Norfolk, VA- The United State Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) announced its End of the Year awards of Division I basketball during its National Championship Banquet at Seven Springs Resort on Wednesday, March 11th.
The 2020 Women’s Division I Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year is Alexus Pagan from Bryant & Stratton Buffalo. This student-athlete is an outstanding individual both on and off the basketball court. She is exceeding classroom expectations and has made a wonderful impact on our basketball team as a freshman amongst numerous upperclassmen. She is a wonderful, single mother of a two-year-old boy Kyrie and has used her life experiences to give her son every opportunity that she never had. Growing up as a foster child, Pagan has experienced and overcame much adversity as a youth and is now doing her best to help those in a similar situation to what she was in for most of her childhood. She is involved in the community regularly and travels to multiple cities throughout New York and shares her story with many young girls who are also growing up in foster care and don’t have the luxuries of most other kids. She takes part in community group circles with social workers, lawyers and judges to discuss foster care and how to help those children in it and how to improve the system. Alexus is looked up to by many young girls in Buffalo and has never used her struggles as an excuse to fail. As a freshman she made the dean’s list with a GPA of 4.0 this past fall. Stats will never truly reflect the impact she has as a member of the Bryant & Stratton Buffalo family.
The Women’s Division I Basketball Coach of the Year is Sean Knorr from Bryant & Stratton Rochester. This coach has an intensive history in sports, from younger years of playing to coaching and developing students for over a decade. As the first women’s basketball for the institution, in his first season has recruited and assembled a very talented group of student-athletes. Coach Knorr has led his team to an impressive 22-5 overall record. This coach’s passion for the game and determination to win has brought out the best of his student-athletes on the court as they have embraced a team concept.
The Women’s Basketball Division I Player of the Year is Sheridan Hopkins from the University of St. Thomas (TX). This student-athlete ranked top 10 in the association in points per game, field goal percentage and three-point percentage. The senior guard averaged 22.6 points per game while shooting an impressive 46.4% from the field. She compliments those stats by leading her team with grabbing down 8 rebounds per game. Hopkins was named USCAA Player of the Week three times this season.
The Men’s Basketball Division I Student-Athlete of the Year is Xavier Norgbey of Bryant & Stratton Syracuse. A true “go getter”, this student athlete obtains a cumulative 3.93 GPA and has completed his internship early. Norgbey currently works at the local YMCA. He was a volunteer for Future Business Leaders of America and is also taken on the role of Residence Assistant at our campus dorms. In addition to an outstanding student, he was voted to be captain for the team by his peers.
The Men’s Basketball Division I Coach of the Year is Anthony Medina of the University of St. Thomas (TX). This coach has led his team to a 24-2 overall record, the best 25-game start in the history of the program. He has led the team to a regular season Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship this year, the team’s first year in the league. His team averages 88.8 points per game and defeats teams by an average of 19.8 points per game.
The Men’s Basketball Division I Player of the Year is Xavier Sewell from Washington Adventist University. This year’s player of the year led his team in every statistical category. He also ranked fifth in the association in points per game. He averaged 20.6 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game. He reached a milestone this year by scoring his 1,000th career point in February.