MOREHEAD. Ky. -- Morehead State men's basketball forwards
Alex Gross and
LJ Bryan have each been honored by the College Sports Communicators (CSC) academic awards program. Gross is an all-district pick as well as earning Second-Team Academic All-America. Bryan is on the All-District Team.
The long-running program honors student-athletes, and this year the criteria was raised to include student-athletes who excel on the court and who have maintained at least a 3.50 grade point average, up from the original 3.3 GPA criteria.
Gross, a graduate transfer from Hope, Ind., earned his third straight Academic All-America honor. He was the NAIA Academic All-American of the Year in 2021-22 at Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) before transferring to Morehead State. Gross has maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA in Sport Management.
Gross was named the OVC Defensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-OVC after a season that saw him easily lead the OVC in blocked shots with 67. He also contributes 11.9 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds. He has seven double-doubles and ranks among the most accurate shooters in the conference at 56 percent.
He earns MSU's 43rd all-time Academic All-American honor since 1974 and is the first-ever men's basketball student-athlete at MSU to be bestowed the prestigious accolade.
Bryan has played a steady role for the Eagles off the bench this season and in his career. He owns a .363 grade point average in legal studies. Bryan has been one of the most consistent shooters for the hoops' program, maintaining a 58 percent career field goal percentage. This season he averages 3.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
