WHITTIER, Calif. (Mar. 1, 2025) – Senior guard Aamari Smith (Decatur, Ga. / Roosevelt / San Bernardino Valley College) and junior wing Chine Nwanevu (Eastvale, Calif. / Norco/  San Bernardino Valley College) of the Whittier College men's basketball team garnered All-SCIAC recognition for their stellar play during the 2024-25 SCIAC men's basketball regular season.

Smith, who led all of Division III in scoring with 28.1 points per game, was snubbed of the SCIAC Offensive Athlete of the Year, but will still accrue a First Team All-SCIAC selection. Considering his role in what has been a historic season for the men's basketball team at Whittier, Smith figures to bring in several more honors before awards season is up. Nevertheless, he was a focal point of everything Head Coach Mark Jensen and the Poets did this year both with and without the ball in his hands. He scored 681 points in the regular season to break the record held by Dave Weida '87. He also became the fastest Whittier male player to ever reach 1,000 points for his career, needing just 43 games to do it. He also shot .789 from the free throw line, 35% from three and .495 from the field.

Nwanevu, meanwhile, showed himself to be an impact SCIAC men's basketball player, and earned himself Second Team All-SCIAC honors for his role in the Poets finishing fourth in the regular season standings. Defensively, the junior was an absolute stopper for the Poets, averaging more than two steals per game as well as a 2:1 steal-turnover ratio. 

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