GREENVILLE, S.C. – The National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) announced its 2023-24 men's basketball All-Central Region Team on Tuesday as head coach Josh Gamblin was named the region's Coach of the Year while Seth Hurd, Mikel Henderson, Jasiah Lewis and Eddie Smith earned All-Region honors.

Hurd will be in-contention for All-American honors after being selected to the First Team, Henderson and Lewis each nabbed Second Team accolades while Smith was tabbed to the Third Team.

In his ninth season at the helm of the MACU men's basketball program, Gamblin helped lead MACU to one of its best seasons since joining the NAIA in 2007, closing out the year with a 24-9 overall record while posting a 17-5 record against Sooner Athletic Conference competition.

The campaign marked the sixth-time under Gamblin's tenure that the Evangels notched 20 or more wins in a season while the 17 SAC victories were the second-most the program had ever recorded in league play, sitting only behind the 2019-20 SAC Championship squad that wrapped up the year with a 19-1 conference record.

Over the course of his MACU career, Gamblin has amassed a 183-98 (.651) overall record, including a 103-68 (.602) mark against SAC competition while leading the Evangels to six NAIA Tournament appearances as well as an NCCAA National Tournament appearance in that time frame.

Pacing the Evangels balanced offense, Hurd put up incredible shooting numbers during his 2023-24 campaign. The senior forward was the team's leading scorer with 396 points (12.4 ppg) while shooting 167-for-296 (56.4 percent) from the field and also pulled down 131 rebounds (4.1 rpg). The Tulsa, Oklahoma native's shooting clip not only marked the second-best field goal percentage in the Sooner Athletic Conference, but also ranks as the fourth-best shooting season for a MACU player in the NAIA Era.

In his two-year MACU career, Hurd wrapped up his Evangels tenure with a pair of NAIA Era top 10 marks, putting together the second-best career field goal percentage (55.4) while making the 10^th-most field goals (291), ranking as one of just three MACU players to crack the top 10 in just two years.

A four-year player for MACU, Lewis saved one of his best years with the Evangels for last. At the conclusion of the season, the Brooklyn, N.Y. native ranked third in the SAC in total assists (138) and assists per game (4.2) while finishing fourth on the team in points (311) and points per game (9.4) on 42.3 percent shooting. Lewis also made his impact felt on the defensive end, tallying the second-most steals on the squad with 40.

The senior guard's 138 dimes and 4.2 apg rate both rank as the seventh-best in a single season in the NAIA Era at Mid-America Christian. During his four-years with the Evangels, Lewis wrapped up his stellar career with 219 assists, the eighth-most by a MACU player while attempting the eighth-most field goal attempts (635).

In his only season at MACU, Henderson was a phenomenal sharpshooter from beyond arc. The senior guard finished second on the team in scoring (380, 11.5 ppg) while leading the team in made three-pointers (69) and free throw percentage (80.2) as well as dished out the second-most assists (77).

By notching 69 made treys, the Independence, Missouri product notched the 10^th-most made from downtown in the NAIA Era while also setting the eighth-best free throw percentage at 80.2 (minimum 60 made free throws).

Rounding out the All-Region honorees, Smith made his mark with the program after garnering the SAC Sixth Man of the Year honor. The senior guard in his lone season was one of the team's best pure scorers, finishing third on the squad with 331 points (10.7 ppg) on a 41.3 percent shooting clip while also being one of the best three-point snipers with 45 made triples on a 36.9 percent rate.

The Birmingham, Alabama native was a great producer in his floor game for the Evangels, finishing in a tie with Henderson for the second-most assists (77) as well as the second-best assist-turnover ratio (1.4) and notched the third-most steals (34).