ALBANY, N.Y. – The honors keep pouring in for West Liberty University men's basketball standout and the third-year sophomore picked up his biggest one yet on Monday afternoon when he was one of 15 players named to the 2021-22 Division II Conference Commissioners' Association (D2CCA) Men's Basketball All-America Team.
The D2CCA All-America Team is voted on by the sports information directors from the more than 300 NCAA Division II schools and consists of three 5-man units. A second-team All-America selection, Butler was the only sophomore among the 10 first- and second-team selections.
The All-America honor comes as no surprise for the 6-5 jumping jack from Latrobe, Pa. Honored earlier this spring as the Mountain East Conference and NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Player of the Year, Butler played a key role in helping lead West Liberty to a sweep of the MEC regular-season and tournament championships and an NCAA Division II-best 13th consecutive NCAA Tournament bid.
The second-leading scorer and leading rebounder (18.1 ppg., 7.5 rpg.) on a West Liberty team that won its 14th national scoring title in the past 17 seasons while finishing the year ranked No. 2 in the nation by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, Butler was at his best when the spotlight shined the brightest. Virtually unstoppable on the low block, he ranked among the Top 10 nationally with 246 made field goals and placed among the nation's Top 20 players in NCAA Division II field-goal percentage (246-397, .620). A first-team NCAA Division II Academic All-District honoree and a 1,000-point scorer, Butler hit double-figures in 30 of 31 games for the 29-3 Hilltoppers and finished the season with a team-high 11 double-doubles.
The WLU sophomore was the only MEC player to attain All-America status in the nationwide D2CCA balloting and one of only three honorees from the Atlantic Region. Philip Alston of California (Pa.) was a third-team selection while Armoni Foster of Atlantic Region champion Indiana (Pa.) received honorable mention. Nova Southeastern junior Sekou Sylla was the Ron Lenz National Player of the Year.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
2021-22 D2CCA Division II
All-America Team
First Team
Name School Pos. Ht. Cl. Hometown
Sekou Sylla* Nova Southeastern F 6-5 Jr. Brooklyn, N.Y.
Trevor Hudgins NW Missouri State G 6-0 Jr. Manhattan, Kan.
Andrew Sischo Daemen (N.Y.) F 6-9 Gr. Guilderland, N.Y.
Jaizec Lottie Flagler (Fla.) G 6-2 Sr. Aurora, Colo.
Patrick Carter Hillsdale (Mich.) F 6-8 Jr. Brookfield, Wis.
*-Ron Lenz National Player of the YearSecond Team
Name School Pos. Ht. Cl. Hometown
Parker Hicks Lubbock Christian F 6-6 Sr. Decatur, Texas
Joel Scott Black Hills State F 6-7 Jr. Monument, Colo.
BRYCE BUTLER WEST LIBERTY G 6-5 SO. LATROBE, PA.
Tyler Riemersma Augustana F 6-8 Sr. Bloomington, Minn.
Tray Buchanan Emporia State G 6-1 Gr. Rock Island, Ill.
Third Team
Name School Pos. Ht. Cl. Hometown
Malik Duffy Chico State (Calif.) F 6-8 Sr. Sacramento, Calif.
Philip Alston California (Pa.) F 6-6 So. Columbus, Ohio
RJ Sunahara Nova Southeastern F 6-8 So. Bay Village, Ohio
Kaden Anderson Point Loma (Calif.) F 6-8 Jr. Enumclaw, Wash.
Adam Dworsky SE Oklahoma State G 5-11 Sr. Flower Mound, Texas
Honorable Mention
Armoni Foster, Indiana (Pa.), Julius Brown, West Texas A&M, Tyree Boykin, Union (Tenn.), Austin Andrews, Minnesota-Duluth, Romeo Crouch, Embry-Riddle (Fla.)