Greencastle, Ind. - DePauw senior guard Elijah Hales (Cromwell, Ind./Westview) has been named First Team Academic All-America® as selected by CSC (College Sports Communicators) for NCAA Division III men's basketball. He is one of 15 honorees in Division III and 55 on all levels of NCAA and NAIA men's basketball.
An economics major, Hales has a 3.97 cumulative grade point average and was an all-North Coast Athletic Conference first team selection for 2022-23. Hales led the Tigers in scoring this season with 18.5 points per game including a high of 39 in a December 22 win over Kalamazoo. He also scored 33 in a January 14 win over Wabash. In the Kalamazoo win, Hales broke the program record for points in a half when he scored 29 in the first half. He then broke his own mark in the Wabash game after totaling 31 in the second half.
Averaging 34.4 minutes per game, Hales also topped the team with 71 3-point field goals made and connected on 37.2 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. He also averaged 2.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists and his 86.8 percent free throw shooting ranks 27th in Division III. He finished with a program-record 87.4 percent career mark at the free throw line and, over his four seasons, scored 1,259 points which ranks 17th in program history.
Hales has earned a spot on DePauw's Dean's List and the Tiger Pride Honor Roll each of his seven semesters and is a Management Fellow. He is among DePauw's 51 student-athletes to earn Academic All-America® honors since the program's inception in 1952 and the eighth to be recognized in men's basketball. Including multiple-year winners, DePauw student-athletes have earned the distinction 68 times including 10 in men's basketball. The complete list of DePauw's honorees is here.
The 2022-23 Academic All-America® 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 basketball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
For more information about CSC's Academic All-America® Teams program, visit AcademicAllAmerica.com or collegesportscommunicators.com.
