(Press Release) Omaha senior Marquel Sutton was named The Summit League Men’s Basketball Player of the Year Tuesday as League officials announced six individual awards, the all-league honorees, the all-newcomer team and the all-defensive team for the 2024-25 campaign.
Sutton was the top scorer on an Omaha squad that captured the program’s first regular season title as the Mavericks finished 13-3 after being selected eighth in the preseason poll. The Tulsa, Okla., native is the first Omaha player to earn the league’s highest individual honor.
Sutton ranked second among Summit scorers, averaging 21.3 ppg and was third in rebounding with a 7.7 rpg clip. He scored 20-plus in 10 of Omaha’s last 11 league games and scored a career-high 36 on Feb. 22 in a win over South Dakota that clinched a share of the regular season title on Feb. 22.
Omaha’s Chris Crutchfield was named the Summit League Coach of the Year after guiding the Mavericks to a six-game turnaround from a season ago when they finished 7-9 and were the No. 6 seed. The Mavericks will be the No. 1 seed for the first time in program history and their 13-3 league mark matches the best league record set by the 2019 team that finished second with an identical tally.
The five individual player award honorees hail from five different programs. Joining Sutton among that quintet were South Dakota State center Oscar Cluff, who was named the Newcomer of the Year, Denver guard Sebastian Akins, who earned Freshman of the Year honors, South Dakota guard Chase Forte, who garnered Defensive Player of the Year accolades, and North Dakota State guard Tajavis Miller claimed Sixth Man of the Year honors.
Cluff averaged 17.6 ppg in league play and led all Summit players in rebounding, grabbing 13.0 rpg. He recorded 11 of his national-leading 21 double-doubles in Summit competition, including posting a 20-15 game on six different occasions. He opened league play with a 30-point, 19-rebound effort in a win over Denver.
Akins started eight of 16 Summit games for the Pioneers, averaging 13.2 ppg, which was second best on the team and second best among league rookies. He hit double figures in six of his eight starts and 11 league games overall, including a career-high 27 at North Dakota State on Feb. 15.
Forte did it on both ends of the court for the Coyotes during his first season in Vermillion, averaging 19.4 ppg to go with 5.3 rpg and 2.0 spg from his guard position. The Northwestern State transfer had multiple steals in 10 Summit tilts, including matching his season-high of four on two different occasions.
Miller became the first Bison to earn the top reserve award since Grant Nelson in 2021. He averaged 10.1 ppg off the NDSU bench, reaching double figures 11 different times, including a stretch of eight consecutive games from Jan. 4-Feb. 2. Miller scored a season-high 19 in the win over South Dakota in the regular season finale.
Cluff, Forte and Sutton were also named to the all-league first team along with St. Thomas junior Miles Barnstable, North Dakota State forward Jacksen Moni, and Omaha guard JJ White. Barnstable led the Tommies to the No. 2 overall seed in his first season at UST. He averaged a team-best 16.1 ppg and shot 44.8 percent from the field in Summit play.
Moni led all Summit scorers with a 22.3 ppg clip in 15 contests and reached 20-plus nine different times. His best outing was a 32-point performance in an overtime win over Oral Roberts. The Fargo, N.D., native averaged 25.3 ppg in his last four games.
White chipped in 17.6 ppg in 16 Summit games and topped all league players in assists (5.3/g). He had an 18-point, 10-assist double-double at South Dakota, which were the most dimes by a Summit player in a game this season.
White also shot 47.8 percent from 3-point range, making 43 in league play, including at least four in each of Omaha’s three victories to close out their regular-season title chase.
The all-league second team featured Kansas City’s Jamar Brown and Oral Roberts’ Issac McBride, who were the only repeat all-league selections from a season ago. Brown was on the first team, while McBride earned his third straight second-team nod. Those two were joined by St. Thomas guard Drake Dobbs, North Dakota guard Treysen Eaglestaff and North Dakota State guard Jacari White.
Brown scored 16.6 ppg in 16 Summit starts and was once against the league’s top rebounding guard, pulling down 8.3 rpg. McBride was third among Summit scorers at 21.3 ppg, averaging 20-plus in league play for the second straight year.
