Alisha Little of CSU Pueblo, Nique Clifford of Colorado State, Pryor Orser of Colorado Mines, and Misty Wilson of the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs are the Colorado Collegiate Chronicle’s picks as the top players and coaches from the 2024-2025 basketball season in the Centennial State.

Little (24.9 points per game) ranked second in NCAA Division II scoring, blocked shots (3.59) and double-doubles (23), third in defensive rebounding (8.4), eighth in rebounding (11.8) and 18th in steals (2.86).

The  Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, Little was a first-team All-American selection by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and Division II Conference Commissioners Association.

A Colorado prep product from Grandview High, Little began her collegiate career at Northern Colorado before transferring to CSU Pueblo before the 2021-2022 season.  She closed her career second in Colorado history in scoring with 2,621 points and is the state’s all-time leader in rebounding (1,362) and blocked shots (424).  Little holds CSU Pueblo career records for scoring (1,801), scoring average (20.7), field goals made (659), blocked shots (294), and double-doubles (52).

An all-Mountain West pick and the top listed player in the NABC’s all district team, Clifford led all men’s 4-year school scorers and rebounders in Colorado by averaging 18.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.  His 15 double-doubles ranked 14th nationally.

In leading the Rams to a 26-10 record, a Mountain West post-season title, and an NCAA Division I berth, Clifford also finished second among Centennial State performers in assists (4.4) and minutes played (35.4).  He shot 49.6 percent from the field, 37.7 percent from behind the arc, and 77.7 percent at the free-throw line.

Like Little, Clifford is a Colorado prep product from The Vanguard School in Colorado Springs.  Before playing for the Rams, Clifford played for three seasons at Colorado, scoring 440 points in 82 games.  In 72 games in Fort Collins, Clifford amassed 1,119 points (15.5 average per game), 621 rebounds (8.6), and 267 assists (3.7).

For the second-straight season, Wilson has guided the Mountain Lions to the NCAA Division II Championships with Season No. 2 “special” as UC Colorado Springs upset Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular-season champions Colorado Mesa 63-61 in the league postseason finale in Grand Junction.

With a 19-12 record to improve her UCCS record to 42-20, Wilson led the Mountain Lions to three-straight seed break-throughs in the RMAC postseason as the Springs crew won 63-60 at No. 3 Adams State and 69-55 over No. 2 Western State in Grand Junction.

Wilson’s overall coaching mark is 188-134 (58.4 winning percentage).  She coached nine seasons at Tarleton State in Texas (146-114).  She inherited a program at UCCS that had six straight losing seasons before her arrival, for 62 wins in 157 games (39.5%)

Completing his 24th season as the head coach at Colorado Mines, Orser has transformed the program into a consistent conference and national contender since arriving in 2001.  His 2024-2025 Orediggers captured the RMAC regular season title with an 18-2 record and were 29-5 overall after losing at Dallas Baptist in the NCAA Division II South Central Regionals.

Orser has compiled a 474-232 career record with 21 consecutive winning seasons. Orser has earned six RMAC Coach of the Year honors (most recently in 2024-2025), the 2017 NABC South Central Coach of the Year, and the 2011-2012 Basketball Times National Coach of the Year award.

Little (Grandview) and Clifford (Colorado Springs The Vanguard School) are the top collegiate players with a Colorado prep background playing collegiately for a Centennial State school.

Sebastian Akins of Denver is the top men’s freshman scorer for Colorado collegiate players with a 12.7-point average.   On the women’s side, Adams State frosh Taejhuan Hill averaged 13.7 points a game for the Grizzlies.

Jalen Brown of Regis is the top bench performer after averaging 13 points per game. He came off the bench for the Rangers in 27 of 30 games.  Keelie O’Hollaren of the Air Force was the top women’s reserve as she entered a Falcon game as a reserve 19 times and averaged 9.6 points per game.

