GREENWOOD, Ind.- The Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team saw Vakaris Grauslys and Kevin Nowoswiat recognized on the 2025 College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-District® Team on Tuesday.
The 2024 Academic All-District® Men's Basketball teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize 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 volleyball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
Nowoswiat earns a spot on the CSC Academic All-District® Team for the second-straight year. Earlier this month, Nowoswiat earned a spot on the National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC) Division III All-America First Team, was named the NABC Division III District 5 Player of the Year with a place on the All-District 5 First Team, while he also claimed a spot on the D3Hoops.com All-Region 5 First Team. At the conference level, he was named Centennial Conference Player of the Year with a spot on the All-Conference First Team. Academically, he was named the Centennial Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year for men's basketball, becoming the 20th student-athlete in Centennial Conference history to sweep the Player of the Year and Scholar Athlete of the Year Award. He also became a two-time member of the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll.
Nowoswiat led the Centennial Conference in rebounds per game (7.0), averaged the second-most points per game (18.7), had the fourth-best field goal percentage (50.8%), and averaged the eighth-most assists per game (2.8). He recorded a team-high six double-doubles this season and posted double figures in 27 of 28 games. Nowoswiat totaled a career-high 32 points in last month's win at Gettysburg to conclude the regular season. That game clinched the first seed in the Centennial Conference Tournament for F&M.
Nowoswiat was also named a CSC Academic All-America® finalist and will advance to the national ballot to be voted on by CSC members. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced April 15, 2025.
Grauslys joins Nowoswiat as a two-time member of the CSC Academic All-District® Team. Grauslys followed up an All-Centennial Conference Second Team spot last season with another selection to the Second Team this year. Grauslys ranked third in the Centennial Conference and 45th across DIII in steals per game (2.4), contributing to the seventh-best scoring defense (61.2 points allowed per game) in Division III. Among Centennial players, Grauslys also ranked fourth in assists per game (2.9), eighth in free throw percentage (76.4%), and 15th in points per game (13.0). He became F&M's 39th 1,000-point club member in the NCAA Tournament First Round contest against Catholic. Grauslys also earned a selection to the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll for the second-straight season.
The Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team ended the 2024-25 season with a 21-7, 11-2 Centennial Conference record, winning the program's ninth Centennial Conference Championship. It was the first conference title for the program since the 2015-16 season and the first under head coach Nick Nichay. The team earned an NCAA Tournament spot for the first time since the 2017-18 season. The Diplomats ended the year with the seventh-best scoring defense in DIII, averaging 61.2 points allowed per game.
