Arizona men's basketball forward Tobe Awaka was named a second-team academic All-American on Tuesday, becoming the program's sixth player to receive the honor and second under fifth-year coach Tommy Lloyd.
Players must have at least a 3.5 grade-point average and be a starter or key reserve to qualify for the honor. Awaka, recipient of the Big 12's Sixth Man Award, posted a 3.59 GPA and is expected to graduate in the fall with a degree in business administration.
Awaka was one of four Big 12 players making the first- or second- academic all-American teams. Tamin Lipsey of Iowa State and JT Toppin of Texas Tech were named to the first team, along with Zuby Ejiofor of St. John's, Nick Martinelli of Northwestern and Sam Hoiberg of Nebraska.
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Joining Awaka and Kansas' Fiory Bidunga on the second team were Xaivian Lee of Florida, Nick Townsend of Yale and Tyler Lundblade of Belmont.
Arizona forward Tobe Awaka answers a question from reporter in the team’s locker room the day before facing Michigan in a Final Four game in Indianapolis, Ind., April 3, 2026.
Awaka became the first UA academic all-American since Pelle Larsson was also named a second-team pick in 2023-24, after he posted a 3.60 GPA en route to his degree in business administration. Larsson later went on to become the 44th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Former UA star Bob Elliott picked up academic all-American honors three times — in 1974-75, 1975-76, and 1976-77 — while UA's other academic all-Americans include Matt Muehlebach (1990-91), Jim Rappis (1975-76), and Warren Rustand (1964-65).
The awards are given out by the College Sports Communicators, an association of university sports publicists.
Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at bpascoe@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @brucepascoe
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