NABC Release (PDF)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - One day after being named the District 8 Player of the Year, Illinois Wesleyan University Men's Basketball senior forward
Matthew Leritz (St. Louis, Mo.-St. Louis University HS) was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-America First Team Wednesday, March 16. He is the first Titan to earn NABC All-America status since 2005.
Overall, Leritz marks the 12th time a Titan has been named to the organization's postseason teams. He joins Korey Coon (2000), Keelan Amelianovich (2004), Adam Dauksas (2005), Brent Niebrugge (1998), Bryan Crabtree (1997), Chris Simish (1995), and Jeff Kuehl (1989) as first team honorees, while Coon (1999), Simich (1996), Kuehl (1990), and Blaise Bugaski (1984) received second team honors. To view the full archive of past NABC All-America teams click here.
The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Fred Young Player of the Year, Leritz received countless awards for his monster season including: College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America of the Year, CoSIDA First Team Academic All-America, CoSIDA Academic All-District, unanimous First Team All-CCIW, three-time CCIW Player of the Week, three-time D3hoops.com Team of the Week selection, and the US Basketball Writers of America National Division III Player of the Week.Â
Leritz, who broke the IWU single-game rebounding record with 25 boards at Yeshiva, Dec. 30, averaged 17.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per contest this season. He shot 55.7 percent from the floor and 43.4 percent from three-point range and was named to the Bevo Francis Award Top-50 watch list by Small College Basketball. Leritz scored 535 points during the 2021-22 campaign, a total that ranks 16th in IWU single season history. Additionally, his 286 rebounds rank ninth in Illinois Wesleyan single season laurels and are the most by a Titan since Bill Braksick grabbed 347 (fourth-most) boards during the 1987-88 season.
A senior co-captain, Leritz eclipsed the 1000 career point mark in IWU's win over Wheaton in the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen. Leritz needed just 87 games to become the school's 43rd member of the 1000-point club. Only Dean Padgett and Dean Gravlin achieved the mark quicker, doing so in 78 and 81 games, respectively.
This award is just the latest in a long list of accomplishments by Leritz this season. He was named a finalist for the prestigious Josten's Award last week, which the winner set to be announced later this month, while he reeled in All-Region honors from NABC and D3hoops.com earlier this week. Leritz was named the region's player of the year by both organizations, while he was also recognized as CoSIDA's Men's Basketball Academic All-America of the Year.
NABC Division III All-America First Team
Marcus Azor – UMass Dartmouth
Buzz Anthony – Randolph-Macon
Levi Borchert – Wisconsin-Oshkosh
DJ Campbell – Stockton
Connor Delaney – Johns Hopkins
Jason Ellis – Marietta
Josiah Johnson – Mary Hardin-Baylor
Matthew Leritz – Illinois Wesleyan
Sam Peek – Wesleyan
Ryan Turrell – Yeshiva
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NABC Division III All-America Second Team
Gian Batista – Lehman
Austin Grunder – Cortland Â
Seth Hall – Pacific Lutheran
Jarred Houston – Emerson
Jaecee Martin – St. Joseph's
Jack Nolan - WashU
Joe Palmer – Augsburg
Matt Schner – Emory
Evan Thomas – Hope
Mason Wang – Hood
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NABC Division III All-America Third Team
Sean Bryan – Salem State
Daniel Cook – St. John Fisher
Jack Davidson – Wabash
Jakigh Dottin – Nichols
Danny Frauenheim – Susquehanna
Jahn Hines – Christopher Newport
Jordan Johnson – Concordia-Wisconsin
Matt Kachelries – DeSales
Brendan Mora – Pomona Pitzer
Peter Ragen – Dubuque
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