ATLANTA - Maryville College's Myles Rasnick was named the 2022-23 Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) Men's Basketball Player of the Year as the conference released it's regular season awards and all-sportsmanship team today. Rasnick helped lead the Scots to the Regular Season title and the top seed in this week's CCS Men's Basketball Championship.

Joining Rasnick as 2022-23 CCS major award winners were: LaGrange's Bershard Edwards who earned Defensive Player of the Year; Covenant's Malcolm Noel who was tabbed the CCS Rookie of the Year; Maryville's Chase Morgan who earned Sixth Man of the Year; and Berea's Austin Newton who was selected by his peers as the CCS Coach of the Year.  

LaGrange led the way with four student-athletes named All-Conference, while Belhaven, Covenant, Maryville, and Piedmont each had three. 

The awards were selected and decided upon following a vote by the conference's head coaches. 

CCS Player of the Year | Myles Rasnick, Maryville
Rasnick had a remarkable year in leading Maryville to the CCS Regular Season title. The do-everything senior wing was among the conference's leaders in virtually every statistical category, including scoring (fourth), rebounding (15th), assists (third), assist to turnover ratio (first), field goal percentage (fifth), and three-point field goals made (14th). He also leads the CCS in steals and in free throw percentage. On the year, Rasnick has made 67-72 attempts from the line (93.1%). That percentage is currently second-best in all of Division III. 

Rasnick has scored in double figures in 23 of the 24 games so far this season, and has scored 20 or more 10 times. He was also a First Team All-Conference selection.

CCS Defensive Player of the Year | Bershard Edwards, LaGrange
Edwards helped lead LaGrange to a 16-win regular season and the No. 3 seed in this week's CCS Men's Basketball Championship. He's currently in the top 10 in the conference in steals, and has helped lead a Panthers' defense that is second in points per game allowed and third in field goal percentage defense. He has had four or more steals in four games so far this season. Edwards was also named a First Team All-Conference selection. 

CCS Sixth Man of the Year | Chase Morgan, Maryville
Morgan has made his presence felt in a big way in his first year on campus for the Scots. The talented freshman is currently averaging nearly nine points and better than three rebounds in 15 minutes per game off the bench. He was named the CCS Rookie of the Week three times during the season and has come on especially strong during the second semester as he has averaged 11 points per game since January - a stretch which has seen Maryville go 10-2 over those 12 games. Morgan is currently shooting 53% from the floor on the season, and he was a Second Team All-Conference selection. 

CCS Rookie of the Year | Malcolm Noel, Covenant
A four-time CCS Rookie of the Week selection during the season, Noel was tabbed the conference's top rookie by the head coaches. The dynamic freshman capped off a terrific first year at Covenant as he averaged 13.5 points, 3.6 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per contest for the Scots. He scored in double figures 20 times this season, including in each of Covenant's last six games. Noel was also named a First Team All-Conference selection. 

CCS Coach of the Year | Austin Newton, Berea
Berea's first-year head coach led the Mountaineers to one of the best seasons in program history, as they finished tied for second in the CCS regular season standings after being picked to finish fourth prior to the start of the season. Berea finished with a mark of 15-11 overall, including 7-5 in conference play. Two of Newton's student-athletes - Isaac Caudill and Trey Minter - were each named First Team All-Conference selections.  

Major Award Winners 
Player of the Year - Myles Rasnick, Maryville 
Defensive Player of the Year - Bershard Edwards, LaGrange
Rookie of the Year - Malcolm Noel, Covenant                    
Sixth Man of the Year - Chase Morgan, Maryville 
Coach of the Year - Austin Newton, Berea 

All-Conference Selections 
- Listed alphabetically by school - 

CCS First Team 
Luke Couch, Belhaven
Jordan Marshall, Belhaven
Isaac Caudill, Berea
Trey Minter, Berea 
Promise Igbanu, Covenant 
Malcolm Noel, Covenant
Bershard Edwards, LaGrange
Zac Hill, LaGrange
Myles Rasnick, Maryville
Ryan Jolly, Piedmont 

CCS Second Team
Judah Jordan, Belhaven 
Jonathan Gernatt, Covenant 
Max Gardner, Huntingdon
Nate Johns, Huntingdon
Camerin Lyons, LaGrange
Kyle Smith, LaGrange
Charlie Cochran, Maryville
Chase Morgan, Maryville
Devin Dean, Piedmont
Noah Reardon, Piedmont

CCS All-Sportsmanship Team
Judah Jordan, Belhaven
Isaac Caudill, Berea
Fisher Mitchell, Covenant
Sam Page, Huntingdon
Gabe Cofield, LaGrange
Hayden Treadwell, Maryville
Logan Cranford, Piedmont

ABOUT THE COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE OF THE SOUTH
The CCS is an NCAA Division III athletic conference that began play during the 2022-23 academic year. The conference features nine members and sponsors championships across 14 sports. In addition to sharing the member institutions' geographic identity, the name 'Collegiate Conference of the South' is indicative of a shared commitment to academic excellence, which is commensurate with the NCAA Division III philosophy.

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