McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team has achieved a significant academic milestone with four of its players earning spots on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team. The announcement was made on Tuesday, March 25.

Seniors Trey Bazzell from Fairbury, Illinois, and Nick Roper from St. Louis, Missouri, along with junior Karlo Colak from Glencoe, Illinois, and sophomore Mason Funk from Normal, Illinois, received this recognition. The Titans' achievement ties them with Wheaton for the most selections in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.

Nick Roper earned this accolade for the first time in his career and will advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot. Meanwhile, Trey Bazzell received this distinction for the third consecutive year. Karlo Colak and Mason Funk are first-time recipients of this honor.

Roper was also named a unanimous First Team All-CCIW pick and earned D3hoops.com All-Region 8 honors. He played all 30 games of the season with an average of 15.3 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per contest. Additionally, he recorded 56 assists, 32 steals, and seven blocks while maintaining a shooting accuracy of 48.1 percent from the field. Roper is pursuing a finance major with a grade point average of 3.57.

Trey Bazzell participated in all games as well and stood out as a sharpshooter by making 51 three-pointers during the season with an average of 5.3 points per game. A finance major like Roper, Bazzell boasts a GPA of 3.93.

Karlo Colak emerged as a key player off the bench throughout the season, playing every game and averaging 6.8 points along with 2.7 rebounds per contest. He notably scored the decisive shot against St John's in the NCAA Tournament that secured their advancement to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2022.

Sophomore Mason Funk started every game this season and averaged impressive stats including 9.2 points per game alongside other contributions like rebounds and assists; he is majoring in pre-med studies with an outstanding GPA matching Bazzell's at 3.93.