Ridgnal, Ellis, Only Repeats On DI All-American Teams
Charlotte, NC – May 5, 2021
Dalen Ridgnal, a 6’7″ Sophomore Forward from national runner-up Cowley College (KS), and El Ellis, 6’3″ Sophomore PG, who played at Tallahassee CC (FL), were the only repeats from a year ago when the NJCAA Men’s DI Basketball All-American Teams were released this past week.
Both players were recognized as First Team selections. Last season (2020), Ellis received Second Team honors, while Ridgnal was named to the Third Team.
-Ellis, from Durham, NC, becomes the Eagles first ever two time All-American in men’s basketball. He averaged 17.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists for Tallahassee, all team highs.
Starting 21 of the team’s 22 games, and logging over 30 minutes of court time each outing, Ellis shot 46% from the field, 41.7% from distance, and 75.9% from the charity stripe.
El was also the team’s leading scorer his freshman year, putting up 14.3 points per game in 33 games. Had not been for the shortened 2021 season due to covid conerns, based on his scoring pace, Ellis would’ve been close to if not over 1000 points.
The reigning Panhandle Conference Player of the Year, Ellis is also the school’s first two time winner of that honor, and only the conference’s third overall since 1997. That award placed him on the All-Panhandle Conference First Team and the Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) All-State Team.
As one of the top Junior College prospects, Ellis was heavily recruited by the majors and singed last fall with the University of Louisville to play for Head Coach Chris Mack.
Tallahassee (19-3), ranked #14 in the final poll, shared the Panhandle Conference Championship with Chipola College. Unfortunately for the Eagles, they were ineligible to compete in the Region 8 post season tournament, therefore met similar fate regarding participation in the national tournament.
-Ridgnal, who hails from Kansas City, MO, scored in double digits in all but 2 of the team’s 29 games this past season. He was team high in scoring (21.1 ppg), rebounding (12.8), and blocks (2.2), carding 23 double-doubles in the process, averaging 27.4 minutes of playing time.
With Ridgnal leading the way, the Tigers captured back-to-back conference titles, qualified for back-to-back national tournament appearances, won a region title for the first time in 64 years and finished as the 2020-2021 national runner-up (losing to Jayhawk East familiar foe, Coffeyville CC).
The Tigers, setting some new scoring records at the Big Dance, had several key contributors, but none bigger than Ridgnal. During his four game tour through the Sports Arena in Hutchinson, Dalen scored 93 points (23.25/g), pulled down 48 rebounds (12/g) to lead the team.
In his freshman campaign at Cowley, Dalen was guilty of 20 double-doubles and also led the team in scoring, rebounding, and blocks. For his career, Ridgnal averaged a double-double, easily propelling him into becoming a two time All-American, the third Tiger to bestow that honor.
The other two, Berklie Perico (1955-56), and Sonny Maynard (1956-57), played for then Arkansas City JC. Maynard was a member of the last Cowley County team to make it to Hutch back in 1957. That year the Tigers also reached the Championship game, but also lost to fellow Kansas rival El Dorado JC (now Butler CC).
Ridgnal now has quite a collection of hardware to add to his trophy room. Besides this award, Dalen was named to the NJCAA National Championship All-Tournament First Team.
In addition, he was voted the Cowley College Male Athlete of the Year, was First-Team All-Region VI selection for the second straight year, and was the Most Valuable Player in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division.
When all was said and done concerning the 2021 season, Dalen’s 611 points landed him atop the list of the nations leading scorers. His 21.1 scoring average was good for 2nd nationally. With a nation leading 371 rebounds he was ranked #2 at 12.8 per game average. Plus, Ridgnal ended up with 64 blocked shots (T-23), and his average of 2.2 blocks/game placed him 6th overall.
In his two year career at Cowley, Ridgnal scored a total of 1,117 points, which ranks him as the ninth all-time leading scorer in the history of the program.
Dalen just announced last Tuesday (May 4) that he will be taking his talents to Athens, GA to become a member of Tom Crean’s Georgia Bulldogs.
