NABC Team Academic Excellence Release | NABC Honors Court Release

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced the 2023-24 Team Academic Excellence Awards and Honors Court this morning which featured Bent Leuchten, Dylan Thoerner, and Ofure Ujadughele.

This is the first time in program history where multiple Anteaters have been honored.

UCI received the Team Academic Excellence Award for the 2023-24 season for their 3.24 overall GPA. The NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards recognize men's basketball programs that completed the 2023-24 academic year with a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. The Anteaters were last honored as a team in 2020-21.

The Honors Court highlights the talents and gifts men possess on the court and the hard work they exhibit in the classroom. To be named to the Honors Court, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the 2023-24 academic year and be a junior, senior, or graduate student.

Leuchten, the Environmental Science and Policy major, is a two-time Big West All-Academic team member. The forward averaged 9.0 points and 4.6 rebounds during the 2023-24 campaign. 

Thoerner was honored as a CSC Academic All-District team member for the second straight season and first as an Anteater. The guard led the Anteaters with his 0.914 shooting percentage (32-35) from the free throw line. 

Lastly, Ujadughele wrapped up his fifth season with the Anteaters with his fourth Big West All-Academic team honor. The graduate student received his Masters in Innovation and Entrepreneurship in June.