By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
MIAA regular-season champion Washburn University is well represented on the men's all-conference team announced Wednesday, earning three major awards, two All-MIAA defensive team members, two first-team All-MIAA selections as well as a second-team and third-team pick.
[Graphic by Washburn Athletics]
Earning MIAA coach of the year honors was Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard, who led the Ichabods to 26 regular- season wins this season - one shy of the Ichabod program record of 27 for regular-season wins set by the 1986-87 NAIA National Championship team that went 35-4.
Ballard also led the Ichabods to their first No. 1 ranking since the 1991-92 season and to a top-five spot in the national rankings for 14 straight weeks. The MIAA regular-season championship this season is the 11th in program history and the first since the 2011-12 season.
Washburn senior Jacob Hanna earned four different awards as he was named the MIAA's newcomer of the year, the MIAA's defensive player of the year, a first-team all-MIAA selection and was named to the MIAA all-defensive team.
Hanna is averaging 15.1 points and 5.6 rebounds while dishing out 98 assists. Hanna has reached double-figure scoring in 26 of 28 games this season.
Hanna was joined on the all-MIAA Defensive team by senior Michael Keegan. Keegan leads the MIAA with 66 steals, and he is 11th in blocked shots with 21. Starting all 28 games this season, Keegan has averaged 8.3 points while pulling down 4.9 rebounds per game.
Sophomore Washburn Rural product Jack Bachelor was named first-team All-MIAA with Hanna after averaging 13.6 points over the regular season and 14.3 in MIAA play.
He is second in the MIAA in assists and assists per game and leads the league in assist to turnover ratio at 2.9. Bachelor is also shooting 41 percent from 3-point range during MIAA play while leading the MIAA in free throw percentage, hitting 83 of 95 free throw attempts for an 87 percent clip.
Sophomore Brayden Shorter was voted second team by the league's coaches. Shorter leads the Ichabods in scoring at 16.0 points per game while hitting a league-high 101 3-pointers and averaging 3.6 per game from deep.
He is ranked fourth in the MIAA in 3-point field goal percentage at 38 percent, reaching double figures in 25 of 28 games this season.
Senior Andrew Orr was a third-team All-MIAA pick, averaging 14.2 points and 4.1 rebounds. He is fifth in the MIAA in free throw percentage, hitting 85 of 102 attempts for an 83 percent average. Orr was a second-team All-MIAA pick as a junior and a third-team selection as a sophomore.
The Ichabods will open the MIAA Tournament on Thursday at 12 p.m. in Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium against the winner of the Emporia State-Central Oklahoma contest to be played Wednesday.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jordan Frison, Pittsburg State
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jacob Hanna, Washburn
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Jacob Hanna, Washburn
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Kyran Tilley, Central Missouri
COACH OF THE YEAR: Brett Ballard, Washburn
MIAA ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
RJ Forney – Pittsburg State, Sr.
Kaleb Hammeke – Fort Hays State, Sr.
Jacob Hanna – Washburn, Sr.
Michael Keegan – Washburn, Sr.
Shaun Riley – Fort Hays State, Sr.
ALL-MIAA FIRST TEAM
Jack Bachelor – Washburn, So.
Jordan Frison – Pittsburg State, So.
Kaleb Hammeke – Fort Hays State, Sr.
Jacob Hanna – Washburn, Sr.
Anthony Marshall – Rogers State, Sr.
ALL-MIAA SECOND TEAM
Zane Nelson – Missouri Western, Sr.
Trey Phipps – Northeastern State, Gr.
Jacobi Sebock – Central Oklahoma, Jr.
Brayden Shorter – Washburn, So.
Avery Taggart – Pittsburg State, Sr.
ALL-MIAA THIRD TEAM
Ethan Blackmon – Northeastern State, So.
Karyiek Dixon – Emporia State, Jr.
Ja'Bryant Hill – Nebraska Kearney, Jr.
Andrew Orr – Washburn, Sr.
Allen Taylor – Nebraska Kearney, Sr.
ALL-MIAA HONORABLE MENTION
DeAirius Barker – Central Missouri, Sr.
RJ Forney – Pittsburg State, Sr.
Caden Fry – Rogers State, Jr.
Kyle Grill – Fort Hays State, So.
Israel Hart – Central Oklahoma, Jr.
Martin Macenis – Missouri Southern, Sr.
Andrew Mason – Rogers State, Jr.
Sam Somerhalder – Newman, Jr.
Boston Stanton – Newman, Sr.
Zion Swader – Missouri Western, Sr.
Chase Thompson – Nebraska Kearney, Sr.
Terrell Williams – Arkansas-Fort Smith, Sr.
