LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. (Feb. 27, 2026) — Whittier College center Tochi Onyeador (Amuri, Nigeria / MEC / Los Medanos College) has been recognized as SCIAC Defensive Athlete of the Year, as voted on by the conference coaches.

In addition to earning the conference's top defensive honor, Onyeador garnered First Team All-SCIAC recognition after anchoring one of the SCIAC's most disruptive defensive units. The junior ranked sixth in NCAA Division III in blocks per game and set a new Whittier record for blocks in a SCIAC season, cementing his place in the program record books. The junior transfer was particularly dominant against University of La Verne, swatting away eight shots in a single game — which, surprisingly, still fell nine blocks short of Arthur Phillips '91' single-game record against Cal Lutheran in 1990-91 (17).

While his defensive prowess defined his season on a SCIAC and national level, Onyeador proved equally capable on the offensive end. During a pivotal week late in the season, he led Whittier in scoring as the Poets averaged 100 points per game in back-to-back victories over Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and Caltech (Senior Night). The 102-point average marked the first time in school history that Whittier achieved that scoring benchmark across a single SCIAC week.

Whittier finished 15-10 overall and tied for fifth in the SCIAC standings with an 8-8 conference record. The Poets narrowly missed the SCIAC Tournament per a tiebreaker with fifth-seeded California Lutheran University but showed significant growth throughout the season, playing their best basketball over the season's final three games.

With Onyeador and several other key pieces expected to return next year, Whittier will bring back a strong core group poised to make a push toward a return to the SCIAC Postseason Tournament after the historic 2024-25 season.

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