MERCED, Calif. – University of California, Merced men's basketball senior forward Elijah Charles has been named to the D2CCA All-West Region Second Team, the organization announced today.

Charles is UC Merced's first ever NCAA Division II All-Region player across all sports. The Los Angeles native earned All-CCAA First Team honors last week.

One of the best big men in the country, Charles was one of just two players nationally to average at least 15.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, and 0.9 steals per game in 2025-26. The only other player is Queens College's Tahj-Malik Campbell.

Regionally, Charles ranked second with 13 double-doubles, a program-record 9.9 rebounds per game, and a .627 field goal percentage.

Charles scored in double figures 22 times and had 20+ points on six occasions. He recorded career-high's of 36 points and 16 rebounds in a win over Cal State LA, which also resulted in a CCAA Player of the Week award.

Charles started 25 games for UC Merced.

He will graduate from UC Merced ranked first in program history with a .650 career field goal percentage, third with 15 double-doubles, and seventh with 40 blocks. His 9.1 career RPG and 13.9 PPG are good for first and second in program history, respectively.