ELMHURST, Ill. – Western Illinois men's basketball freshman Garret Covington was tabbed The Summit League's 'Newcomer of the Year' Thursday (March 6), as well as being named All-League Second Team and All-Newcomer.

Summit League yearly honors are voted on by the league's coaches, sports information directors and select media members.

The Edwardsville, Ill. native is the third Western Illinois men's basketball player to earn the league's 'Newcomer of the Year' honor. Mike Ayers was the first Leathenreck to garner the award after the 1986-87 season followed by Eulis Baez following his 2004-05 campaign.

The 6' 5", 180-pound guard leads the team in points per game (14.3), games started (26), minutes per game (32.8), three-pointers (67), field goals (125) and free throws (91). He has also been the most efficient Leatherneck from the charity stripe, knocking down attempts at a 79.8% clip, while also shooting a team-best 38.3% from long range.

Covington's 4.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.0 steals per game each rank second on the team.

He recorded his first career double-double versus Grace Bible (Dec. 7) with 15 points and season-high 11 rebounds, while also dishing out a season-best six assists.

Covington was tabbed the league's 'Player of the Week' award once this season (Jan. 6), the only Leatherneck to earn the honor this season, after scoring a season-best 26 points against William & Mary (Jan. 4).

Sixth-seeded Western opens The Summit League Tournament Sunday evening (March 9) against No. 3 South Dakota State.

2013-14 Summit League Men's Basketball Awards

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Taylor Braun, North Dakota State

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Garret Covington, Western Illinois

SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR
Mo Evans, Fort Wayne

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Chris Udofia, Denver

COACH OF THE YEAR
Saul Phillips, North Dakota State

FIRST TEAM ALL-SUMMIT
Marshall Bjorklund, North Dakota State
Taylor Braun, North Dakota State
Jordan Dykstra, South Dakota State
Luis Jacobo, Fort Wayne
Brett Olson, Denver
Chris Udofia, Denver

SECOND TEAM ALL-SUMMIT
Brayden Carlson, South Dakota State
Garret Covington, Western Illinois
Steve Forbes, Fort Wayne
Cody Larson, South Dakota State
TrayVonn Wright, North Dakota State

HONORABLE MENTION ALL-SUMMIT
Lawrence Alexander, North Dakota State
Brandon Bos, South Dakota
CJ Carter, Omaha
Trevor Gruis, South Dakota
John Karhoff, Omaha

ALL-NEWCOMER
Garret Covington, Western Illinois
Mo Evans, Fort Wayne
Steve Forbes, Fort Wayne
Cody Larson, South Dakota State
Khufu Najee, IUPUI