(Thursday, March 27; Sioux Center, Iowa) The 2024-25 Academic All-District Men's Basketball Teams, selected by the College Sports Communicators, recognizing the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and academically, have been announced and the 2025 NAIA National Champion Dordt Defenders have four players on the list.
Luke Rankin (Senior; Grimes, Iowa),
Lucas Lorenzen (Junior; Milford, Iowa),
Jake Hargens (Sophomore; Greenville, Iowa) and
Connor Millikan (Sophomore; Springfield, Nebraska) all earned the honor with Ranking earning the honor for third time in his career and Lorenzen for the second time.
Rankin will graduate after studying finance and has a 3.98 grade point average. He averaged 9.0 points per game this season with a NAIA leading 8.2 assists per game and he converted 51.6 percent of his field goal attempts. Rankin leaves Dordt as the career leader in assists and has the three highest single season assist totals in program history. This season he handed out 262 assists and has over 800 career assists. Rankin has twice been named first-team All-GPAC.
Lorenzen is studying psychology and has a 3.74 grade point average. He led the team in scoring this season with 22.7 points per game and ranks fourth all-time in scoring at Dordt with 1,776 points and he is fourth all-time in made three-point baskets with 237 and he's in the top-20 in rebounds with nearly 600. Lorenzen was also named first-team all-GPAC for the second straight season this year.
Hargens is studying exercise science and has a 3.91 grade point average. Hargens converted 63.3 percent of his field goals this season and had an 8.1 points per game average with 3.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Hargens was named all-GPAC honorable mention this season.
Millikan averaged 11.4 points per game with 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals per contest while earning honorable mention from the Great Plains Athletic Conference. Millikan has a 3.73 grade point average and is studying construction management.
Rankin and Lorenzen will now be on the ballot for CSC Academic All-American honors with that announcement coming in April.
To be eligible for these honors an athlete must be at least a sophomore, maintain a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average and appear in at least 90 percent of their team's games or start 66 percent of the program's games.
