IRVINE, Calif. – After leading Point Loma to its second PacWest regular season title,
Kaden Anderson has repeated as the PacWest Player of the Year, headlining the 2022 All-PacWest Team.
Academy of Art’s
Klay Brown has been named the PacWest Defender of the Year after leading the conference in steals, while
Jalani Watson-Gayle from Fresno Pacific is the PacWest Newcomer of the Year.
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, as a second-year freshman, has earned recognition as the PacWest Freshman of the Year for Hawai`i Hilo.
Scott Waterman from Academy of Art was voted by his peers as the PacWest Coach of the Year after helping the Urban Knights finish in fourth place in the conference.
Point Loma finished the regular season on an 11-game winning streak, and Anderson’s return from injury was a key part to the Sea Lions strong second half of the season. Anderson averaged 20.8 points and 9.1 rebounds this season with a .564 field-goal percentage. The Sea Lions’ junior forward is the third player in PacWest history to be named Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons.
Brown tallied 65 steals this season for Academy of Art, which has tallied 288 steals as a team. That mark currently ranks sixth in conference history. Brown had four different games with five steals this season. The Urban Knights averaged 18.1 points off turnovers per game during the regular season. Brown also contributed 12 blocks, which is the third most on the team.
Watson-Gayle led the PacWest in total points scored this season with 499, averaging 19.2 points per game. He made 80 3-pointer at a .406 clip. He had a span of five games in which he scored at least 20 points in each game and that run was bookended by a 34-point performance on the front end and ended with a 32-point game in which he went 15 for 15 from the free-throw line, which is tied for third-best in PacWest history. He also ranked fourth in the conference in steals with 1.7 per game as he led the Sunbirds to the best scoring defense of the year.
Tait-Jones earned his second PacWest honor after being named the Newcomer of the Year during last year’s abbreviated season. This year, he averaged 17.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. He scored a season-high 30 points at Concordia, making 11 of 19 shots. He helped Hawai`i Hilo qualify for the PacWest Championships for the first time in program history.
Waterman lifted the Academy of Art men’s basketball program to new heights as the Urban Knights finished in fourth place in the PacWest standings, which is the best finish in 13 years in the league. Academy of Art opened the year with a pair of wins over CCAA teams and later went on a six-game winning streak that culminated with a 100-77 win over Chaminade. Academy of Art finished the year with an overtime win at Fresno Pacific and the two teams will face each other again on the same court tomorrow at 5 p.m. (Pacific).
Biola is represented on the First Team All-PacWest by
Chris Rossow, who averaged 18.3 points per game and tallied three 30-point games. Azusa Pacific landed two players on the first team with
Ken West and
Justin Hemsley both earning honors. The duo averages 26.8 points per game and helped the Cougars finish just a half game behind first place at the end of the regular season.
Michael Bagatourian earned his third All-PacWest recognition for Biola as he reached a career total of 1,685 points with 699 rebounds. Point Loma’s
Brock Mackenzie and
Myles Franklin along with
Darren Williams from Hawai`i Hilo and
Isaac Amaral-Artharee from Chaminade all earned their second All-PacWest recognition.
| 2021-22 ALL-PACWEST MEN’S BASKETBALL AWARDS |
| Player of the Year |
Kaden Anderson |
Point Loma |
| Defender of the Year |
Klay Brown |
Academy of Art |
| Newcomer of the Year |
Jelani Watson-Gayle |
Fresno Pacific |
| Freshman of the Year |
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones |
Hawai`i Hilo |
| Coach of the Year |
Scott Waterman |
Academy of Art |
| 2021-22 ALL-PACWEST MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Pos. |
Yr. |
Hometown/Previous School |
| FIRST TEAM |
| Kaden Anderson** |
Point Loma |
F |
Jr. |
Enumclaw, Wash./Enumclaw |
| Jelani Watson-Gayle |
Fresno Pacific |
G |
Sr. |
London, England/Miles College |
| Chris Rossow* |
Biola |
G |
Sr. |
Freeport, Texas/Southwest Baptist |
| Ken West |
Azusa Pacific |
F |
So. |
Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue Christian |
| Justin Hemsley |
Azusa Pacific |
F |
Jr. |
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Hawai`i |
| Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones* |
Hawai`i Hilo |
F |
Fr. |
Wellington, New Zealand/Spire |
| SECOND TEAM |
| Alex Wright |
Biola |
G |
Jr. |
Riverside, Calif./California Baptist |
| Latrell Williams |
Academy of Art |
F |
So. |
Gary, Ind./Grayson College |
| Michael Bagatourian** |
Biola |
G |
Sr. |
Irvine, Calif./Crean Lutheran |
| Ben Okhotin |
Point Loma |
F |
Sr. |
San Diego/Westview |
| Brock Mackenzie* |
Point Loma |
G |
Jr. |
Sammamish, Wash./Eastside Catholic |
| Edward Gray |
Holy Names |
C |
Jr. |
Oakland, Calif./El Cerrito |
| THIRD TEAM |
| Zach McIntire |
Chaminade |
F |
Sr. |
Delaware, Ohio/Mercyhurst |
| Joshua Caston |
Concordia |
G |
Sr. |
Virginia Beach, Va./Point Loma |
| Darren Williams* |
Hawai`i Hilo |
G |
Jr. |
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Chaffey |
| Myles Franklin* |
Point Loma |
G |
Sr. |
Brea, Calif./Villa Park |
| Isaac Amaral-Artharee* |
Chaminade |
G |
So. |
Portland, Ore./Central Catholic |
| Donald McHenry |
Hawai`i Hilo |
G |
Fr. |
Milwaukee, Wisc./Milwaukee Science |