Beynon Named Academic All-American of the Year
Complete CoSIDA Academic All-America Team
AUSTIN, Texas — Cherise Beynon, a business administration major with a 4.1 GPA, was named the CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year as the national Academic All-America teams were released for women’s basketball. She is the first female in UNM history to ever earn the honor, the highest Academic All-America honor that a student-athlete can earn.
She is the third student-athlete to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year at UNM, joining Luke Caldwell of track and field in 2013-14 and Simon Ejdemr of men’s soccer in 2009-10.
Beynon, in addition CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year, was named First Team Academic All-America for the second straight season. The only other Lobo to ever earn CoSIDA Academic All-America was Caroline Durbin, who was a second team pick in 2012 and a first team pick in 2013.
“This is a tremendous honor for Cherise,” said head coach Mike Bradbury. “She is an outstanding student-athlete that has excelled on the court, and in the classroom. She is really everything you would wish a student-athlete to be.”
Beynon closed out her final season with a third straight All-Mountain West First Team honor, and a second straight All-Mountain West Defensive Team selection. She is also a three-time Mountain West Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Mountain West selection for the Lobos, and she will be on both teams for the fourth straight season when those teams are released.
She has scored 534 points this season, the fourth-most in a single-season in school history, and her 229 assists is the most in a single-season in school history. Cherise Beynon broke the school-record with 41 points against San Diego State on Jan. 20
She is the first UNM basketball player – male or female – to reach the 1,500-point, 500-rebound and 500-assist mark. Mandi Moore was the first women’s basketball player to reach the 1,000, 500 and 500 club as she finished her career with 1,057 points, 603 rebounds and 651 assists for the Lobos from 2002-05.
Overall, the Las Vegas, Nevada, native is in the career top 10 in points (1,703 – fourth, 95 away from third), field goals made (638 – fourth, two away from third), field goals attempted (1,766 – first), 3-pointers made (180 – fourth, six away from third), 3-pointers attempted (615 – first), assists (599 – second, 50 away from first), steals (246 – second), rebounding (763 – fourth, 37 away from third) and minutes played (3,881 – fourth). She led UNM to a 23-10 record, and UNM will learn of its postseason fate on Monday night.
NOTE: Beynon is the sixth Mountain West Student-Athlete to earn Academic All-America of the Year (Utah’s Theresa Kuilkowski, At-Large in 2001-02 and 2002-03, Utah’s Alex Smith in football, 2004-05
UNM Women’s Basketball CoSIDA Academic All-America Year Student-Athlete Team 2011-12 Caroline Durbin Second Team 2012-13 Caroline Durbin First Team 2016-17 Cherise Beynon First Team 2017-18 Cherise Beynon *First Team *CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year