Northern Kentucky University Athletics

Horizon League All-Decade Team (2010s)
AP All-American Honorable Mention (2019)
Senior CLASS Award Finalist; Senior CLASS Award Second Team (2019)
2x Lou Henson (Mid-Major) All-America Team (2018, 2019)
2x NABC All-District 12 First Team (2018, 2019)
Horizon League Player of the Year (2019)
3x All-Horizon League First Team (2017, 2018, 2019)
DI-AAA Athletic Directors Association Scholar-Athlete Team
3x Horizon League All-Academic Team (2017, 2018, 2019)
Google Cloud Academic All-District 2 (2019)
NABC Honors Court (2018)
Horizon League All-Freshman Team (2016)
Horizon League Tournament MVP (2019)
2x Horizon League All-Tournament Team (2017, 2019)
2x Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year (2018, 2019)
2x Horizon League Preseason First Team (2018, 2019)
9x Horizon League Player of the Week (Dec. 5, 2016; Jan. 9, 2017; Feb. 27, 2017; Feb. 15, 2018; Nov. 19, 2018; Dec. 3, 2018; Dec. 23, 2018; Dec. 31, 2018; Feb. 11, 2019 ... Tied for 3rd-most in league history at graduation)
2x Horizon League Freshman of the Week (Jan. 4, 2016; Jan. 18, 2016)
KEMI Northern Kentucky Basketball Classic MVP; All-Tournament Team (2018)
Tarkett Sports Classic All-Tournament Team (2016)

Career Milestones (Current Upon Completion of Career)

• NKU's all-time record holder in scoring (1st, 2,066), rebounding (1st, 1,081), defensive rebounds (1st, 816), defensive rebounding average (6.2), free-throws made (1st, 450), free throws attempted (586), games played (1st, 131),
• Top-10 all-time in minutes played (3rd, 3,650), field-goals attempted (4th, 1,520) rebounding average (5th, 8.3 rpg), field-goals made (5th, 717), offensive rebounds (8th, 265), games started (8th, 102) scoring average (9th, 15.8) and 3-point field-goals made (10th, 182), 3-point field-goals attempted (496) at NKU
• Graduated as one of three players in the history of the Horizon League with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, ranking seventh and third in reach list, respectively
• Posted 48 career double-doubles, including 33 against Horizon League competition
• Secured just the second triple-double in program history with 12 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists at Morehead State on Nov. 27, 2018

2018-19 

• Recognized as AP All-America Honorable Mention, Horizon League Player of the Year and All-Horizon League First Team
• Ranked 75th in country in scoring (19.1 ppg), 32nd in rebounding (9.4 rpg), 25th in total rebounds (319), 23rd in defensive rebounds per game (7.38)
• Named Horizon League Tournament MVP and All-Tournament Team after averaging 16.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game in leading Northern Kentucky to its second tourney title in a three-year span
• Drilled a 3-pointer with 1.6-seconds left against Oakland in the Horizon League Championship Semifinals to send the Norse to the Championship game
• 3-point field goal with 7:01 remaining at Green Bay pushed McDonald to the top of NKU’s career scoring records
• Rebound at 19:45 of the first half against Detroit Mercy was 1,000th of career
• Posted the second triple-double in Norse history with 12 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists at Morehead State
• Became first Norse since Dec. 18, 1972, to pull down 20-plus rebounds with a career-high 20 against UIC
• One of 20 candidates for the Naismith Hall of Fame Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award
• Finalist for Senior CLASS Award, earning second team status
• Member of the Lou Henson Player of the Year (mid-major) award watch list, eventually earning Lou Henson (mid-major) All-America Status
• Played in the 2019 NABC Reese's Senior All-Star Game for the West team, posting six points and five rebounds
• Led USA Team to a gold medal in the 2018 FISU Americas (collegiate version of Pan Am games)
• Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year and First Team honoree

