ERIE, Pa. – Penn State Behrend men's basketball senior guard Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 7 First Team, the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) First Team, and D3hoops.com All-Region Third Team. The All-District honors are voted on by NABC-member coaches across NCAA Division III, while D3hoops.com awards are nominated and voted on by instutions Sports Information department.
Last month, DiRienzo became the 12th player in program history to be selected as the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Player of the Year, while also earning First Team All-Conference honors.
The Pittsburgh native finished the regular season as the AMCC leader with 468 points and first in the conference in free-throw percentage (83.7). He was also second in the conference in points per game (18.7) and fourth in the AMCC in field-goals per game (6.3).
To go along with his top-scoring mark, DiRienzo stood second on the team with 5.9 rebounds per game and 2.0 assists per game to conclude the regular season. This season, he recorded double-figures in 23 of 25 games and 16 of 18 conference games. During four contests this year, DiRienzo tallied 30-plus points, scoring a season-high 32 points against Baldwin Wallace and Saint Vincent. DiRienzo notched a double-double in eight games during the year. He led the team in scoring in 18 games and in rebounding in nine games.
After four postseason games, he became the leader in the AMCC in points per game (19.7) and has amassed 571 total points this year. Also, DiRienzo recorded a double-double in the conference tournament, averaging 20.5 points per game and 12.5 rebounds per game to earn AMCC All-Tournament Team honors.
During the ECAC Tournament, he averaged a double-double, registering 31.0 points per game and 11.0 rebounds per game in two games. DiRienzo made a career-high 15 field goals against Saint Vincent in the quarterfinals.
NABC District 7:
First Team
Luke Chicone - John Carroll
Tommy DiRienzo - Penn State Behrend
Nick Everett – Wooster
Anthony Mazzeo - Case Western Reserve
Jalen Overway - Calvin*
Christian Parker - Mount Union
Second Team
Justin Allen - Carnegie Mellon
Luke Frazier - John Carroll
Jaden Gales - Saint Vincent
Cortez Garland – Trine
Colin Kahl - Case Western Reserve
Coach of the Year: Jeff Santarsiero – Geneva
* Denotes District Player of the Year
D3hoops.com All-Region:
Player of the Year: Jalen Overway, C, Calvin
Coach of the Year: Brooks Miller, Trine
Co-Rookies of the Year: JJ Gray, G, Oberlin and Braden Forup, F, Capital
| First team | ||||
| Pos. | Player | School | Yr. | Hometown |
| G | Luke Chicone | John Carroll | Jr. | Mentor, Ohio |
| G | Anthony Mazzeo | Case Western Reserve | Sr. | North Canton, Ohio |
| F | Christian Parker | Mount Union | Sr. | Canton, Ohio |
| F | Uchenna Egekeze | Calvin | Sr. | Huntley, Ill. |
| C | Jalen Overway | Calvin | So. | Holland, Mich. |
| Second team | ||||
| G | Justin Allen | Carnegie Mellon | Sr. | Mount Kisco, N.Y. |
| G | Luke Frazier | John Carroll | Jr. | Mentor, Ohio |
| G | Cortez Garland | Trine | Sr. | Detroit, Mich. |
| F | Nick Everett | Wooster | Sr. | Salem, Ohio |
| F | Jaden Gales | St. Vincent | So. | Pittsburgh, Pa. |
| Third team | ||||
| G | Tommy DiRienzo | Penn State-Behrend | Sr. | Pittsburgh, Pa. |
| G | Henry Hinkle | Ohio Wesleyan | Jr. | Powell, Ohio |
| G | Jack Clement | Otterbein | Sr. | Bellefontaine, Ohio |
| F | Ahmoni Jones | Wabash | Sr. | Indianapolis, Ind. |
| F | Colin Kahl | Case Western Reserve | Sr. | Roswell, Ga. |
| F | Sahmi Willoughby | Marietta | Sr. | Groveport, Ohio |
| F | Tanner Wiegerink | Hope | Sr. | Holland, Mich. |
* There was a three-way tie for the final frontcourt spot.
All-ECAC:
All-ECAC First Team
Chase Husted – Juniata College, Sr., F
Jalen Vaughns – Neumann University, Sr., F
Jordan Oates – Salisbury University, Sr., F
Tommy DiRienzo – Penn State-Behrend, Sr., G
Nick Hurowitz – Farmingdale State, Sr., G/F
Justin Allen – Carnegie Mellon University, So., G
All-ECAC Second Team
Luka Jakic – Hunter College, Sr., F
Ryan Miles-Ferguson – Clarkson University, Gr., G
Devin Nicholson – Baruch College, Sr., G
Elijah Eberly – DeSales University, Sr., F
DJ Campbell – Stockton University, Sr., G
Trent Rozich – Pitt-Greensburg, Fr., F
