Ross Cummings Named Second Team NABC All-District

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Ross Cummings earned his second postseason honor on Tuesday morning, receiving NABC Second Team All-District XXI honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).

Cummings has now received recognition from both the NABC and Southern Conference. He was previously named Second Team All-SoCon by the league's head coaches and third team all-conference by the SoCon Sports Media Association (SCSMA) prior to the conference tournament, in which Mercer advanced to the championship game.

The NABC's District XXI features all member institutions in the Southern Conference, and nine different SoCon schools had a player named to one of the two all-district teams with Furman being the lone institution to earn multiple selections. NABC member head coaches voted for the all-district squads.

"Ross epitomized what you want from a senior leader," remarked head coach Greg Gary. He gave it his all every time he took the floor and is very deserving of this honor."

Cummings, who played his fifth season in 2020-21, broke the 1,000-point mark in December and moved into second-place on Mercer's all-time three-pointers made list in the regular season finale at Western Carolina. The Dickson, Tenn., native has scored 1,244 points and made 246 triples, sitting 11 away from the program record, currently held by Langston Hall. His 1,244 points place him 16^th in program history, and he is only three points away from passing Richard Reid (1950-54) for a spot in the top-15. The sharpshooting Cummings' 1,000-point milestone came in a nationally televised December contest against Wofford, and he moved into the top-20 in program history on Feb. 3 when he passed former teammate Ethan Stair.

He ranked second on the squad and 15^th in the Southern Conference, pouring in 13.2 points per game and was one of only seven SoCon players to hit at least 40 percent of their three-pointers, knocking down 40.3 percent (73-of-181) of his attempts. His 73 three-point field goals were third best in the conference, and he ranked second with 948 minutes played.

Cummings' recognition from the NABC marks the second time in his career that he received honors from the organization, as he was a second team all-district pick in 2019. The Bears have been represented on the all-district team in four of the past five seasons.

First Team
Isaiah Miller - UNCG
Storm Murphy - Wofford
Hayden Brown - The Citadel
Ledarrius Brewer - ETSU
Mike Bothwell – Furman

Second Team
Greg Parham - VMI
Ross Cummings - Mercer
Malachi Smith - Chattanooga
Clay Mounce - Furman
Mason Faulkner - Western Carolina

Coach of the Year
Dan Earl, VMI

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BASKETBALL COACHES
Located in Kansas City, MO, the NABC was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently has nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men's basketball coaches. All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today's student-athletes. The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education. Additional information about the NABC, its programs and membership, can be found at www.nabc.com.

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Ross Cummings Named Second Team NABC All-District

Players Mentioned

Ross Cummings

Ethan Stair

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