The Cougar basketball team boasted two members to the Pac-12 All-Academic team.

For the second consecutive season, junior forward Junior Longrus has been selected to the second All- Academic team in the Pac-12. Also garnering that recognition this season is the Pac-12’s most improved player of the year, sophomore forward Josh Hawkinson.

This is the first time since 2012 that two Cougar men’s basketball players have been selected to All-Academic teams and the ninth time in the past ten seasons. WSU has been represented by athletes in all of its sports a total of 23 times over the last nine years. Head Coach Ernie Kent said being recognized with this honor shows true dedication.

“Any time a student-athlete receives an academic honor of this magnitude, it’s a testament of their work ethic, their character and how focused they are on being a student-athlete,” Kent said.

Longrus finished with a 3.30 grade point average and is majoring in management and operations. Longrus played in all 31 games for WSU this season and played a pivotal role on the squad despite averaging just 1.5 points per game and 2.9 rebounds. He came up big on several occasions late in games for the Cougars. Kent has said that Longrus will be a leader on the team going into next season as he grew his vocal leadership skills this year.

Hawkinson, a native of Shoreline, Washington, finished with a 3.24 grade point average and hasn’t declared a major at this point. He started in 29 of the 31 games and led the Pac-12 with 10.8 rebounds per contest. Hawkinson was also the team’s second leading scorer behind senior DaVonté Lacy with 14.7 points per game. The young Cougar forward also set the WSU single-season record with 334 rebounds while securing the team’s double-double record as well with 20. Hawkinson said earning the recognition proves his work ethic.

“Coming into the season, earning Pac-12 All-Academic honors was one of my main goals,” Hawkinson said. “To achieve that goal is really special for me, because it shows how much work I have put into the classroom, as well as the hardwood.”

In order to be eligible for selection to either the first or second All-Academic teams, a player must have a minimum of a 3.0 grade point average and also be a starter on the team or a significant contributor. Five of the schools in the Pac-12 were represented on the first and second teams. Utah led the way with two members on the first team as junior guard Brandon Taylor and redshirt junior center Jeremy Olsen represented the Utes.

Washington sophomore guard Nigel Williams-Goss, Stanford senior guard Chasson Randle and Arizona State senior guard Bo Barnes rounded out the rest of the first team.

Hawkinson and Longrus joined Stanford redshirt senior center Stefan Nastic, Utah senior guard Austin Eastman and Stanford redshirt senior Anthony Brown on the second team. WSU, Stanford and Utah were the only teams with multiple representatives on the first and second team.

Heading into next season, Longrus will be entering his final year of eligibility as a senior on the team. Meanwhile, Hawkinson will make the transition from under-classmen to upper-classmen, as he will be entering his junior season after a breakout sophomore campaign. Both players will play a pivotal role in the team’s success going forward.

Reporting by William Cheshier