STANFORD, Calif. - Wade Morgan, Chasson Randle and Jack Ryan have been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court.
Meanwhile, Stanford was one of 20 NCAA Division I programs to earn the prestigious NABC Team Academic Excellence Award, recognizing outstanding academic achievement by a team with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. Stanford and South Carolina were the only major-conference programs among the 20 NCAA Division I institutions to be honored.
The NABC Honors Court recognizes the talents of student-athletes off the court, and the hard work they exhibit in the classroom. In order to be named to the Honors Court, a student-athlete must meet a high standard of academic criteria. Stanford, Utah and Washington State were the only Pac-12 schools recognized. The qualifications are as follows:
Academically a junior or senior and a varsity player
Cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the 2014-15 academic year
Students must have matriculated at least one year at their current institution
Member of an NCAA Division I, II, III, or NAIA Institution
Morgan (Political Science, 3.68) and Ryan (Economics, 3.70) were honored by the NABC for the first time in their career. A two-time recipient of the award, Randle (African and African-American studies major, 3.34 undergraduate GPA) completed both his undergraduate degree and master’s degree in four years and was accepted into the department of psychology’s master’s program.
The annual academic recognition has become a program staple during head coach Johnny Dawkins’ tenure, with nine players receiving NABC Honors Court accolades over the last two seasons combined. Back in March, Stanford placed at least three players on the Pac-12 All-Academic team for the fifth consecutive season. Meanwhile, Randle was also honored as Stanford’s first Academic All-America First Team recipient since Dan Grunfeld in 2006 in addition to being tabbed the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Stanford (24-13, 9-9 Pac-12) concluded its 100th season by capturing its second NIT championship in four seasons and third overall in school history. Qualifying for its fourth straight postseason appearance, the Cardinal narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament but bounced back by winning its final five games. Stanford, which was affected by several injuries to lineup regulars, finished ranked No. 34 in the RPI.