Colorado’s 2024-2025 NCAA National Statistical Leaders

MEN

William Becker, UC-Colorado Springs

• Double Doubles (25 ranked), 13th, 14
• FG Percentage (250), 5th, 68.7
• Rebounds PG (249), 32nd, 9.1
• Reb. (Def.) PG (250), 26th, 6.86

Brayden Carter, MSU Denver

• FG Percentage (250), 13th, 63.5

Nique Clifford, Colorado State

• Reb (Def.) PG (350), 3rd, 8.14
• Double Doubles (303), 14th, 15
• Field Goals (345), 21st, 238
• Points (350), 16th, 681
• Rebounds (346), 10th, 346
• Rebounds PG (350), 14th, 9.6

Majok Deng, Colorado Mines

• FT Percentage (250), 18th, 88.6

Stewart Erhart, Fort Lewis

• Steals (247), 10th, 79
• Steals PG (248), 9th, 2.55

Julian Hammond III, Colorado

• FT Percentage (345), 8th, 90.7

John Harge, Adams State

• FT Percentage (250), 37th, 87.1

Biko Johnson, Fort Lewis

• FT Attempts (245), 32nd, 196
• Free Throws (249), 39th, 145
• Steals (247), 33rd, 64
• Steals PG (248), 35th, 2.06

Grant Pressly, Colorado Mines

• Assist/TO Ratio (247), 8th, 3.21

Langston Reynolds, Northern Colorado

• FG Percentage (350), 20th, 59.3

Jude Tapia, Adams State

• 3 Point Attempts (246), 31st, 225
• 3 Pointers PG (249), 7th, 3.46
• Total 3FGM (241), 14th, 97
• Three Point Pct. (94), 17th, 43.1

Ethan Taylor, Air Force

• Minutes PG (350), 19th, 6:31

Yaak Yaak, Colorado Mesa

• Blocks (249 ranked), 34th, 50
• Blocks PG (248), 37th, 1.72

WOMEN

Erin Fry, Regis

• FT Attempts (248), 5th, 209
• Free Throws (248), 7th, 161
• Minutes PG (250), 9th, 37.11

Riley Hayes, Colorado Mesa

• 3Point Attempts (247), 10th, 239

Taejhuan Hill, Adams State

• Double Doubles (43), 7th, 17

Jo Huntimer, Air Force

• Assist/TO Ratio (250), 6th, 3.13

Jordan Jones, Denver

• FT Attempts (150), 6th, 249
• Free Throws (146), 7th, 200

Kylie Kravig, Colorado Mesa

• Assists (239), 5th, 185
• Assists Per Game (249), 6th, 6

Alisha Little, CSU Pueblo

• Blocks PG (249), 2nd, 3.59
• Double Doubles (43), 2nd, 23
• FT Attempts (248), 2nd, 234
• Points PG (250), 2nd, 24.9
• Blocks (239), 3rd, 104
• Points (248), 3rd, 723
• Reb. (Def.) PG (249), 3rd, 8.4
• Triple Doubles (3), 3rd, 1
• Field Goals (244), 4th, 258
• FG Attempts (250), 5th, 542
• Free Throws (248), 5th, 174
• Rebounds PG (249), 8th, 11.4
• Rebounds (248), 10th, 332

Kayla Mackel, Colorado College

• 3Point Attempts (197), 6th, 243

Olivia Reed, Colorado Mesa

• Field Goals (244), 2nd, 279
• Double Doubles (43), 4th, 19
• Points (248), 5th, 685
• Points Per Game (250), 6th, 22.1
• Field Goal Percentage (203), 8th, 57.1
• Rebounds (248), 8th, 337
• Rebounds (Defensive) PG (249), 9th, 7.9

Emma Ronsiek, Colorado State

• Minutes Per Game (150), 7th, 37.14

Athena Saragoza, Regis

• 3Pointers PG (249), 1st, 3.14
• Minutes PG (250), 4th, 37.92
• Three Pointers (249), 4th, 88
• 3Point Attempts (247), 5th, 249

Jenna Siebert, Colorado Mines

• FG Attempts (250), 7th, 498

Zoe Tomlinson, Colorado College

• Double Doubles (93), 3rd, 23
• Free Throws (200), 3rd, 165
• Rebounds (196), 4th, 371
• Rebounds PG (200), 4th, 13.7
• FT Attempts (200), 5th, 210
• Reb. (Def.) PG (200), 7th, 8.9
• Points (199), 9th, 611
• Points PG (200), 9th, 22.6
• Field Goals (199), 10th, 223
• Reb. (Off.) PG (199), 10th, 4.9