ALBANY, N.Y. – Voted upon by the NCAA Division II members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), Nova Southeastern's Sekou Sylla has been selected as the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) 2022 Men's Basketball Ron Lenz National Player of the Year, announced on Monday. Sylla becomes the program's first-ever National Player of the Year.

Sylla has been an absolute force in his first season on the court with the Sharks, entering Tuesday's Elite Eight matchup with Blue Hills State with averages of 22.6 points on 58.4 percent shooting to go along with 10. 5 rebounds per game. In 31 starts for the nation's lone unbeaten, the junior has posted 22 double-doubles – second-most in DII – including a current streak of 10 in a row. Sylla has been previously named to the Bevo Franics Top 25 Watch List, recognized as the D2CCA South Region Player of the Year, and became the first player in Sunshine State Conference history to earn SSC Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year honors in the same season. He leads DII in field goals made with 290 and is one of just six players to average 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds.

Joining Sylla on the D2CAA All-America First Team are Northwest Missouri State's Trevor Hudgins, Daemen's Andrew Sischo, Flagler's Jaizec Lottie and Hillsdale's Patrick Cartier.

Completing what can justifiably be considered the nation's most formidable frontcourt, NSU's RJ Sunahara has also been tabbed an All-American by the D2CCA, landing on the third team. The second of two Sharks on the Bevo Francis Top 25 Watch List, Sunahara has averaged 19.5 points on 60.8 percent from the field while adding 6.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per contest. The redshirt-sophomore reeled in SSC Defensive Player of the Year and SSC Tournament MVP honors earlier this month, and has been especially key with a team-high 22.8 points per night in the Sharks' six postseason games.

Top-seeded NSU will look to continue its deep run in March when it squares off against No. 8 seed Black Hills State in the Elite Eight on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. ET. For complete coverage of the action, visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Instagram and Twitter at @NSU_MBasketball.