UIC men's basketball senior forward Filip Škobalj has been selected to receive the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) Postgraduate Scholarship, in addition to making the organization's Scholar-Athlete Team for the second year in a row, it was announced Wednesday. Škobalj is the first UIC basketball student-athlete to receive the $5,000 I-AAA ADA Postgraduate Scholarship in its 24-year history, and the first Flames' player to be chosen as a I-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete, let alone earn that honor in back-to-back seasons.

Belmont basketball student-athletes Tyler Lundblade and Isaiah Walker have also been named to the 2024-25 DI-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) Scholar-Athlete Team.  This marks the 18th and 19th time a Belmont men's basketball player has been named to the DI-AAA ADA Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete Team in the academic program's 23-year history.  
 
A three-time Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team and two-time College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District selection, Škobalj (last name pronounced SHKO-ball) will graduate from UIC this weekend with a 4.0 grade-point average and a bachelor's degree in management and international business. On the court, he averaged 8.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per game while starting all 31 games this season, ranking fourth in the MVC with a .405 three-point percentage. He also scored in double figures 10 times this year, including a season-best 20 points in a Feb. 1 matchup against Indiana State. For his career, Škobalj finished eighth in UIC history with 227 made three-pointers, seventh in three-point attempts (582) and just outside the top 10 in the program's record book with a .391 three-point percentage.

Lundblade was one of the great stories in college basketball this past season. After playing a total of 52 minutes over three seasons at SMU and TCU, Lundblade burst on the scene at Belmont and developed into one of the nation's top newcomers.  The 6-5 guard led the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (.481) and set the Belmont NCAA Division I era single-season record for made 3-point field goals (104). His 104 3-pointers rank ninth in Missouri Valley Conference history.  Lundblade posted 20 double figure scoring games and earned national player of the week honors in February as during a four-game stretch he went a remarkable 30-for-46 from 3-point range.
 
Walker, the 2023-24 DI-AAA ADA Scholar Athlete of the Year, posted 22 double figure scoring games in averaging 10.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game this season.  The 6-5 guard was named to the 2024-25 MVC Most Improved Team.   The Wyoming, Ohio, native recorded 97 career game appearances, ranking among team leaders in rebounds, assists and steals in helping the Bruins extend their streak of 15 consecutive 20-win seasons.  A three-time CSC Academic All-District® honoree, Walker has been named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Team each of the past three seasons.  Walker graduates with a 3.79 grade-point average in business administration.
 
Joining Lundblade, Skobalj, and Walker on the 2024-25 DI-AAA ADA Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete Team are Ryan Kalkbrenner and Steven Ashworth of Creighton, Jacob Ognacevic and Will Pruitt of Lipscomb, Stevie Mitchell of Marquette, Josh Dilling of Northern Kentucky, Leo Colimerio of Queens, Ray'Sean Taylor of SIUE, and Fletcher Abee of UNC Asheville.