Program-record three from MBB earn Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors
The Bellevue University men’s basketball team had a program-record three student-athletes honored as Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes when the NAIA announced the 2023-24 award winners on Wednesday.
NAIA Release
2024 Daktronics NAIA Men's Basketball Scholar-Athletes PDF
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Bellevue University men's basketball team had a program-record three student-athletes honored as Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes when the NAIA announced the 2023-24 award winners on Wednesday.
The 2024 list features 572 student-athletes (up 30 from 2023) that achieved at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average (GPA) at their institution. In order to be nominated by an institution's head coach or sports information director, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, must appear on the eligibility certificate for the sport and have attended one full year at said institution.
Junior guard Christian Carter (Concord, Calif.) became the first-ever BU men's basketball player to twice be recognized as a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete. He started all 31 games as the Bruins' point guard averaging 5.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. He shot 76% at the charity stripe and dished out 57 assists, good for second on the team, and registered 23 steals. He has been an NSAA Scholar-Athlete in each of the previous two season.
Sophomore guard Raydden Grobe (Avoca, Iowa) played in all 31 games for Bellevue this season, starting five. He averaged 3.5 points and 1.9 rebounds while shooting 34% from three and 71% at the free throw line and providing exceptional defense and facilitating offensive flow. He was an NSAA Scholar-Athlete last season.
Redshirt freshman Liam Thompson (Phoenix, Ariz.) played in all 31 games for the Bruins starting 24 and being named to the NSAA All-Defense Team. He averaged 3.9 points on 65% shooting and 3.5 rebounds per game while providing the aforementioned excellent defense. He finished second on the team with 21 blocked shots to go along with 19 steals.
The 2017-18 awards featured two Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes, the lone other year in which BU had multiple recipients of the honor.
To learn more about the Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete program, click here.
Bellevue won both the NSAA regular-season and tournament titles this season to bring their conference championship total to 37 since 1997-98 and qualified for their 22nd NAIA National Tournament.