CHICAGO (April 27, 2018) – The awards continue to pile up for Loyola University Chicago men's basketball standout Clayton Custer (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest/Iowa State), who today was named National Jesuit Player of the Year. A 6-foot-1 redshirt junior guard, Custer helped the Ramblers to a program single-season record 32 wins, and the team's first NCAA Final Four appearance since 1963.
 
The National Jesuit Player of the Year is awarded to the student-athlete who best displays excellence on the basketball court while maintaining core values of Jesuit education: men and women for others who are committed to academic excellence, service, leadership and caring for the whole person.
 
Earlier this season, Custer was named MVC Player of the Year, the first Loyola men's basketball student-athlete to be selected as the top player in a conference since Andre Moore in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference in 1987. He contributed 13.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.5 steals per outing, sinking 52.8 percent (160-for-303) of his field goal attempts, including 45.1 percent (60-for-133) from three-point territory, on his way to Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America status. In addition to those awards, Custer was also hailed as the Lou Henson Award winner, presented annually by CollegeInsider.com to the top mid-major player in the nation, and earned National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) First Team All-District 16 recognition.
 
In addition to his exploits on the court, Custer has been a model student-athlete earning numerous recognitions for his work in the classroom and community. He was tabbed MVC First Team Scholar-Athlete and Division I-AAA Scholar-Athlete in 2017-18, and also collected College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District and MVC State Farm Good Neighbor Award accolades.
 
Loyola finished the 2017-18 season with a 32-6 overall record, set a school-record with 15 Missouri Valley Conference victories, and was ranked No. 7 in the season-ending USA Today Coaches Poll.