RUSTON – Louisiana Tech's Daniel Batcho was named one of 35 finalists for the Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award by CollegeInsider.com on Thursday, an award presented annually to the top player in mid-major college basketball.
 
The announcement comes a few days after Batcho took home several Conference USA postseason honors including First Team All-CUSA, CUSA Defensive Player of the Year, and CUSA All-Defensive Team.
 
The power forward led the Bulldogs and ranked sixth in the conference in scoring at 16.9 points per game.  He scored in double figures in 27 of the 31 games played including eight 20+ scoring performances.  His best effort was a 38-point performance in a non-conference game, the most scored by an CUSA player this season and the most by a Bulldog since 2016.
 
The Paris, France native currently ranks second in the country in field goal percentage (68.7), a mark that would set a new program record and be the third-best FG% for a single season in CUSA history. 
 
For the season, Batcho also ranked sixth in the league in rebounds per game (6.6) and first in blocks per game (2.0).  He currently ranks top 30 in the country in both blocks per game and total rejections with 62, becoming just the fourth Bulldog in program history to have back-to-back seasons of 60+ blocks. 
 
Batcho is one of only three players in the nation averaging at least 16 points, six rebounds, and two blocks per game this season.  He tallied six double-doubles, including three games of 24+ points and 10+ rebounds.
 
This marks the second straight year a Bulldog has been named a finalist for the Lou Henson Award (Isaiah Crawford, 2024).
 
LOU HENSON AWARD FINALIST
Daniel Batcho, Louisiana Tech
Ante Brzovic, Charleston
Adam Clark, Merrimack
Zach Cleveland, Liberty
Oscar Cluff, South Dakota State
Tayton Conerway, Troy
Mark Freeman, James Madison
Javohn Garcia, McNeese
Kimani Hamilton, High Point
Barrington Hargress, UC Riverside
Jalen Johnson, Purdue Fort Wayne
Nate Johnson, Akron
Jordan Jones, Central Connecticut State
Jacari Lane, North Alabama
Bent Leuchten, UC Irvine
Augustas Marciulionis, Saint Mary's
Jordan Marsh, UNC Asheville
Bez Mbeng, Yale
Brian Moore Jr., Norfolk State
Paulius Murauskas, Saint Mary's
Dominick Nelson, Utah Valley
Jacob Ognacevic, Lipscomb
Quimari, Peterson, ETSU
Jaron Pierre Jr., Jacksonville State
John Poulakidas, Yale
Matt Rogers, American
Play Smith Jr., Furman
Bennett Stirtz, Drake
Marquel Sutton, Omaha
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, UC San Diego
Ray'Sean Taylor, SIU Edwardsville
Tyler Tejada, Towson
Malik Thomas, San Francisco
Earl Timberlake, Bryant
Nick Townsend, Yale