Record 10 Men's Basketball Players Named To ACC Academic Honor Roll

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A program-record 10 members of the Florida State men's basketball program have been named to the 2023 ACC Academic Honor Roll as announced by the conference office. The 10 academic honorees surpasses the previous record of nine Seminoles who were honored as members of the ACC Academic Honor Roll in 2019. Under Head Coach Leonard Hamilton, the Seminoles average nearly eight honor roll awardees in the last seven seasons.

The Seminoles' 10 selections to the 2023 ACC Honor Roll, mark the seventh consecutive year at least seven members of Hamilton's team have been honored academically by the ACC. In the last seven seasons, the Seminole Men's Basketball Team has earned a total of 55 ACC Academic Honor Roll selections and had 13 players named to the All-ACC Academic Men's Basketball Team.

Juniors Isaac Spainhour (King, N.C.) and Max Thorpe (Clearwater, Fla.) were named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll for the third time each in their careers. Spainhour and Thorpe led the parade of 10 Seminoles including freshmen De'Ante Green (Asheville, N.C.), Tom House (Dayton, Ohio), Baba Miller (Mallorca, Spain), sophomore RJ Morris (Jupiter, Fla.), junior Tibor Pilinkas (Kecskemet, Hungary), seniors Caleb Mills (Arden, N.C.) and Cleveland Yates (Memphis, Tenn.) as well as graduate student Jaylan Gainey (Greensboro, N.C.) who all earned the honor for the first time.

As a team, the Seminoles earned a collective GPA of 3.16 during the spring 2023 semester – the highest single semester GPA in school history.

"We always look forward to the ACC Academic Honor Roll being released by the ACC Office every summer," said Head Coach Leonard Hamilton. "For us to have 10 players named to the list is awesome for each of the players and their families. The academic success of each one of our players is one of the cornerstones of our program. We as coaches take academics very seriously and the players we have in our program take it just as seriously."

After earning his bachelor's degree in Business Economics from Brown University in 2022, Gainey will earn a graduate certificate in Athletic Coaching on August 4, 2023. He will pursue a second graduate degree while he is playing for the Seminoles during in 2023-24.

"Academics, at its core, is about the pursuit of knowledge and intellectual growth," said Gainey. "Education allows me to increase my understanding of the world. Academics can also open doors to endless opportunities for success and create better living situations for my family. My family has put an emphasis on academics so academic excellence was deeply ingrained in me at a young age."

Freshman De'Ante Green, a Sport Management major, was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll for the first time. He played in 24 of Florida State's 32 games including the Seminoles' game against Georgia Tech in the AC Tournament. Green was named to the Florida State Academic Dean's List in the spring of 2023 for the first time in his career.

"Academic success is very important to my family," said Green. "Since day one I have been taught that if you don't excel in the classroom then you won't be playing basketball. That philosophy has shaped me into the student-athlete I am today."

Both Thorpe, in Sport Management, and Yates, in Humanities, will earn their bachelor's degree from Florida State in August. Thorpe will play as a graduate student for the Seminoles during the 2023-24 season.

"Academic success – especially widespread academic success – does not happen by accident," said Charlie Hogan, Assistant Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Academic Services. "The large number of Men's Basketball student-athletes who have earned their place on the ACC Academic Honor Roll are a testament to their individual hard work and to the culture of academic excellence expected throughout the entire program."

Seminoles On 2023 The ACC Academic Honor Roll
Jaylan Gainey, Graduate Student, (1)
De'Ante Green, Sport Management, (1)
Tom House, Political Science (1)
Baba Miller, Social Science, (1)
Caleb Mills, Social Science (1)
RJ Morris, Hospitality and Tourism Management, (1)
Tibor Palinkas, International Business, (1)
Isaac Spainhour, Sport Management, (3)
Max Thorpe, Sport Management, (3)
Cleveland Yates, Humanities, (1)
(number in parenthesis equals ACC Academic Honor Roll career selections)

Record 10 Men's Basketball Players Named To ACC Academic Honor Roll

Players Mentioned

Jaylan Gainey

De’Ante Green

Tom House

Baba Miller

RJ Morris

Isaac Spainhour

Max Thorpe

Florida State University Athletics