IRVINE, Calif. -- Three student-athletes from Big West men’s basketball teams have been selected to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) 2024 Division I All-District 9 Team, as voted by NABC member-coaches across the Division I landscape.
 
UC Davis senior guard Elijah Pepper, UC Santa Barbara junior guard Ajay Mitchell and UC San Diego senior guard Bryce Pope are first-team selections. They are joined by San Francisco’s Jonathan Mogbo and Gonzaga’s Graham Ike.
 
Pepper is a repeat member on the All-District First Team. The senior was named The Big West Player of the Year and All-Big West First Team after averaging a league-leading 20.7 points, to go with 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game, leading UC Davis to a 20-13 overall record and a third-place finish in The Big West at 14-6. 
 
Mitchell, who was an All-District Second Team selection last season, averaged a conference second-best 20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 2023-24 and earned All-Big West First Team honors. Pope, an All-Big West First Team member, averaged a league fifth-best 18.4 points per game. UC San Diego is 21-11 overall and finished second in The Big West with a 15-5 mark.
 
Pope will still have games to play in the 2023-24 season, as UC San Diego takes on Chicago state in the first round of the CBI tournament on Saturday, March 23 at 12:30 p.m. PT.

Additionally, Pepper and Pope were named as finalists for the Lou Henson award, given annually to the top player in mid-major college basketball.
 
NABC All-District 9
First Team
Graham Ike, Gonzaga
Ajay Mitchell, UC Santa Barbara
Jonathan Mogbo, San Francisco
Elijah Pepper, UC Davis
Bryce Pope, UC San Diego
 
Second Team
Adama-Alpha Bal, Santa Clara
Aidan Mahaney, Saint Mary’s
Augustas Marciulionis, Saint Mary’s
Anton Watson, Gonzaga
Marcus Williams, San Francisco
 
Coach of the Year: Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s