Yetna Selected as AAC Freshman of the Year
MEMPHIS, TENN., MARCH 13, 2019 – The USF men's basketball list of postseason awards continues to grow as forward
Alexis Yetna was selected as the 2019 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, the league office announced on Wednesday.
Yetna is the second Freshman of the Year in school history and first since Jorge Azcoitia was named the 1979 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. Yetna was also a unanimous selection to the AAC All-Freshman Team and is the second Bull this season to win an individual award, as redshirt junior
Laquincy Rideau was selected as the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year.
Yetna turned in a monster debut season that saw him lead the AAC while ranking 27th in the NCAA with 9.6 rebounds per game during the regular season. His 9.6 rebounds per game are the second-highest single-season mark in AAC history. The Paris native turned in 14 double-digit rebounding games and registered the third and fourth-highest rebound games of the year, pulling down 18 boards against Appalachian State and 17 against Georgetown. His 277 rebounds this season are the most by a freshman in USF school history and the second-most by a freshman in AAC history.
A four-time recipient of the AAC Freshman of the Week award this season, Yetna ranked third on the team with 12.1 points per game and paced the league with 11 double-doubles, finishing the regular season with more double-doubles than six teams in The American. His 350 points scored rank as the seventh-most single-season points in school history by a freshman.
Yetna and the Bulls begin their bid for an American Athletic Conference tournament championship Thursday at 1 p.m. (EST) when eighth-seeded USF faces No. 9 seed UConn at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn.
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About USF Men's Basketball
The USF men's basketball team is led by head coach Brian Gregory. On March 22, 2017, Gregory was introduced as the 10th head coach in program history. He previously led programs at Georgia Tech (2011-16) and Dayton (2003-11). Gregory spent nearly a decade as an assistant coach under Michigan State's Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo and helped the Spartans win the 2000 NCAA National Championship. Gregory brings nearly 250 career head coaching wins and six postseason appearances, including the 2010 NIT Championship, to Tampa. In his first season at the helm of the Bulls, Gregory led the team to its first 10-plus win season since 2013-14.
USF has retired three numbers in its 47-year history: Chucky Atkins (12), Charlie Bradley (30) and Radenko Dobras (31). The Bulls have earned three NCAA tournament bids and appeared in the NIT eight times.
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