Case Western Reserve University graduate student guard Anthony Mazzeo was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America First Team for his academic and athletic success during the 2023-24 campaign.

Mazzeo is the first Spartan men's basketball player to earn Academic All-America First Team acclaim since Jim Fox claimed the honor during the 1995-96 and 1996-97 campaigns. He is the eighth player in program history to be named an Academic All-American, joining Harvey Clough (second team in 1973-74), David Grendel (third team in 1976-77), Fox (third team in 1994-95 and first team in 1995-96 and 1996-97), Eric Duerr (second team in 2009-10 and third team in 2010-11), Austin Fowler (third team in 2012-13), David Thompson (second team in 2013-14), and Antonio Ionadi (third team in 2020-21).

As a department, 115 different CWRU student-athletes have garnered 159 Academic All-America selections over the program's history. That includes six Spartan athletes so far this year.

Mazzeo, who was named to the D3hoops.com All-America Fifth Team and the NABC All-District VII, the D3hoops.com All-Region VII, and the All-University Athletic Association First Teams, led all Spartans with 19.5 points per game during the year and his 545 points during the campaign set a new program record. He has also dished out a team-high 4.7 assists per game, the third-most among UAA players while adding 4.1 rebounds per contest. Mazzeo shot 45.9% from the floor and 39.0% from three-point range during the year. He was named the UAA Athlete of the Week on five occasions, and to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week once while also appearing on the watch list for the Trevor Hudgins and Bevo Francis Awards, and was a top-10 finalist for the Jostens Trophy.

Mazzeo, who is pursuing his Master of Finance, has a grade point average of 3.579 at CWRU after recording a 3.84 GPA as an undergraduate student at Baldwin Wallace. He has been named to the CSC Academic All-Region Team each of the last two years.

The 2023-24 Academic All-America 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. The CSC Academic All-America program separately recognizes soccer honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA — for each gender.

The Division III CSC Academic All-America programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2023-24 Divisions III Academic All-America programs.

Student-athletes must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically with a cumulative grade point average greater than 3.50, must have competed in at least 90 percent or started in at least 66 percent of their team's games, be selected to an Academic All-District Team, and have advanced to the Academic All-America ballot to be eligible for the national award.

CWRU wrapped up the campaign with a 23-5 overall record, setting the program record for wins in a season for the third straight year. The Spartans also won their second-straight University Athletic Association Championship and reached the NCAA Division III Championship for the third consecutive season. The team's Round of 16 finish in the 2023-24 NCAA Tournament also matched the best in the program's history.