CANTON, Ga. (February 25, 2025) – The Southern Athletic Association has revealed its 2024-25 men's basketball All-Conference teams, Athletes of the Year, and All-Sportsmanship team honorees.
Berry senior standout Braxton Benham was voted the Athlete of the Year while Millsaps senior Nicholas Ughovwa was named the Defensive Athlete of the Year. Centre's Noah Wahl earned Rookie of the Year honors with Berry, led by first year head coach Matthew Richter, was voted the Coaching Staff of the Year.
All-Conference voting and selection of the All-Sportsmanship team was conducted among the conference's head coaches.
Athlete of the Year – Braxton Benham (Berry/Senior/Cartersville, Ga.) A prolific scorer and distributer, Benham capped a decorated career with SAA Athlete of the Year honors. In league play, the senior led the conference in both points, with 23.9 a night, and assists, at 5.5 a game. Overall, Benham ranks 12
th nationally in points per game (22.8) and 10
th in assists per night (5.4). He had a historic stretch to start February, putting up 42 points, five assists, and six steals against Rhodes and following with 41 points and 10 rebounds at Sewanee his next game. Benham was a second team honoree each of the last two seasons. He gives the Vikings three-straight SAA Athlete of the Year awards, joining Blake Campbell last season and Chase Ellis in 2023. Elijah Hirsch was voted Athlete of the Year for Berry in 2019.
Defensive Athlete of the Year – Nicholas Ughovwa (Millsaps/Senior/Sulphur, La.) The SAA leader in blocked shots and a force on the boards, Ughovwa is the second Major named Defensive Athlete of the Year, joining Justin Van Pelt in 2020. A senior from Louisiana, Ughovwa averaged a conference-best 2.4 blocks per game while also ranking ninth in rebounds at 6.1 a night. He had at least one rejection in all but three conference games, including six against Berry as part of a 10 points, eight rebounds performance. Nationally, Ughovwa is 30
th in total blocks and 39
th in blocks per game.
Rookie of the Year – Nolan Wahl (Centre/First Year/Louisville, Ky.) Boasting four double-doubles in conference play, Wahl is the third-straight Colonel to be voted SAA Rookie of the Year. The newcomer ranked 13
th in the conference with 13.1 points a game while hauling in a third-best 8.8 rebounds a night. He had a career night against Sewanee with 20 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Wahl later had back-to-back double doubles with 17 points and 10 rebounds against Millsaps and then 11 points and 10 rebounds against Oglethorpe. He joins Riley Mastin (2024), Cade Stinnett (2023), Perry Ayers (2017), and Blake Scinta (2013) as Centre players to earn Rookie of the Year honors.
Coaching Staff of the Year – Berry (Head Coach Matthew Richter) In his first season at the helm of the Vikings program, Richter led Berry to its fifth-straight outright SAA championship after a 10-2 conference record. Berry posted a 17-8 overall mark that included nine-game winning streak early in the new year. Richter's squad boasted the best defense in the conference and led the league in scoring margin, outscoring SAA opponents by 10.7 points a game. He is the fourth different Viking to lead the SAA Coaching Staff of the Year, joining Mick Hedgepth (2023), Trevor Lydic (2022), and Mitch Cole (2021).
Russ Marr of Sewanee became just the fourth men's basketball player to be named SAA All-Conference four times. The SAA's all-time leading scorer was Honorable Mention and the Rookie of the Year in 2022 while earning a spot on the First Team each of the last three seasons. Seth Stanley (Hendrix), Dimetri Chambers (Oglethorpe), and Larry Thomas (Birmingham-Southern) are the only others to achieve the honor.
Athlete of the Year: Braxton Benham (Berry)
Defensive Athlete of the Year: Nicholas Ughovwa, Millsaps
Rookie of the Year: Nolan Wahl (Centre)
Coaching Staff of the Year: Berry, Head Coach Matthew Richter
First Team:
Luka Avaliani (Sewanee)
Braxton Benham (Berry)
Malachi Dooley (Oglethorpe)
Russ Marr (Sewanee)
Perry Robinson (Oglethorpe)
Second Team:
Jaxson Banks (Centre)
Fletcher Bigham (Sewanee)
Tyler Deithloff (Hendrix)
Phil Dotson (Rhodes)
Landen Hamilton (Centre)
Honorable Mention:
Tre Corrigan (Sewanee)
Jack Dempsey (Rhodes)
Dakota Gasca (Millsaps)
Parker Godwin (Berry)
Shawn Jones Jr. (Rhodes)
Caleb Kent (Millsaps)
Jacob Morgan (Berry)
Dylan Pumpian (Oglethorpe)
Graham Smith (Sewanee)
Nolan Wahl (Centre)
All-Sportsmanship Team
Berry – Grant Stubbs
Centre – Carson Wooldridge
Hendrix – Carson Bower
Millsaps – TJ Hogan
Oglethorpe – Joe Helenbrook
Rhodes – Cass Ramberg
Sewanee – Eli Holland