Colorado Springs, CO – An unprecedented career for Iowa Central has culminated in the 2017-18 Spalding® NJCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Player of the Year accolade for sophomore Tray Croft. Croft was named to the 2017-18 NJCAA DII Men’s Basketball All-America First Team on Tuesday.
2017-18 NJCAA DII Men’s Basketball All-America Teams
After a stellar freshman campaign, Croft upped his efforts as a sophomore in nearly every statistical category. Throughout the 2017-18 campaign, Croft averaged a nation-best 27.5 points per game while shooting 49.5 percent from the floor. Croft connected on 106 three-point shots this season which ranked eighth nationally.
Iowa Central head coach Dennis Pilcher expressed his gratitude towards Croft’s tenure as a Triton. "With his athletic ability and solid work ethic, Tray has taken full advantage of his opportunity at Iowa Central to develop into a very good basketball player over the past two seasons. Tray's leadership and competitiveness will be a big loss for Triton Basketball."
Croft’s career was filled with an abundance of scoring. The Anniston, AL native set an Iowa Central record with 772 points as a freshman only to top that mark with 854 points as a sophomore for a school-record 1,626 points. Croft’s ability to score from anywhere on the court led to his signing with the University of Northern Iowa as announced on Wednesday afternoon.
"Tray broke our season and career scoring records this year while leading us to the Region XI Tournament championship game,” Pilcher added. “He is one of the top players in Iowa Central basketball history and one of the best players that I have ever coached."