LOGAN, Utah – Utah State senior forward Justin Bean has been named second-team all-Mountain West for the second year in a row in addition to being named to the MW all-defensive team by the league coaches. Fellow senior forward Brandon Horvath also earned post-season honors as he was named to the all-MW third team.
Bean has been recognized with all-MW honors in each of the last three seasons as he was a third-team selection in 2020 and a second-team pick in 2021. He is the third-straight Aggie to earn honors in three-straight years, joining Neemias Queta and Sam Merrill with that distinction. Since joining the MW, Jalen Moore is the only other player for Utah State with three all-MW honors.
Bean leads the MW with 19 double-doubles this season, good for second all-time in USU single-season history, to rank seventh in the nation. Bean also leads the league in rebounds per game (9.8) and defensive rebounds per game (7.32). He needs just six more boards to tally 1,000 in his career, becoming only the second player ever in MW history and third in USU history to surpass that benchmark. Bean leads the Aggies in scoring, rebounding and steals this season, averaging 17.8 points, a MW-best 9.8 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game all while shooting 54.9 percent (214-of-390) from the floor to rank second in the league.
Bean’s selection to the MW all-defensive team marks the second time in his career that he’s earned that award, as he was previously named to the all-defensive team as a sophomore in 2020.
Horvath earned third-team honors, marking the second time in his career that he’s been named to an all-conference team after earning first-team America East Conference accolades a season ago. Horvath is second on the team with 13.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and is one of only four players in the MW to shoot better than 50 percent from the floor while averaging more than 10 points per game during league play, connecting on 50.8 percent (96-of-189). Horvath has scored in double figures in all but four of Utah State’s MW contests and is second on the team in league games with 49 total assists, averaging 2.7 per game.Bean, Horvath and the No. 7 Aggies open the MW Tournament on Wednesday, March 9, at 2:30 p.m. (MT), facing the 1oth-seeded Air Force Falcons. A victory over the Academy would set up a quarterfinal matchup with No. 2 Colorado State on Thursday, March 10, at 7 p.m. (MT).
