Beard named NAIA Scholar-Athlete for SSU MBB
Having put together one of the finest seasons in program history between the classroom as well as the court, Shawnee State guard Tre Beard was fittingly named as a NAIA Scholar-Athlete, as announced by the association Wednesday afternoon.
Beard, who currently holds a 3.55 GPA, has over 115 hours of academic credit as a business management major. He was eligible for the the award by having more than 30 hours of academic credit passed while also being at the present nominating institution for at least one year.
A four-year letterwinning guard who has a year of eligibility left due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Beard has led Shawnee State to an 87-39 overall record in four years.
In addition to his academic accolades, Beard is:
- The first player in program history to win tournament games across 2 seasons ('21, '24)
- Part of each of the first six NAIA Tournament wins in program history
- The first player in program history on four winning teams in a row
Beard also:
- Finished fourth nationally in three-point field goal percentage (50.3) -- one of six in entire NAIA to shoot above 50 percent from three-point range
- Finished sixth nationally in free throw percentage (90.3), tying a school record in the process (Devon Carter, 90.3, 2014-15), and was one of seven players in NAIA to shoot above 90 percent from free throw line
- Beard was the ONLY player in the NAIA to shoot above 48 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range and 90 percent from the free throw line
Additional
In addition to Beard, Shawnee State juniors Tyreke Johnson, J.R. Lumsden and Elkin Ramirez all posted grade point averages above 3.5, but were not eligible for NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors as the trio are in their first year at Shawnee State as students. They, however, were each bestowed with RSC Scholar-Athlete honors earlier in the month.
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