Official Release (PDF)

TOWSON, Md. – West Liberty University senior guard Dan Monteroso has been named the 2017-18 Academic All-American of the Year for NCAA Division II men's basketball and Hilltopper junior guard Evan French also earned Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

A graduate student in Education with a perfect 4.00 GPA, Monteroso is a two-time first-team All-Atlantic Region and All-Mountain East Conference selection who has led the nationally-ranked Hilltoppers in scoring the past two seasons.

French, a redshirt junior Exercise Physiology major who also maintains a perfect 4.00 GPA, was one of the top 3-point shooters in the Mountain East Conference and provided a lethal scoring punch from the perimeter with multiple double-figure scoring games for the perennial Atlantic Region powerhouse.

"Dan and Evan are great representatives of our university and athletic department and we congratulate them on this significant honor," athletic director Lynn Ullom said. "At West Liberty, we are committed not just to recruit outstanding student-athletes but to provide those young men and women with the tools and support they need to succeed on the court, in the classroom and beyond. Winning national awards like this demonstrates the shared commitment our coaches and student-athletes have toward that goal."

Monteroso, a 6-3 guard from St. Clairsville, Ohio, becomes the second West Liberty University basketball player to earn Academic All-America® of the Year honors. Hilltopper Hall of Famer Tori Hansen was the 2011 College Division Academic All-American® of the Year for women's basketball, an honor that encompassed Division II, Division III, NAIA and junior-college basketball.

Monteroso's Academic All-America® honor also marks the sixth consecutive year that West Liberty's men's basketball program has produced at least one NCAA Division II Academic All-American.® He is the first Hilltopper to attain first-team Academic All-America® status in back-to-back seasons.

"This is a great achievement for both young men and we couldn't be more proud of them," head coach Ben Howlett said. "Their hard work and dedication in the classroom as well as on the basketball court speaks volumes about their character as individuals. They have been great role models for our younger players since the first day they stepped on campus.

"We have built an outstanding tradition of academic and athletic success at West Liberty over the years through the efforts of quality student-athletes like Dan and Evan. Our program has been built on guys who pursue success just as hard in the classroom as they do on the court because our primary objective is for our players to be winners in life along with basketball."

Monteroso led the nation's highest scoring team in scoring (20.2 ppg.) for the second straight year, blowing past the 1,000-point career mark in two dazzling seasons on the hilltop. A semifinalist for the 2018 Bevo Francis Award honoring the nation's top small-college player, Monteroso hit double-figures in all 30 games while leading WLU to a 26-4 season that included another Mountain East Conference championship and a ninth consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament bid.

A second-year transfer who graduated from Purdue in three years while playing Big Ten football as a wide receiver for the Boilermakers, Monteroso averaged 20.2 ppg. this winter for the perennial Atlantic Region powerhouse and easily surpassed the 1,000-point career mark in his two seasons with the Black and Gold.

The senior standout saved his best for last, with 14 games of 20 or more points, two 30+ point games and a West Liberty season-high 40 points in an MEC Tournament quarterfinal rout of West Virginia State. Monteroso set an MEC Tournament record by going 18-of-19 from the foul line in that win against the Yellow Jackets, earning a spot on the MEC All-Tournament Team for the second straight year. Earlier this season, he tied a school record with an NCAA Division II season-high 9 steals at Davis & Elkins.

French, a 6-4 sharpshooter from Vincent, Ohio who won the NCAA Elite 90 Academic Award at the 2016 Elite Eight, made an impressive return to the court after sitting out the 2016-17 season as a medical redshirt. He led the team and ranked third in the MEC in 3-point field goal percentage (54-of-127, .425). His 54 3-pointers ranked third on the team and he hit double-figures in 15 games, topped by a season-high 21 points – with a WLU season-high 7 3FGs – in a November win against West Virginia Wesleyan.

Monteroso looked back at the decision he made to close out his collegiate career at a nationally-ranked NCAA Division II basketball program after spending his first three years on a Big Ten gridiron.

"Even though I played in a lot of big football games at Purdue," Monteroso said, "I still missed basketball a lot. My parents work here at the university so I knew it was a great school with an outstanding basketball program. I'm really grateful to Coach Howlett for giving me the opportunity to play while I worked on my master's.

"I loved playing here. Our crowd brings so much energy that it's just a terrific game environment. I met some great people and played with some great teammates, establishing relationships that will stay with me the rest of my life. I'm proud to call myself a Hilltopper."

The Division II Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2017-18 Division II Academic All-America® teams program.

To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or better on a 4.00 scale, have reached sophomore athletic and academic status at their current institution and be nominated by their school's sports information director.
  Name                                           School                             Yr.              GPA             Major
Zach Fischer                                 Truman State                   Gr.               3.90              Accountancy
Julian Lipinski                              Saint Rose                        Sr.               4.00              Finance
DAN MONTEROSO (1)               WEST LIBERTY                 GR.              4.00              EDUCATION
DJ Pollard                                     Northern State                Sr.               3.97              Biology
Isaac Vescovi                               Pitt-Johnstown                Sr.               3.99              Secondary Education (Math) Name                                           School                             Yr.              GPA             Major
EVAN FRENCH                             WEST LIBERTY                JR.               4.00              EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY
Jeff Larkin                                     Christian Brothers          Sr.               3.85              Business Administration
Jakob Lowrance                          Central Missouri             Jr.                3.96              Sports Management
Spencer Reaves (3)                     Central Missouri             Sr.               3.89              Physical Education
Brandon Simister                        Dixie State                       Sr.               3.91              Biology Name                                           School                             Yr.              GPA             Major
Michael Coffey (1)                      Adelphi                             Sr.               3.79              Accounting
Alex Hagan (3)                             Rockhurst                         Gr.               3.91              Business Intelligence
Levi Holmes III                             Saint Michael's               Jr.                3.61              Economics/Mathematics
Sam Philpott                                Rollins                               Gr.               3.76              Master of Business Administration
Brady Skeens (3)                         Washburn                        Sr.               3.68              Business
 (1) – CoSIDA Academic All-America® first team selection in 2016-17
(3) – CoSIDA Academic All-America® third team selection in 2016-17