Knights Receive Major PCAC Awards; Seven Named to All-PCAC Team
The Knights closed out the PCAC with a resounding 91-67 home win over MiraCosta on sophomore night to claim the outright conference championship and now they have several awards as a result of their dominant season. Head Coach Mitch Charlens was named PCAC Coach of the Year, KJay Bradley was chosen as the conference Player of the Year and six other Knights were selected to the All-PCAC Team.
February 26, 2024
The Knights closed out the PCAC with a resounding 91-67 home win over MiraCosta on sophomore night to claim the outright conference championship and now they have several awards as a result of their dominant season. Head Coach Mitch Charlens was named PCAC Coach of the Year, KJay Bradley was chosen as the conference Player of the Year and six other Knights were selected to the All-PCAC Team.
This is the eighth time that Charlens has won the Coach of the Year award and the eighth time he has led the Knights to a PCAC championship after guiding them to a 15-1 record.
"The Coach of the Year award is actually embarrassing for me to receive because I'm not the reason we're successful," said Charlens. "It's the incredible student-athletes and my coaching staff that makes us great. They all have to sacrifice and compromise for the program to shine.
"We are a shining example of greatness because of all of their hard work and dedication to a cause bigger than themselves. That's what makes the program great. I'm just the guy that gets the credit. We don't win at the highest level without all the teamwork and support of the entire campus. From our trainers and support staff working hard to have the guys healthy, eligible, and confident, to the athletic director and administrators that fully support the men in our program and the campus community that makes us feel loved."
Charlens' Knights went 24-4 overall in the regular season, which marks the 10th time during his 18-year stint at San Diego City College that they have surpassed 20 wins. San Diego City has also qualified for the 3C2A tournament 10th straight year.
The Knights won state championship in 2017 and made it back to the championship game in 2018.
San Diego City sophomore point guard KJay Bradley became the ninth Knight since 2009 to be named PCAC Player of the Year. His 17.6 points per game was the highest on the team and the third-most in the conference. Bradley led the league in assists (5.6 apg) and steals (2.7 spg). He shot 41.8 % from 3-point territory (3rd in PCAC) and made 61 3-pointers, which was the 5th most in the PCAC.
Bradley scored over 20 points in nine games this year, including a 41-point explosion with eight 3s, 10 assists, five rebounds, and five steals in a win at Palomar on Feb. 21.
He joins Malcolm Thomas (2009), Stephon Lamar (2012), Caleb Singleton (2014), Martin Thomas (2014), Taylor Nelson (2016), Darien McClain (2017), Robert McCoy (2018), and Jonathan Ogugua (2022) as a winner of the PCAC Player of the Year award.
In addition to Bradley, six more Knights earned spots on the all-conference team, including Al Green and Alex Crawford were named to the All-PCAC first team. Keavie Love made the All-PCAC 2nd team, while Kenny Gonzalez, Kevin Moore, and Dexter Stratton all made honorable mention.
Green, who was also selected to the first team during his freshman season, averaged 12.9 points which was third on the Knights and 13th in the conference. He was third in the PCAC in steals (2.1 spg) and 12th in assists (2.6 apg).
Crawford averaged the ninth most points in the league (15.4 ppg) while shooting 65%, which was second-best. He brought down 6.6 rebounds a game (9th), averaged 1.3 blocks (4th) and 1.2 steals.
Love came off the bench in 19 of 28 games and provided 10.3 points per game, 3.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.2 steals.
Stratton gave City 9.0 points a game along with 5.3 rebounds. Moore averaged 7.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.1 steals, while Gonzalez contributed 3.6 points, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 steals.
"I love the men representing our college being recognized with All-Conference awards," said Charlens. "It's my biggest thrill to see our amazing student-athletes beam with pride. This is such a special collection of talented people.
"Our team GPA is over a 3.5, I believe, for this past Fall semester. We just won the conference championship handily and we've won more and matriculated more student-athletes since I've been at City College than any other men's basketball program in the region, and my best moments are seeing these wonderful young men smile. That's what does it for me. Seeing joy on the faces of our Knights."