Eastern Washington University men's basketball player Ethan Price is the Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year, as announced by the league this morning (March 8). Joining Price on the ballot is Linton Acliese III and Steele Venters, who each earned a spot on the second team.
 
Price is Eastern Washington's seventh BSC Freshman of the Year honoree, and the first since Bogdan Bliznyuk in 2015. Price joins the likes of Marc Axton (2002), Matt Nelson (2004), Rodney Stuckey (2006), Glen Dean (2010) and Venky Jois (2013). Eastern Washington swept the Freshman of the Year awards, as Jaydia Martin brought home the honor on the women's side.
 
The Bury St. Edmunds, England, native started all 31 regular season games for the Eagles, scoring in double figures 20 times with two double-doubles. This season, Price averaged 10.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Price shot 48 percent from the field this season and 43.2 percent from three-point range, draining 32 triples. He'll enter Wednesday's first round match up against Northern Arizona on a hot streak, scoring in double figures in nine out of the last 11 games, including four-straight.
 
Venters earns the first All-Big Sky honor of his career, emerging as one of the conference's sharpest shooters. He ranked in the top-ten all season long in scoring, with a current average of 16.4 points per game. The three-point shot is his specialty, ranking in the top-five nationally in three-point percentage, making 43.5 percent of his shots and averaging 2.8 per game. He has 77 three-pointers so far this season, which is eighth on EWU's single-season top-ten list. He was also in the top of the conference in field goal (45.4%) and free throw (83.5%) percentage.
 
The Ellensburg, Wash., native scored in double figures in 24 out of 30 games played this season, including 10 games with 20-or-more points. He has scored 20-or-more points in six Big Sky games, with a career-high 29 against Southern Utah. Venters has made a three-pointer in every game this year except two, including two or more in 23. He has a career-high six against Southern Utah and followed up with five against Omaha, Colorado, Idaho and Idaho State.
 
Acliese joined the Eagles this season after transferring in from San Francisco State and had a stellar year for the Eagles. He earned Big Sky Conference player of the week twice, and scored in double figures 24 times including 10 games with over 20 points. He's scored in double digits in 17 out of the last 19 games, reaching the feat in every Big Sky game except two.
 
The Richmond, Calif., native currently averages 16.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game to go with six double-doubles. He leads the Big Sky in field goal percentage, shooting at a 53.1 percent clip, and is also an 86.3 percent free throw shooter.
The trio and the rest of the Eagles are on their way to Boise, Idaho, for the Big Sky Conference Basketball Championships. Eastern Washington is the No. 6 seed and will take on No. 11 Northern Arizona on Wednesday, March 9, at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and 700-AM ESPN. The winner will face No. 3 Northern Colorado on March 10 at 7 p.m. PT.
 
Individual Award Winners
 Most Valuable Player: Jubrile Belo, Montana State
Defensive Player of the Year: Jubrile Belo, Montana State
Top Reserve: RaeQuan Battle, Montana State & Cameron Parker, Montana
Newcomer of the Year: Koby McEwen, Weber State*
Freshman of the Year: Ethan Price, Eastern Washington
 
First Team All-Big Sky
Jubrile Belo, Montana State*
Daylen Kountz, Northern Colorado*
Koby McEwen, Weber State*
Xavier Bishop, Montana State
John Knight III, Southern Utah
 
Second Team All-Big Sky
Linton Acliese, Eastern Washington
Josh Bannan, Montana
Bryce Fowler, Sacramento State
Dillon Jones, Weber State
Steele Venters, Eastern Washington
 
Third Team All-Big Sky
Tevian Jones, Southern Utah
Jalen Cone, Northern Arizona
Matt Johnson, Northern Colorado
Seikou Sisoho Jawara, Weber State
Maizen Fausett, Southern Utah
 
All-Conference Honorable Mention
Khalid Thomas, Portland State
Amin Adamu, Montana State
Mikey Dixon, Idaho
Robby Easley, Montana
 
* Unanimous Selection