CoSIDA Release
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team increased its College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America count to 25, as junior
Matthew Leritz (St. Louis, Mo.-St. Louis University HS) was named to CoSIDA's Academic All-American First Team Wednesday, May 26. Leritz, who was one of two juniors named to the 15-man list, is the first Titan to earn the honor since Zach Freeman was named a second teammer in 2007.
With his selection, Leritz is the program's 25th Academic All-America selection, increasing IWU's national lead on UCLA, Indiana, Kansas, and Duke who have 20 all-time honorees each. Additionally, with his selection as well as IWU women's basketball standout Kendall Sosa's, Illinois Wesleyan is the only school of 400+ Division III institutions to have a student-athlete honored on both the men's and women's first team this season.
Furthermore, IWU's all-time Academic All-American list now sits at 135, which is tied for 25th across NCAA Division I, II, and III, as well as ninth-best in Division III. To view the list of Illinois Wesleyan's all-time awardwinners, click here.
A finance major with a 3.94 GPA, Leritz was named a Second Team All-American by D3hoops.com after earning a spot on the D3hoops.com All-Central Region team. 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. 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.
2020-21 Academic All-America® Men's Basketball Teams – NCAA Division III
| FIRST TEAM |
|
|
|
|
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| Ryan Algier |
Rochester |
Sr. |
3.85 |
Data Science / Business |
| Spencer Cook |
Stevens |
Gr. |
3.84/3.94 |
Finance (UG) / MBA (G) |
| Gabriel Leifer |
Yeshiva |
Sr. |
3.73 |
Accounting / Management |
| Matthew Leritz |
Illinois Wesleyan |
Jr. |
3.94 |
Finance |
| Jake Negus |
Edgewood |
Sr. |
3.98 |
Business |
| T.C. Thacker |
Lynchburg |
Gr. |
3.79/3.91 |
Health & P.E. (UG) / Educational Studies (G) |
|
|
|
|
|
| SECOND TEAM |
|
|
|
|
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| Burt Hedstrom |
St. Thomas |
Sr. |
3.97 |
Engineering |
| Kajuan Madden-McAfee |
Ferrum |
Sr. |
3.9 |
Applied Mathematics |
| Dan Masino |
Hobart |
Sr. |
3.99 |
Economics |
| Jack Nolan |
WashU |
Sr. |
3.6 |
Finance / Political Science |
|
|
|
|
|
| THIRD TEAM |
|
|
|
|
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| Buzz Anthony |
Randolph-Macon |
Sr. |
3.48 |
Mathematics |
| Nolan Ginther |
DePauw |
Sr. |
3.84 |
Actuarial Science / Economics |
| Antonio Ionadi |
Case Western |
Sr. |
3.94 |
Accounting |
| Jordan Johnson |
Concordia Wisconsin |
Sr. |
3.7 |
Psychology |
| Marcus Quirk |
Cornell |
Jr. |
4 |
Computer Science / Mathematics |
Academic All-America® of the Year: Gabriel Leifer, Yeshiva University
