Keller, Texas |
| Jayden Hibbitt | Ottawa University | Sr. | F | Woodbridge, Va. |
| Garrett Davault | Evangel University | Jr. | G | Norwood, Mo. |
THIRD TEAM
| NAME | INSTITUTION | CLASS | POSITION | HOMETOWN |
| Xavier Kahube (U) | Avila University | Jr. | F | Indpendence, Mo. |
| Curtis Rose | McPherson College | Jr. | G | Midwest City, Okla. |
| Randy Woolf Jr. | Friends University | Jr. | G | Waco, Texas |
| Emmanuel Akpan | Bethany College | Sr. | F | Rockland, Calif. |
| Zach Hidalgo | Southwestern College | Jr. | F | Hooker, Okla. |
HONORABLE MENTION
| NAME | INSTITUTION | CLASS | POSITION | HOMETOWN |
| Cahlese Lee | Friends University | Jr. | G | Edmond, Okla. |
| Harper Jonas | Bethel College | Sr. | G | Andover, Kan. |
| Kalep Crane | Tabor College | Sr. | G | Simsboro, La. |
| Collin Storr | McPherson College | Sr. | F | Nassau, Bahamas |
| Mooch Austin | Sterling College | Sr. | G | Orange County, Calif. |
| Isaac Stanek | Oklahoma Wesleyan University | So. | G/F | Hector, Ark. |
| Kaeden Bonner | University of Saint Mary | So. | G | Topeka, Kan. |
| Kenny Haynes | Bethany College | Sr. | G | Chicago, Ill. |
| Keith Robinson | Ottawa University | Sr. | F | San Remo, Victoria, Australia |
| Ring Deng | Friends University | Jr. | F | Grand Prairie, Texas |
| Eli Wiseman | Bethel College | Sr. | G | Belle Plaine, Kan. |
| Andrew Bennett | York University | Sr. | F | Hawthorne, N.J. |
| Jayden Garrison | Sterling College | Sr. | G | Little River, Kan. |
| Yashi McKenzie | Oklahoma Wesleyan University | So. | G | San Antonio, Texas |
| Trey Abasolo | Southwestern College | Sr. | G | Mulvane, Kan. |
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
| NAME | INSTITUTION | CLASS | POSITION | HOMETOWN |
| Julian Smith (F) | Sterling College | Fr. | F | Hutchinson, Kan. |
| Carson Jones | Kansas Wesleyan University | Fr. | G | Edmond, Okla. |
| Harrison Doennig | Evangel University | Fr. | F | Springfield, Mo. |
| Trenton Patterson | Bethel College | Fr. | G | Dallas, Texas |
| James Shoenfelt | Tabor College | Fr. | G | West Palm Beach, Fla. |
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
| NAME | INSTITUTION | CLASS | POSITION | HOMETOWN |
| Derrick Talton Jr. @(D) | Oklahoma Wesleyan University | Sr. | G | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Devin Spencer | Bethany College | Sr. | G | Chicago, Ill. |
| Zach Hidalgo | Southwestern College | Jr. | F | Hooker, Okla. |
| Ring Deng | Friends University | Jr. | F | Grand Prairie, Texas |
| Evens Appolon | Kansas Weslayan University | So. | F | Port-Au-Prince, Haiti |
(U) = Unanimous Selection
@= Selected "Co-Players of the Year."
# = Selected "Newcomer of the Year."
(F)= Selected "Freshman of the Year."
(D) = Selected "Defensive Player of the Year."
