Click here for the complete Daktronics South Central Region men's and women's basketball teams.
DENVER — Fort Lewis College center
Alex Herrera added to his lengthy list of accomplishments by earning first team Daktronics All-South Central Region honors, regional coordinator Andrew Schlichting announced today.
A 6-foot-10, 235-lb. sophomore from Ignacio High School in Ignacio, Colo., Herrera was named the
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year last week. He's also been named to the All-RMAC first team and the All-RMAC Shootout team and was a four-time RMAC/Baden Player of the Week — twice for offense and twice for defense.
“I think it's a nice honor for Alex,” said 17th-year FLC head coach
Bob Hofman. “I'm sure he'd be the first to credit his teammates for achieving this award. We look at all of our individual awards as collective awards. He and his teammates have worked very hard for this.”
Herrera leads the RMAC in blocked shots (79) and field goal shooting (60.4 percent) and ranks among league leaders in field goals (third, 157), total rebounds (third, 251), rebounds per game (third, 9.0), defensive rebounds (third, 173), offensive rebounds (fourth, 78), points (seventh, 429), free throws (seventh, 115) and points per game (10th, 15.3).
Although he's played just two seasons in a Skyhawk uniform, Herrera already ranks fifth in school history in career blocked shots (105). His 79 blocked shots thus far in 2012-13 ranks second in the FLC record books, trailing just Brice Searles (83, 1984-85). He twice blocked eight shots in a single game in 2012-13 — tied for second most in the FLC record books.
In his first season as a full-time starter, Herrera leads the RMAC in blocks (73) and field goal shooting (62.3 percent). He also ranks among RMAC leaders in defensive rebounds (third, 147), total rebounds (fourth, 217), rebounds per game (fourth, 8.7), offensive rebounds (fifth, 70), field goals (sixth, 144), free throws (seventh, 102), points per game (ninth, 15.6) and points (14th, 390).
He ranks among the NCAA Division II Top 25 in blocked shots per game (fifth, 2.82) and field goal percentage (21st, 60.4 percent).
Herrera becomes the just the second first player in school history to be honored as a Daktronics all-region first team selection. DeAndre Lansdowne was named to the All-Central Region first team in 2009-10. (RMAC schools switched from the Central to South Central Region this season.)
Ten student-athletes from the South Central Region were voted to the all-region first and second teams. First team all-region performers are eligible for the Daktronics All-America teams, which will be announced later this month.
The Most Valuable Player of the All-South Central Region first team was Kevin Kotzur of St. Mary's (Texas). Joining Kotzur and Herrera on the first team were Jonathan Morse (Metro State), Craig Foster (Cameron) and Corbin Thomas (Midwestern State).
Second team selections included Nick Fox (Dallas Baptist), Trevor Wages (Colorado Mines), Brandon Jefferson (Metro State), Shimeek Johnson (St. Edward's), Rodney Blackmon (Eastern New Mexico), Dionelle Rucker (Incarnate Word) and Kaimyn Pruitt.
The team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing, and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition. Sports Information Directors from each school in the region nominated and voted for the Daktronics all-region teams.
No. 19 Fort Lewis (21-7 overall) earned the third seed in the South Central Region and will face sixth-seeded Adams State (20-8) at noon on Saturday at the Auraria Event Center on the Metro State campus in Denver in the first round of the NCAA playoffs.
This marks FLC's eighth trip to the big dance, all coming since the 2001-02 season.
