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SAN DIEGO - The All-CCAA men’s basketball teams and major award winners, as voted on by the league’s 13 head coaches, have been announced on the eve of the semifinals of the 2019-20 CCAA Tournament at host UC San Diego’s RIMAC Arena in La Jolla.
 
The CCAA Most Valuable Player is sophomore guard Tyrell Roberts of the regular-season champion Tritons. In his second on-the-court season after redshirting as a true freshman, the Sacramento native is averaging a league-best 18.4 points per game. Roberts is UC San Diego’s second-straight CCAA MVP, following teammate Chris Hansen, and third ever, all coming in the last four years with Adam Klie the 2016-17 honoree. He stepped into a star turn when Hansen went down with an injury and missed 15-consecutive contests. One of three Tritons to start all 29 contests, Roberts knocks down a league-leading 3.3 made three-pointers per game. He is second in three-point field goal percentage (.449), fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1), sixth in field goal percentage (.472), eighth in steals (1.7), and 11th in assists per game (3.2). Roberts, the 2018-19 CCAA Newcomer of the Year, is a repeat All-CCAA First Team selection.

The inaugural CCAA Defensive Player of the Year award goes to Chico State senior forward Justin Briggs. The West Sacramento product is fourth in the conference grabbing 7.7 boards per outing, and second in both blocked shots (52) and blocks per game (1.8). Four of those rejections came in Tuesday’s 75-73 overtime triumph over Stanislaus State in the Wildcats’ CCAA tourney opener, alongside six boards, two steals and 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting. Briggs has scored 11.9 points a night on the offensive end, and posted seven double-doubles.

Junior forward Zafir Williams of Cal State East Bay is the CCAA Newcomer of the Year. The transfer from Division I Loyola Marymount and product of Long Beach is tied for first in the CCAA, second in the West Region and 23rd in Division II with his 12 double-doubles. He is fifth in scoring at 17.6 points per game, and third in rebounding at 8.3 boards per contest. Williams has started 28 of 29 games, and played a big role in extending the Pioneers’ season with 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists in Tuesday night’s 70-68 win at fourth-seeded Cal State San Bernardino in the CCAA Tournament quarterfinals. Williams is East Bay’s first CCAA Newcomer of the Year, with the award having now been given out 14 times.

The CCAA Freshman of the Year is Humboldt State’s Isaiah Pope. The 6-foot-5 guard from Yorba Linda and Orange Lutheran High School averaged 9.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.0 steals and 24.7 minutes per game in his first season of college basketball as a definitive bright spot for the Jacks. He appeared in all 27 games, drawing 19 starts and leading the team with his 27 steals. Pope shot .457 (85-186) from the field and made 34-of-91 (.374) three-pointers and 49-of-56 (.875) free throws. He is HSU’s first freshman honoree since Malik Morgan in 2014-15, and third overall.

Eric Olen is the CCAA Coach of the Year for the second time, with a prior selection in 2016-17. He has led fourth-ranked UC San Diego to the regular-season banner outright after sharing the crown with Cal Poly Pomona a season ago, and a program-record 28 wins thus far, now at 28-1. The Tritons have extended the longest win streak in school history to 20 through Tuesday’s 89-70 home decision over Cal State LA to begin their postseason run. Along the way, Olen achieved career victory No. 150 on Feb. 1. He is in his seventh campaign in charge in La Jolla, and poised to guide UC San Diego into Division I and the Big West Conference this summer.

Joining Briggs, Roberts and Williams on the All-CCAA First Team are UC San Diego’s Christian Oshita, Cal Poly Pomona’s William Christmas and Riley Schaefer, Chico State’s Malik Duffy, the Cal State San Bernardino duo of Daytone Jennings and Jeremy Smith, and San Francisco State’s Linton Acliese III. Christmas, the only other repeat pick besides Roberts, is in fact now a three-time first-teamer. Oshita was previously a first-team choice in 2017-18.

The entirety of UC San Diego’s starting five during Hansen’s absence, earned some type of postseason recognition from coaches, with Mikey Howell making the 10-player second team, and Scott Everman and Marek Sullivan among nine who picked up honorable mentions. All 13 CCAA programs were represented among the 29 total honorees.

Friday’s CCAA Tournament semifinals are slated for 12 p.m. between second-seeded Cal Poly Pomona and third-seeded Chico State, and 2:30 p.m between No. 1 seed UC San Diego and fifth-seeded Cal State East Bay. The games can be watched for free on ESPN3.
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