2017-18 

• Recognized on Lou Henson (mid-major) All-America, NABA All-District 12 First, All-Horizon League First and all-academic teams during following junior campaign
• Posted a Horizon League leading 18 double-doubles, which ranked 11th in the country
• Averaged a team-high 17.0 ppg and 9.6 rpg, the latter of which ranked 27th nationally
• Led NKU to a Horizon League Regular-Season Championship and NIT appearance
• Eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau at the 18:43 mark of the second half against Morehead State
• Set NKU's all-time defensive rebounds record in the Horizon League Quarterfinals against Cleveland State
• Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year and Preseason First Team honoree

2016-17 

• Recognized on All-Horizon League First Team, all-tournament team and all-academic team as just a sophomore
• Averaged a team-high 16.4 ppg and 7.7 rpg, ranking sixth and fourth in the Horizon League, respectively
• Led NKU with 30 double-figure scoring games, include two over 30 points and 13 above 20
• Recorded 11 double-doubles this year and 16 in his career ... His 11 this season were the most for a Norse player in a single-season in at least 11 years
• Dropped 37 points at home versus Cleveland State, which set a Division-I era record and was the most since Dec. 23, 2009 when David Palmer scored 39 against UC Clermont ... added 10 boards in the game for a double-double
• Posted 32 points and 11 rebounds in win at Morehead State
• Named to the Tarkett Sports Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 24.0 points and 11.3 rebounds in leading NKU to a 2-1 mark ... Had two double-doubles (APSU: 21 points, 12 rebs; Delaware - career-high 28 pts, career-high-tying 13 rebs.)
• Tallied 13 points against Milwaukee to move into NKU’s top-50 all-time during sophomore campaign

• Reached double-figures in 16 of the last 21 games
• Shot 3-for-5 with eight points and three boards in first collegiate game at No. 23 West Virginia
• Scored 13 points and pulled down nine boards in only 11 minutes versus IU Kokomo
• Posted 18 points on stellar 8-for-12 shooting at Toledo
• First career double-double came at Green Bay with 12 points and 13 boards
• Named Horizon League Freshman of the Week after averaging 15 points and nine boards in games at Toledo and Green Bay
• Dropped 16 points to help NKU secure its first-ever Horizon League win (84-64 over YSU)
• Earned second Freshman of the Week honor in a three-week span after averaging 11.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game against Youngstown State and Cleveland State
• Notched second double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds in NKU’s 90-73 road win over Oakland (Jan. 19)
• Scored 17 points and grabbed 10 boards for his third double-double of the year at Detroit
• Led NKU with a career-high 23 points and eight rebounds in the second meeting with Oakland (Feb. 1)
• Added fourth double-double of the year with 13 points, 11 rebounds versus Detroit (Feb. 16)
• Earned first career start at Wright State (Feb. 20), tallying 11 points
• Dropped 20 points with 12 rebounds at Cleveland State (Feb. 25) for fifth double-double
• Horizon League All-Freshman Team honoree

• A Mr. Kentucky Basketball finalist as a senior at Newport Central Catholic
• Garnered region player of the year, Penn Station player of the month (February) and LaRosa's player of the week (Jan. 12, 2015) honors during senior campaign
• Helped NewCath to a 129-20 record during his four years, including All "A" State Championships in 2013, 2014 and 2015
• Increased contributions every year during his prep career, posting 16.8 points and 10.7 rebounds per game as a senior, 13.1 points and 7.5 rebounds as a junior, 14.4 points and 7.2 boards as a sophomore and 11.7 points and 6.5 rebounds his freshman campaign
• Also a standout on the golf course, where he was the All "A" State Individual Champion as a senior, winning conference golfer of the year and all-region first team honors

• Son of Jeff and Christie McDonald
• Has two sisters, Rachel and Jessie
• Comes from a collegiate sport family with ties to Northern Kentucky athletics
• Mother Christie (Freppon) is a former Norse basketball player and father Jeff roamed the tennis courts for the NKU
• Grandfather Tom Freppon Sr., played basketball at Xavier, cousin Kaela Jo Freppon played volleyball at both NKU and Xavier, aunt Pam Wertz played volleyball at Western Kentucky, uncle Tom Freppon Jr., played basketball at Thomas More and Aunt Debbie (Freppon) Zegarra played volleyball at Midway