McLean County Times

AUSTIN, Texas - On Tuesday, April 15, Illinois Wesleyan University's men's basketball player, Nick Roper, was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America teams. Roper, a senior from St. Louis, Missouri, attending Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School (MICDS), was the only student-athlete from the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin to be recognized this year. He earned the Second Team Academic All-America honor.

This selection marks Roper as the 27th recipient of the Academic All-America title from the program, which surpasses Kansas and Duke, who both have 21 honorees each. Matthew Leritz was the last Titan to achieve this title in 2022 when he was voted CSC's Academic All-America of the Year.

Illinois Wesleyan University's current total of Academic All-Americas is 162, placing them in the top 25 across NCAA Division I, II, and III, and in the top 10 for Division III alone. Alongside Kannyn Boyd from women's volleyball, Roper stands as the second Titan to receive this honor in the current academic year.

Roper's basketball performance this season has been noteworthy. As a unanimous First Team All-CCIW pick, he received D3hoops.com All-Region 8 recognition. He was a significant contributor to the Titans' advance to the Sweet Sixteen, starting all 30 games and achieving an average of 15.3 points per game along with 5.6 rebounds per contest. Roper amassed 56 assists, 32 steals, and seven blocks. His shooting statistics were 48.1% from the field, 34.1% from three-point range, and 72.9% at the free-throw line. In academics, Roper maintains a 3.57 GPA, majoring in finance.

Under Roper's guidance, the Titans secured a 24-6 overall standing, which included a 12-4 conference record. They finished second in the regular conference season, later winning the CCIW Tournament title and securing the league's automatic NCAA Tournament entry.