Dobbs had his best season as a Tommie, scoring 12.1 ppg, while also ranking second in assists (3.8/g). Eaglestaff paced the Fighting Hawks in scoring at 16.6 ppg and had five 20-plus point games in league action.
White had his best season as a Bison, forming the league’s top scoring duo along with Moni. He scored 17.7 ppg and, along with ORU’s McBride and USD’s Forte, were the only league players with a pair of 30-plus point scoring games in Summit play.
The individual and all-league honors are voted on by the League’s nine head coaches, athletic communication directors and select media members. All of these accolades were based on the player’s performance in Summit League play.
This year’s honorable mention squad featured the South Dakota guard duo of Issac Bruns (16.3 ppg; 10th) and Dre Bullock (14.4 ppg; 13th), South Dakota State guard Kalen Garry (13.2 ppg; 16th), North Dakota State guard Masen Miller (11.6 ppg; , 49 3-pt %) and North Dakota guard Mier Panoam (15.3 ppg; 12th).
Forte headlined the All-Defensive Team and was joined on that squad by fellow all-league selections Cluff and Dobbs along with North Dakota guard Eli King and Omaha guard Ja’Sean Glover. King is the only repeat selection from the 2023-24 all-defensive unit.
Cluff headlined the All-Newcomer Team and was joined by fellow first team all-league selections in Barnstable, Forte and Moni. Akins was the lone freshman selected to the all-newcomer team.
Each of the League’s nine teams will embark on Sioux Falls this weekend for The Summit League Men’s Basketball Championship. The action starts Wednesday with No. 8 seed Kansas City and No. 9 seed Oral Roberts tipping off approximately 25 minutes following the women’s first-round game, which tips at 4:30 p.m. CT at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.
All first round and quarterfinal games will be televised by Midco Sports and streamed digitally on the Summit League Network powered by the Midco Sports Plus app. Saturday’s semifinals, set to start at 7 p.m. CT, and Sunday’s title game, which tips at 8 p.m. CT, will air on CBS Sports Network.
2024-25 Summit League Men’s Basketball Awards
First Team
Miles Barnstable, St. Thomas (Jr., G)
Oscar Cluff, South Dakota State (Sr., C)
Chase Forte, South Dakota (Sr., G)
Jacksen Moni, North Dakota State (Sr., F)
Marquel Sutton, Omaha (Sr., F)^
JJ White, Omaha (Sr., G)
Second Team
Jamar Brown, Kansas City (Sr., G)*
Drake Dobbs, St. Thomas (Sr., G)
Treysen Eaglestaff, North Dakota (Jr., G)
Issac McBride, Oral Roberts (Gr., G)***
Jacari White, North Dakota State (Sr., G)
Honorable Mention
Isaac Bruns, South Dakota (So., G)
Dre Bullock, South Dakota (Sr., G)
Kalen Garry, South Dakota State (So., G)
Masen Miller, North Dakota State (Sr., G)
Mier Panoam, North Dakota (So., G)
^Player of the year automatically earns a spot on the first team
*previous all-league selections noted above
All-Defensive Team
Oscar Cluff, South Dakota State (Sr., C)
Drake Dobbs, St. Thomas (Sr., G)
Chase Forte, South Dakota (Sr., G)
Eli King, North Dakota (Jr., G)
Ja’Sean Glover, Omaha (Jr., G)
All-Newcomer Team
Sebastian Akins, Denver (Fr., G)
Miles Barnstable, St. Thomas (Jr., G)
Oscar Cluff, South Dakota State (Sr., C)
Chase Forte, South Dakota (Sr., G)
Jacksen Moni, North Dakota State (Sr., F)
Player of the Year
Marquel Sutton, Omaha
Defensive Player of the Year
Chase Forte, South Dakota
Sixth Man of the Year
Tajavis Miller, North Dakota State
Freshman of the Year
Sebastian Akins, Denver
Newcomer of the Year
Oscar Cluff, South Dakota State
Coach of the Year
Chris Crutchfield, Omaha
