Taran Armstrong Named Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year Finalist
3/24/2022 1:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BOSTON --- California Baptist University's Taran Armstrong was selected as a finalist for the Kyle Macy Award on Wednesday, presented every year to the top rookie in Division I men's college basketball, and earned a selection to the 2021-22 Freshman All-American Team.
Armstrong, a 6-foot-5 point guard from Burnie, Australia, becomes the first Lancer in the program's history to earn a spot on the 2021-22 Kyle Macy Freshman All-American Team and be a finalist for the Kyle Macy Award.
Armstrong recently became the first Lancer in the program's history to bring home the Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year award in the program's DI history. Armstrong was no stranger to collecting WAC awards on the season, as he finished the regular season with five TicketSmarter WAC Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week honors.
Despite missing seven of the conference games due to a non-related COVID illness, Armstrong grabbed the top award with an average of 10.2 points, 5.5 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game in his first WAC season as a Lancer.
On the season, Armstrong averaged 10.5 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.2 rebounds per game. He is currently the only freshman in the NCAA to average over 10 points, six assists, and five rebounds per game on the year. The last freshman guard to record a 10/6/5 average on the season came from Ja Morant of Murray State in the 2017-18 season. Armstrong is currently fourth in the NCAA in assists per game.
The Kyle Macy Award, which is presented annually to the top freshman in Division I college basketball, is named for a guard who starred as a freshman for Purdue. The 2022 Kyle Macy award winner will be announced on April 1 in New Orleans at the site of the Men's Division I Basketball Championship.
The 1975 Indiana "Mr. Basketball" played his freshman season at Purdue University, averaging 13.8 points per game while leading the Boilermakers in free throws (85.9 percent for the season). He started in 25 of 27 games, helping them to a 16-11 season record.
After playing his freshman year at Purdue, Macy transferred to the University of Kentucky in 1976. He started every game for the Wildcats in 1977. A three-time All-America and three-time All-SEC player, Macy was a member of Kentucky's 1978 National Championship team. In his senior year of 1979-80, he became the first Kentucky player ever to be named consensus Southeastern Conference Player of the Year.
2021-22 KYLE MACY FRESHMEN ALL-AMERICA TEAM
Taran Armstrong – G – California Baptist
Zack Austin – F – High Point
Paolo Banchero – F – Duke
Malaki Branham – F – Ohio State
Paul Bruns – G – North Dakota
Kennedy Chandler – G – Tennessee
Jyare Davis – F – Delaware
Tyson Degenhart – F – Boise State
Tucker DeVries – F – Drake
Jalen Duren – C – Memphis
Jordan Gainey – G – USC Upstate
A.J. Griffin – G – Duke
Elijah Hawkins – G – Howard
Chet Holmgren – F – Gonzaga
Tyrese Hunter – G – Iowa State
Jao Ituka – G – Marist
Denver Jones – G – FIU
Kino Lilly Jr. – G – Brown
Frances Nwaokorie – F – UC San Diego
Jabari Smith – F – Auburn
Reyne Smith – G – Charleston
Payton Sparks – F – Ball State
Ray'Sean Taylor – G –SIU Edwardsville
Fousseni Traore – F – BYU
Sam Vinson – G – Northern Kentucky
Ty Ty Washington – G – Kentucky
