ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Andrew Romero III of Johnson & Wales University Denver was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division III National Player of the Week for the week ending February 3. Complete Release

On the women's side, Rebecca Prociak of King's College earned the honor.

Romero III, a 6-1 senior guard from Northglenn, Colo., played every minute of both games last week as Johnson & Wales (16-6, 9-4) swept its conference opponents. In Friday's 83-69 win over first-place Texas Lutheran, Romero III scored 31 points (10-of-18 FG, 10-of-13 FT, 1-of-5 3FG), pulled down six rebounds, recorded four assists, and had three steals. The next day, in a 97-95 victory over Southwestern, he scored 34 points (10-of-14 FG, 13-of-17 FT, 1-of-2 3FG), and added six rebounds, six assists and three steals. Romero III scored five points in the last 1:41, including three free throws in the final 39 seconds, to help the Wildcats secure the victory. For the week, he averaged 32.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 5.0 apg, and 3.0 spg while shooting 62.5 percent (20-32) from the field, 76.7 percent (23-of-30) from the line and 28.6 percent (2-of-7) from three-point range. For his efforts, Romero III was also named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Player of the Week.

Romero III is the first men's player in conference history to earn USBWA National Player of the Week honors and just the second basketball student-athelte. Bryce Frank of Austin College was the USBWA D3 Women's National Player of the Week the third week of the 2017-18 season. The USBWA began recognizing national Players of the Week in Division III in 2014-15.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-795-6821.