KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After completing an unbeaten season and capturing the NCAA Division II national championship, Nova Southeastern’s Jim Crutchfield and RJ Sunahara have been named the NABC Division II Coach and Player of the Year, respectively.
Crutchfield led Nova Southeastern to a 36-0 record, including a 20-0 mark in the Sunshine State Conference. The Sharks averaged a Division II-best 102.5 points per game on their way to winning the program’s first national title. They defeated West Liberty 111-101 in Saturday’s championship, setting a Division II title game scoring record.
Sunahara, a redshirt junior forward, averaged 18.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.6 blocks per game this season for Nova Southeastern. The Sunshine State Player of the Year finished with 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting and nine rebounds in the national championship game. He shot 59.9 percent overall and 74.3 percent from the foul line in 2022-23.
Nova Southeastern became just the sixth team in Division II history to finish as undefeated national champions.
