HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College men's basketball team had four players selected by the College Sports Communications (CSC) as honorees on the CSC Academic All-District team, the organization announced in a release on Wednesday morning. Earning selections for the 2023-24 season were Brandon Banadda, Gabriel Franklin, Clay Killoren, and Nicholas Stewart. Banadda earned the honor for the second consecutive season while Franklin, Killoren, and Stewart earned their first spot on the squad.
Seeing the floor in all 25 contests this season, Banadda led the team in steals per game with 1.5 swipes. He finished the year tied for the team-lead in assists with 38 and ranked second on the team in assists per game with 1.6 helpers. The Philadelphia, Pa. local scored 5.1 points per game, while shooting 26.2 percent from the field. Averaging 23.4 minutes per game, he shot 60 percent from the free-throw line, knocking down 44-73 free throws. The Friends' Central School product scored 10 or more points in four games, leading the team with a season-high 16 points vs. Lycoming on November 15.
Participating in every game this season, Franklin placed second on the team and 11th in the Centennial in scoring with 12.6 points per game, shooting 37.9 percent from the field. The Brooklyn, N.Y. native knocked down a team-high 42 treys, while shooting 35 percent from downtown. He handed out the fourth-most assists on the team with 30, and pulled in 46 rebounds off the glass, averaging 2.6 rebounds per game. The senior guard splashed in five three-pointers in two separate games this season, at Cabrini on December 30, and against Muhlenberg on February 6. Franklin had four games where he recorded at least 20 points, including a season-high 24 points against Ursinus on January 25.
A force in the paint, Killoren appeared in all 25 games for the Fords, starting 14 games.The Spartanburg Day School product pulled down 107 rebounds, averaging 4.3 rebounds per game, which was third-best on the team. He also was third-best on the team in assists with 34. Killoren knocked down 22-74 field-goal attempts, averaging 2.4 points per game. Defensively, he was third on the team in blocks, swatting away 12 shots this season…Most notably, the Spartanburg, S.C. local had a season-high 12 points at Ursinus on November 28, and ripped down 11 rebounds at Dickinson on January 27.
Stewart saw the floor in all 25 games for the Fords, starting 19. He ended his senior season tied for the team-lead in assists with 38. The Mahwah, N.J. native ranked second on the team in rebounds with 116, pulling down 4.6 per game. A force from behind the three-point arc, Stewart finished third on the team in three-pointers made with 27, averaging 30 percent from downtown. The forward shot 35 percent from the field, averaging 5.6 points per game. The Don Bosco Prep product scored double-digit points in two games this season, he tallied 11 vs. Swarthmore on January 17 and posted a season-high 16 at Washington College on January 31 to lead the team in scoring. In the paint, Stewart pulled down a season-high nine rebounds in three separate games against Washington College on November 21, at Lancaster Bible on January 3, and at Washington College on January 31.
The 2023-2024 Academic All-District ® Men's Basketball Team, selected by CSC, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes men's basketball honorees in four divisions – NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division II and NAIA. First, second and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced April 17. For more information about the CSC Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® Teams program, visit AcademicAllAmerica.com.
The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2023-24 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs.