D3hoops Release

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Junior Matthew Leritz (St. Louis, Mo.-St. Louis University HS) of the Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team was named First Team All-Central Region by D3hoops.com Wednesday morning, April 21. Leritz, one of four College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin players recognized, is the first Titan to earn first team honors since Dylan Overstreet did so in 2015.

A candidate for the CCIW's Most Outstanding Player, Leritz put together a stellar junior season, averaging team-highs of 16.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game en route to First Team All-CCIW honors. He finished the season ranked third in the league in rebounding and sixth in scoring. Leritz connected on 60 percent of his shot attempts, the third-best field goal percentage in the conference, and knocked down 50 percent of his three-point tries. He also finished sixth in the CCIW in blocks (0.9 bpg) and tied for 24th in assists (2.0 apg).

Illinois Wesleyan topped Wheaton, 71-58, for the program's first-ever CCIW Tournament Championship. IWU concluded the season with an 8-1 record and finished the year ranked No. 4 in the D3hoops Top-15.

Players were nominated for these awards by the Sports Information Directors at the various schools. Because of the pandemic, some regions had limited numbers of teams which played and were combined for awards purposes. Teams had to play a minimum of five games to make their players eligible.