WEST HAVEN, Conn. – A repeat All-American and the South Central Region Player of the Year, Joel Scott from Black Hills State University was named the 2022-23 NCAA Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) Ron Lenz National Player of the Year and highlights 21 players who receive All-America Distinction as announced by the organization.
 
Scott, who is one of four players whose team will compete in the Division II Elite Eight on Tuesday, is a top-10 scorer in the country with his 22.8 points per game average, which is eighth best in NCAA DII. In addition, he is fourth in the nation in total points (752), fifth in total rebounds (319), second in total field goals (272) and fifth in double doubles with 15.
 
Two additional players, Nova Southeastern's RJ Sunahara and West Liberty's Bryce Butler, who will also compete for a national title in Evansville this week joined Scott on the D2CCA All-American First Team. Rounding out the first team honorees was Kaden Anderson from Point Loma Nazarene and North Georgia's Frank Champion. All five members of the first team represented their respective regions as the Region Player of the Year.
 
The nations leading scorer, Emmanuel College's KJ Jones II, highlights the five member All-American Second Team, averaging 26.2 points per game. Will Youkam from Nova Southeastern joins Jones on the second team, representing the only team in the nation with more than one player among the three teams and honorable mention selections. Rounding out the All-American Second Team was Central Region Player of the Year Diego Bernard from Northwest Missouri State, Akuel Kot from Fort Lewis and Bentley's Zach Laput, the East Region Player of the Year. 
 
The D2CCA Midwest Region Player of the Year Kendrick Tchoua from Indianapolis highlights the five member All-American Third Team, joined by Mount Olive's Michael Brown, Augusta's Tyshaun Crawford, Sonoma State's Jaylen Well and West Texas A&M's Julius Brown. The six players who received All-American Honorable Mention distinction include Brandon Knapper (Cal State San Bernardino), John Paul Kromka (Pitt-Johnstown), Taylor Currie (Harding), Bradley Dean (UVA Wise), Shawndale Jones (IUP), Robert Osborne (Virginia Union).
 
Sports Information Directors from NCAA Division II East Region schools and conferences selected the two All-Region teams. The process concludes with All-American selections announced in later this month. This is the second year the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association has sponsored the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball All-Region and All-American teams.
 
The Division II CCA encourages and promotes Division II athletics and high standards of sportsmanship as important elements of higher education. The CCA is a key communications link among the conferences as they discuss views, policies and regulations that impact Division II intercollegiate athletics and works closely with the NCAA as a communications channel to NCAA Division II member colleges and universities.
 


2022-23 Division II Conference Commissioner's Association NCAA Division II Men's Basketball All-American Teams
 
*Ron Lenz National Player of the Year: Joel Scott, Black Hill State
 
First Team
Name                        Pos.    Cl.     School                           GP/GS       Min/G     FG%     3PT%      FT%      Reb/G     Ast/G    BLK       STL       PTS/G    
*Joel Scott                   F          Sr        Black Hills State                33/33         33.0           .609         .404           .730         9.6             1.4           35            31            22.8
RJ Sunahara                F          R-Jr    Nova Southeastern            31/31         25.9           .603         .444           .757         5.3             2.4           51            52            18.9
Kaden Anderson        F          Sr        Point Loma Nazarene       33/33         31.9           .512         .432           .861         8.9             1.9           42            30            22.7
Bryce Butler               G         Jr        West Liberty                      34/34         28.6           .591         .427           .669         7.7             3.7           22            42            22.6
Frank Champion         F          So       North Georgia                   29/29         33.6           .595         .000           .608         9.9             4.3           41            43            20.2
 
Second Team
Name                        Pos.    Cl.     School                           GP/GS       Min/G     FG%     3PT%      FT%      Reb/G     Ast/G    BLK       STL       PTS/G    
Diego Bernard            G         Sr        NW Missouri State            33/33         30.2           .544         .307           .787         5.0             3.5           8              72            16.3
Akuel Kot                   G         Jr        Fort Lewis                          33/33         32.9           .517         .393           .846         3.2             1.3           12            39            24.3
KJ Jones II                  G         Jr        Emmanuel College (GA)  39/39         36.9           .505         .417           .868         7.2             3.3           4              47            26.2
Zach Laput                 G         Jr        Bentley                               30/30         35.0           53.9         41.3           82.7         7.0             3.1           2              29            20.4
Will Yoakum              G/F      Gr       Nova Southeastern            33/33         26.7           .584         .517           .814         4.4             1.6           17            67            19.5
 
Third Team
Name                        Pos.    Cl.     School                           GP/GS       Min/G     FG%     3PT%      FT%      Reb/G     Ast/G    BLK       STL       PTS/G    
Michael Brown           G         Sr        Mount Olive                       31/31         38.4           .496         .447           .864         5.0             6.7           8              40            23.2
Tyshaun Crawford     C         Sr        Augusta                              33/32         31.5           .652         .000           .680         8.0             1.8           1              46            16.7
Kendrick Tchoua       C         Jr        Indianapolis                       31/31         22.6           .726         .000           .681         8.0             0.9           17            27            14.1
Jaylen Wells               F          So       Sonoma State                     30/30         36.8           .517         .438           .861         8.7             2.6           11            47            22.4
Julius Brown               G         Sr        West Texas A&M             32/32         32.0           .457         .410           .830         2.9             3.6           0              45            16.4
 
Honorable Mention
Name                        Pos.    Cl.     School                              GP/GS     Min/G     FG%     3PT%      FT%      Reb/G     Ast/G    BLK       STL       PTS/G    
Brandon Knapper       G         Sr        Cal State San Bernardino  31/31         33.1           .407         .380           .738         4.3             4.0           4              42            19.2
John Paul Kromka      F          Sr        Pitt-Johnstown                    29/29         31.9           .676         .000           .706         7.2             2.3           78            37            17.3
Taylor Currie              C         Jr        Harding                              28/28         32.2           .611         .111           .798         9.7             0.7           38            15            24.0
Bradley Dean             G         So       UVA Wise                         30/30         34.1           .487         .426           .826         4.8             3.7           14            29            21.4
Shawndale Jones        G         Gr       IUP                                     33/33         35.3           .398         .288           .850         4.5             3.4           0              61            19.2
Robert Osborne          F          Sr        Virginia Union                   32/30         32.0           .515         .000           .634         8.8             3.1           5              47            20.2
 
 
 
The Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-America and All-Region Basketball Teams are sponsored by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA). The teams are voted on by the members of D2SIDA, NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors Association.
 
The Division II Conference Commissioners Association encourages and promotes Division II athletics and high standards of sportsmanship as important elements of higher education. The CCA is a key communications link among the conferences as they discuss views, policies and regulations that impact Division II intercollegiate athletics and works closely with the NCAA as a communications channel to NCAA Division II member colleges and universities.