CLEVELAND – The Mid-American Conference announced its 2024-25 Men's Basketball Academic All-MAC Team on Friday, with Western Michigan leading the way with five honorees. Earning selections for the Broncos were Max Burton, JaVaughn Hannah, Brandon Muntu, Markhi Strickland and Michael Sulaka. The five selections tied for the most in program history, matching the 2019-20 campaign.  
 
The Academic All-MAC honor is for student-athletes who excel in both athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport.
 
Named an Academic All-MAC selection for the second consecutive year, Burton is a Marketing major with a 3.77 GPA. The redshirt sophomore was one of three Broncos to play in all 32 games this season and made 30 starts. He posted 5.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per contest, with his rebounding average ranking 18th in the MAC and his blocks ranked 11th.
 
Also earning an All-Academic nod for the second straight year, Hannah played in 30 games and started 24 for WMU. The junior finished second on the Broncos in scoring at 12.0 points per game and reeled in 4.1 rebounds per contest this season. In conference play, he boosted his averages to 13.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. A Sport Management major with a 3.88 GPA, he also finished ninth in the MAC in steals at 1.3 per contest.
 
Like Burton, Muntu also featured in all 32 games for the Brown and Gold this season, earning eight starts. A University Studies major with a 3.74 GPA, Muntu posted 5.7 points per game. The redshirt junior netted in double-figures seven times, including a career-high 18 points in the win at Youngstown State in November.
 
A University Studies major with a 3.39 GPA, Strickland was the lone Bronco to start all 32 games this season. The redshirt junior averaged 11.3 points per game while shooting 47.9 percent from the floor, the 15th-best mark in the conference. In league play, he ranked just outside of the top-10 with 2.0 offensive rebounds per game to help Western Michigan lead the MAC in offensive rebounding for the third straight season.
 
Sulaka saw action in 23 games for the Brown and Gold this season. A Finance major with a 3.71 GPA, he averaged 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game while shooting 54.8 percent from the floor. Back in November, he had a season-high eight points, four rebounds and two blocks in the victory over Canisius, and followed that up a few days later with eight points and a season-high seven rebounds against South Dakota.