WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary freshman Connor Kocherawas named the Virginia Sports Information Directors' State Rookie of the Year, and senior Luke Loewe was selected to the All-State Second Team, the organization announced on Friday.
Kochera, who was named the Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year in March, became the second Tribe player to earn the state's top rookie honor. Loewe gave W&M a player on the top two All-State teams for the ninth year in a row.
Kochera finished the year ranked 19th nationally among freshmen in scoring at 13.4 points per game. He also ranked among the CAA leaders in scoring (15th at 13.4 ppg), rebounding (16th at 4.8 rpg), free throw shooting (11th at 79.2%), and 3-point shooting (15th at 35.7%). In CAA play, he became just the second CAA freshman since 1992-93 to average at least 15 points (15.4) and five rebounds per game (5.5) in CAA games.
Loewe added to his list of honors, which included being named to the All-CAA Second Team and the NABC All-District Second Team. He was also named to the CAA All-Defensive Team for the second-straight season. Loewe ranked sixth in the CAA at 16.2 points per game, which was the fifth-best average in the state of Virginia. He led the CAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2), while ranking third in minutes played (35.9), fourth in free throw % (85.7), sixth in steals (1.4) and eighth in assists (3.2).
Virginia's Sam Hauser and VCU's Nah'Shon Hyland shared the VaSID State Player of the Year honor, while Richmond's Jacob Gilyard was the State Defensive Player of the Year. Virginia Tech's Mike Young was voted the State Coach of the Year.
Joining Hauser and Hyland on the All-State First Team were Keve Aluma (Virginia Tech), Matt Lewis (JMU) and Davion Warren (Hampton). Along with Loewe, Malik Curry (ODU), Jay Huff (Virginia), Darius McGhee (Liberty) and Greg Parham (VMI) garnered spots on the second team.
