Caldwell Headlines Men's Basketball Patriot League Postseason Honors

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Junior guard Josh Caldwell was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, while Lonnie Grayson was named Second Team All-Patriot League and Jalen Rucker was named to the Patriot League All-Rookie Team, the Conference announced this afternoon.

Caldwell becomes just the second Black Knight to be named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and the first in over 10 years since Marcus Nelson earned the honor in 2009. Caldwell was also named to the Patriot League All-Defensive Team. He leads the team with 37 steals on the year in 19 games played.

"It means a lot to be voted Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year," said Caldwell. "I want to thank my coaches and teammates for putting me in a position to be successful. This team prides itself on being solid defensively, and me earning this award is a product of our efforts. Guarding one of the opposing team's best players every week is the ultimate challenge week in and week out. I'm excited for what the future has in store for our team."

Caldwell finished the regular season tied for first in Patriot League play with 26 total steals, ranking second in steals per game with 1.9. Overall, on the year he collected 38 steals, the most in the conference and 2.0 steals per game over 19 total contests. He helped Army's scoring defense rank third in the conference as they only allowed 69.4 points per game playing the most games in the conference with 19. He also helped the team rank third with a turnover margin of 0.68 for the season.

On the honor, head coach Jimmy Allen said, "We are excited to see Josh Caldwell earn the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year honor as he has worked incredibly hard to become an elite defender. He is terrific at guarding the ball and is able to cover so much ground off the ball due to his athleticism and understanding of the game. His level of toughness and his relentless mindset stand out when watching him play."

Grayson was named to the All-Patriot League Second Team for the first time in his career. He is the 14^th Black Knight to be named to the second team since 1991. Grayson has appeared in all 19 games on the year, starting 18 of them. He leads the team with 581 total minutes on the year (30.6 minutes for game). He boasts a .386 field goal percentage (80-for-207) and is 49-for-138 from three-point land. He is also 83.3 percent from the charity stripe. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Grayson leads the team with 13.4 points-per-game. He is second on the team with 37 assists total and averages 5.6 rebounds per game. His 106 total rebounds rank second-most on the team.

Guard Rucker was named to the Patriot League All-Rookie team, becoming the first Black Knight to be named to the team since Tommy Funk in 2017. Overall, he is the 18^th Black Knight to be named to the Patriot League All-Rookie team since 1991. As a true freshman, Rucker has appeared in all 19 games on the year, starting 18 of them. He has averaged 23.9 minutes per game. The Baltimore native has averaged 9.5 points per game and 1.9 rebounds per game. His 50 assists on the year leads the team. From the field he is shooting 36.3 percent. He was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week twice on the season.

The Black Knights earned the four seed in the PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Tournament and will face the No. 5 seed in American on Saturday, March 6 at 3 p.m. ET at Christl Arena. It will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Army West Point Athletics

Caldwell Headlines Men's Basketball Patriot League Postseason Honors

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Players Mentioned

Josh Caldwell

Tommy Funk

Lonnie Grayson

Jalen Rucker

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