Kansas center Udoka Azubuike earns first team Senior CLASS All-American honor

By Matt Tait     Mar 31, 2020

Associated Press
Kansas center Udoka Azubuike, right, low fives guard Marcus Garrett, left, after a made basket against Baylor during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Ray Carlin)

Kansas center Udoka Azubuike has added another honor to his long list of accolades from the 2019-20 season.

Already the Big 12 Player of the Year, a multi-time All-American honoree and the NABC’s Defensive Player of the Year, Azubuike on Tuesday picked up a first team All-American distinction from the Senior CLASS Award.

Marquette’s Markus Howard was the recipient of this year’s Senior CLASS Award, given annually to the player in men’s and women’s college basketball who show “notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.”

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and honors students who use their athletic platforms to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

In February, Azubuike was named as one of 10 male finalists for this year’s award. And on Tuesday he landed, with Howard, on the first team.

Those two were joined on the first team by Michigan State guard Cassius Winston, Seton Hall guard Myles Powell and Utah State guard Sam Merrill.

BYU’s Yoeli Childs, Dartmouth College’s James Foye, William & Mary’s Nathan Knight, LSU’s Skylar Mays and Penn State’s Lamar Stevens made up the second team.

The award is voted on annually by a panel of Division I coaches, media members and fans.

PREV POST

Study: KU spent 3rd-highest amount in football contract buyouts in past 15 years

NEXT POST

54652Kansas center Udoka Azubuike earns first team Senior CLASS All-American honor

Author Photo

Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.