ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Missouri Valley Conference announced its annual awards Wednesday night at the MVC Awards Banquet ahead of the first round of the 2023 MVC Tournament, and Indiana State's Courvoisier McCauley was named MVC Newcomer of the Year. McCauley also made the All-Conference Second Team and All-Newcomer Team.
 
McCauley becomes just the third Sycamore all-time to be named MVC Newcomer of the Year, joining John Sherman Williams (1983) and Eddie Bird (1988). Joining him with MVC postseason honors is Cameron Henry on the All-Conference Third Team, Robbie Avila on the All-Freshman Team, and Julian Larry on the All-Defensive Team. Voting was conducted by coaches, sports information directors and a media panel, and voters could not vote for their own student-athletes.
 
Earlier this season, McCauley, a graduate transfer from DePaul and an Indianapolis, Ind. native, was named MVC Newcomer of the Week in back-to-back weeks and three times total for the year. It was the second time ever and first time since Manny Arop in 2012 that a Sycamore earned back-to-back MVC Newcomer of the Week honors, and he joined Brenton Scott and Jake Odum as the only three Sycamores to earn the award three times in one season.
 
McCauley leads the Sycamores in scoring this season with 493 total points and 16.4 points per game. He also leads the Sycamores on the glass with 5.6 rebounds per game. His 16.4 points per game rank seventh in the Valley, and he's top-20 in the league in rebounding. He has three double-doubles this season and is one of just 15 players in the Valley to record three or more on the year. He is one of six Valley players with multiple 30-point outings this season. With nine 20+-point games, McCauley joins just five other Valley players with nine or more this year.
 
McCauley leads the league in 3-pointers per game and ranks second in total 3-pointers made which both rank top-15 nationally. His 95 treys are third-most among the all-time bests for a player in his first year in the MVC, and he ranks second on ISU's all-time list of 3-pointers in a single season (behind Jordan Barnes with 117 2017-18).
 
Henry's All-Conference Third Team recognition marks his second consecutive MVC postseason honor after being named to the All-Newcomer Team last season. The Chesterfield, Va. native ranks top-10 in the Valley in assists (108), assists per game (3.72), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.48). He notched his 100th assist this season at UIC and became the first Sycamore with 100 assists in a season since Jordan Barnes in 2019-20. Henry is averaging 10.0 points per game this season with 13 double-figure scoring games including a season-high 22 points against Drexel. He's pulling down 4.6 rebounds per game and has recorded three double-doubles on the year. Henry ranks top-15 in the league with 38 steals.
Avila has started 24 games in 29 appearances for ISU this season and sits in sixth place on ISU's all-time list of freshmen scoring marks with 294 points behind Jake Odum with 316. An Oak Forest, Ill. native, Avila currently ranks second in the Valley in freshmen scoring behind 2023 MVC Freshman of the Year Cade Tyson. Avila is averaging 10.1 points per game and posted 15 double-figure scoring games including a career-high 22 points at Drake. He pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds as part of his first career double-double against Trinity Christian early in the year.
 
Larry is the lone Sycamore to appear in all 31 games this season, and he has started 17 of those games consecutively. He ranks top-10 in the Valley in assists (106), assists per game (3.4), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.96). He also ranks ninth in the league with 42 total steals. He was named MVC Player of the Week Jan. 10 after shooting 12-of-14 on the week including 3-of-3 from distance and connecting on 9-of-10 from the charity stripe with 10 assists and four steals across the two games. At Illinois State, Larry shot a perfect 7-of-7 from the field with five assists and not a single turnover. In a four-game span from Dec. 29 to Jan. 7, he led Indiana State with 17.0 points per game on a 25-of-30 shooting clip with 5.0 assists per game and seven total steals in that span.
 
The No. 5 Sycamores will face No. 12 Evansville in the first round of the tournament Thursday, March 2 at 3:30 p.m. The winner of that game will face fourth-seeded Belmont Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
 
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