EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State senior men’s basketball player Jaden Akins was named to the Second Team 2024-25 Academic All-America® Men’s Basketball team by the College Sports Communicators on Tuesday afternoon.
Akins, a captain for the Spartans, helped guide Michigan State to a 30-7 overall record, including a 17-3 mark in the Big Ten Conference as the team won the regular season title for the 11th time under Head Coach Tom Izzo and was selected to the NCAA Tournament for the 27th-straight season. Michigan State advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time and finished the year ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press Top 25.
Akins was one of eight players selected to the Academic All-America® second team. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State in communication, carrying a 3.58 grade-point average. This year, he carries a 3.50 GPA while pursuing a master’s degree in strategic communication.
Akins earned the Scholar-Athlete Award at Michigan State’s Student-Athlete Support Services Academic Gala three times, was the on the Dean’s List seven times during his career and was the recipient of the Provost’s Award for Future Leaders.
On the floor, he was the leading scorer for the Spartans, averaging 12.8 points per game, while ranking fourth on the team in rebounds (3.5 rpg), leading the team in 3-point field goals (58) and minutes played (27.2 mpg). Akins was an All-Big Ten Third Team selection by the league’s coaches and was selected to the All-Big Ten Defensive Team.
In 138 career games, he scored 1,252 points and will leave Michigan State ranked 32nd on the all-time scoring list. Akins scored in double figures 29 times this year and 64 for his career, passing the 1,000-point mark for his career on Jan. 12 in a win at Northwestern, becoming the 57th player in program history to reach that mark. He will leave MSU as one of 17 players in program history to scored at least 1,000 points, grab 400 rebounds and hand out at least 150 assists.
Akins is the first Michigan State men’s basketball player to earn Academic All-America honors since Xavier Tillman Sr. was a second-team selection in 2020. He is the seventh Spartan to be named an Academic All-American and earns MSU’s ninth honor.
