BOSTON – UC San Diego's Francis Nwaokorie has been selected as a finalist for the Kyle Macy Award, presented every year to the top rookie in Division I men's college basketball. He also earned a selection to the 2021-22 Freshman All-American Team. The announcement was made on Wednesday.

Nwaokorie, a 6-foot-7 forward Brooklyn Park, Minn., becomes the first Triton to earn a spot on the Kyle Macy Freshman All-American Team and be named a finalist for the Kyle Macy Award.

In his first season at UC San Diego, Nwaokorie made quite an impact. He started 24 games, averaging 11.8 points and 5.8 boards per contest. In a win over then-first place Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 26, he scored a career-high 23 points while grabbing nine rebounds.

Nwaokorie was named to the Zootown Classic All-Tournament Team after scoring a then-career high 22 points in the Tritons' game at Montana. At season's end, he was named the top freshman in the Big West by the web site hoopshd.com.

The Kyle Macy Award, which is presented annually to the top freshman in Division I college basketball, is named for a guard who starred as a freshman for Purdue. The 2022 Kyle Macy award winner will be announced on April 1 in New Orleans at the site of the Men's Division I Basketball Championship.

The 1975 Indiana "Mr. Basketball" played his freshman season at Purdue University, averaging 13.8 points per game while leading the Boilermakers in free throws (85.9 percent for the season). He started in 25 of 27 games, helping them to a 16-11 season record.

After playing his freshman year at Purdue, Macy transferred to the University of Kentucky in 1976. He started every game for the Wildcats in 1977. A three-time All-America and three-time All-SEC player, Macy was a member of Kentucky's 1978 National Championship team. In his senior year of 1979-80, he became the first Kentucky player ever to be named consensus Southeastern Conference Player of the Year.


2021-22 KYLE MACY FRESHMEN ALL-AMERICA TEAM
Taran Armstrong – G – California Baptist
Zack Austin – F – High Point
Paolo Banchero – F – Duke
Malaki Branham – F – Ohio State
Paul Bruns – G – North Dakota
Kennedy Chandler – G – Tennessee
Jyare Davis – F – Delaware
Tyson Degenhart – F – Boise State
Tucker DeVries – F – Drake
Jalen Duren – C – Memphis
Jordan Gainey – G – USC Upstate
A.J. Griffin – G – Duke
Elijah Hawkins – G – Howard
Chet Holmgren – F – Gonzaga
Tyrese Hunter – G – Iowa State
Jao Ituka – G – Marist
Denver Jones – G – FIU
Kino Lilly Jr. – G – Brown
Francis Nwaokorie – F – UC San Diego
Jabari Smith – F – Auburn
Reyne Smith – G – Charleston
Payton Sparks – F – Ball State
Ray'Sean Taylor – G –SIU Edwardsville
Fousseni Traore – F – BYU
Sam Vinson – G – Northern Kentucky
Ty Ty Washington – G – Kentucky
  
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.