CSC Academic All-District Teams
 
GOLDEN, Colo. – The College Sports Communicators (CSC) announced the Academic All-District teams for the sport of men's basketball Tuesday and three members of the Colorado School of Mines men's basketball program were recognized for the accomplishments on the hardwood and in the classroom, as Sam Beskind, Juani Dassie and Reagan Koch were among those named to the Division II team.
 
The 2023-24 Academic All-District® Men's Basketball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. Changes to the program this year included immediate eligibility for undergraduate transfers, waiving a 12-month residency requirement and athletic eligibility criteria being changed so that student-athletes must participate in 90% of games played are start 66% of games played. Student-athletes who meet both athletic and academic standards laid out by the CSC Academic All-America Core Committee will be selected to advance to the Academic All-America ballot.
 
A two-year standout at Mines as a graduate transfer from Stanford, Beskind repeats with Academic All-District honors and will head to the Academic All-America® ballot. The Tucson, Arizona native was named the RMAC Academic Player of the Year this season and also earned First Team All-RMAC honors in addition to taking home an RMAC Offensive Player of the Week award and being named to the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic All-Tournament Team back in November. One of two players to start all 33 games this season, Beskind led Mines with 999 minutes played and averaged 30.3 per night along with 8.6 points. 6.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists while shooting .403/.304/.827. He led the RMAC with 159 assists, the third-most by an Oredigger in school history, and assist/turnover ratio (2.3) while his 279 career assists in two seasons are tied for eighth all-time with Brendan Sullivan. 10 times this season Beskind recorded double figure scoring performances and had five games with 10 or more rebounds and 16 games with five or more assists. He recorded three double-doubles during the season and recorded a pair of 10 assist games, marking the eighth and ninth times in Mines history the feat has been done. He scored a season-high 19 points with 13 rebounds on February 9 against Black Hills State and closed his career with eight points, six assists, five rebounds, a block and a steal in the NCAA Tournament against Dallas Baptist. As if he wasn't busy enough, Beskind also hosts a podcast called "Built For Earth", in which he interviews industry leaders in the field of renewable energy and discusses ways to help improve the way of live for Earth's inhabitants and plan for a sustainable future. Already a two-time Stanford graduate with undergraduate and graduate degrees in Management Science & Engineering, Beskind will graduate in May from Mines with a second Master's in Advanced Energy Systems & Humanitarian Engineering and totes a 3.889 GPA.
 
Dassie earned a spot on the All-District list as part of the new rules for undergraduate transfers. A transfer from Cuesta College in California in his first year in Golden, the native Argentinian started once in 32 games and was a three-point specialist off the bench, shooting .537/.506/.889 on the year with 40 made three-pointers and led the team in three-point percentage. He scored in double figures in 11 games during the season including a season-high 20 points on 7-11 shooting and 6-10 from three against Adams State at home on March 1 and made at least three three-pointers in six games. Dassie carries a 3.569 GPA in Mechanical Engineering.
 
Koch earns the second Academic All-District honors of his career and was a key part of the Orediggers' second unit this season. An RMAC Academic Honor Roll selection again this year as well, the redshirt sophomore out of Chanhassen, Minnesota appeared in all 33 games this with two starts and averaged 14.2 minutes per game and shot .402/.378/.727 on the year, averaging 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. He also dished out 40 assists and his 19 steals were third on the team. Koch scored in double-digits on four occasions during the year and scored a tied his career-high of 14 points at Adams State on February 3 and scored 12 points against Regis in the RMAC Quarterfinals. Koch currently holds a 3.791 GPA in Mechanical Engineering.
 
Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced April 17.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines men's basketball on X and Instagram at @minesmbb. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, X and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.