Regular-season champion St. Scholastica headlines 2015-16 UMAC Men's Basketball Awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The 2015-2016 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men’s basketball season came to a thrilling end on the final weekend of the season with the College of St. Scholastica earning the regular season title in the final game, while newcomer University of Wisconsin-Superior clinched the final conference tournament spot. Now, both teams headline the season-ending UMAC Men’s Basketball Awards announced Wednesday.
The Yellowjackets’ leading scorer Zach Schradle took the top nod as UMAC Player of the Year, while the Saints’ Brandon Newman was honored as UMAC Freshman of the Year. In his 16th season at the helm of the St. Scholastica program, David Staniger was selected UMAC Coach of the Year by his peers for the first time in his career.
In the Yellowjackets’ first season as a conference member, Schradle made an immediate impression across the UMAC with a dominating season across the board. The junior guard was second in the league in scoring with 22.2 points per game (ppg) overall and 23.1 ppg in conference play. He also ranked second against UMAC opponents in rebounding with 8.8 per game.
Schradle was impressive offensively as he ranked in the top 10 in the UMAC for overall field goal percentage (53.4), 3-point percentage (43.2) and free throw percentage (76.4). The Yellowjacket star made it to the line more than any player in the league (246 attempts) and scored a league-best188 points from the charity stripe. He also boasted a UMAC-high 578 total points. In addition to his scoring abilities, Schradle ranked in the top five overall in the UMAC for assists per game (4.4) and steals per game (1.3).
This season, Schradle was one of just 19 players in Division III to post a triple-double when he scored 30 points, pulled in 11 rebounds and dished out 10 assists to lead the Yellowjackets to a thrilling upset over the University of Northwestern-St. Paul in the final weekend to lock up the No. 5 seed in the UMAC tournament.
Schradle scored in double figures in all 26 games he played in 2015-16 and led the team in scoring in 17 contests. He also scored 30 points or more in a single game five different times and tallied 12 double-doubles.
The regular season champion Saints also boasted the top first-year player with Newman taking home the top rookie honor in 2015-16. Newman finished his first collegiate season second in scoring (11.8 ppg) for the Saints – the second-best scoring average among all UMAC first-year players. He ranked 17th in overall scoring in the UMAC and 21st in conference play (11.8 ppg).
Newman added to a balanced Saints’ roster shooting 47 percent from the field and 69.2 percent from the line – 14th best in the UMAC this season. He also ranked in the top 20 for rebounding (4.8 per game) and was ninth in steals per game (1.4). This season, Newman led the Saints in scoring in four different games and reached double digits on 16 occasions.
In 2015-16, the Saints won just their third regular-season crown under Staniger who claimed the top coaching honor. Under his direction, the Saints finished 13-3 overall and 19-8 in the UMAC – both program-best marks during Staniger’s tenure. The Saints also clinched the No. 1 seed and outright title after winning nine of their last 10 games of the season.
The Saints were one of the top teams in the league across the board scoring an impressive 80.0 ppg in the regular season. They also averaged 40.4 rebounds per game in conference play and a +6.1 rebounding margin. They ranked second in UMAC play for points allowed per game (75.8), 3-point field goal percentage (37.7) and assists per game (16.4).
The remainder of the All-UMAC First Team players also ranked in the top 10 in scoring in conference play averaging at least 14.5 ppg or more. Northwestern senior Michael Carney was a repeat selection after winning Player of the Year in his junior campaign, while Todd Brassow of Martin Luther College repeated as a First Team pick following a season where he scored a league-best 22.8 ppg. Brandyn Frelix of Bethany Lutheran College and CD Douglas of the University of Minnesota Morris were both first-time All-UMAC picks.
The Second Team welcomed back Saints’ senior Andrew Laughlin who earned conference recognition for the third time in his career. After being named Freshman of the Year in 2014-15, Austin VanDerHeyden of Crown College was selected to the Second Team. Brian Lindblom of Wisconsin-Superior, Julius Johnson of St. Scholastica and Kyle Ooms of Northwestern were all honored for the first time.
The Honorable Mention list boasted three repeat selections in the Saints’ Jake Naslund and North Central University’s Cody Martin and Travis Voigt. Crown’s James Brown also earned Honorable Mention after making Second Team a year ago. Joel Cline joined his North Central teammates with his first UMAC postseason honor, while Bryshaun Brown of Northland College and Cody Sprenger of Northwestern also picked up their first UMAC honors.
Douglas, Johnson, Ooms and Sprenger were also selected to the UMAC All-Defensive Team while Minnesota Morris sophomore Tyler Ukkelberg rounded out the fifth spot.
Each year the UMAC recognizes the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represented sportsmanship throughout the entire season. Northwestern earned the honor for the fourth time. Each team also had one representative on the individual sportsmanship award list.
Player of the Year Award* – Zach Schradle, Jr., Wisconsin-Superior
Freshman of the Year Award – Brandon Newman, Fy., St. Scholastica
Coach of the Year Award – David Staniger, St. Scholastica
First-Team UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Todd Brassow |
Sr. |
Martin Luther |
Guard |
Saginaw, Mich./Michigan Lutheran Seminary |
| Michael Carney |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Guard |
Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian |
| CD Douglas |
So. |
Minnesota Morris |
Guard |
Marshall, Minn./Marshall |
| Brandyn Frelix |
Jr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Forward |
Minneapolis, Minn./Robbinsdale Cooper |
| Zach Schradle* |
Jr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Guard |
Clayton, Wis./Clayton |
Second-Team UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Julius Johnson |
Jr. |
St. Scholastica |
Guard |
Minneapolis, Minn./Henry Sibley |
| Andrew Laughlin |
Sr. |
St. Scholastica |
Forward |
Duluth, Minn./Duluth Central |
| Brian Lindblom |
Sr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Forward |
Spooner, Wis./Spooner |
| Kyle Ooms |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Forward |
Hollandale, Minn./Albert Lea |
| Austin VanDerHeyden |
So. |
Crown |
Forward |
Burnsville, Minn./Burnsville |
Honorable Mention UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Bryshaun Brown |
Sr. |
Northland |
Forward |
Buckeye, Ariz./Glendale |
| James Brown |
Jr. |
Crown |
Forward |
Spokane, Wash./East Valley |
| Joel Cline |
So. |
North Central |
Forward |
Green Bay, Wis./Southwest |
| Cody Martin |
Sr. |
North Central |
Guard |
Savage, Minn./Burnsville |
| Jake Naslund |
Sr. |
St. Scholastica |
Guard |
Barnum, Minn./Barnum |
| Cody Sprenger |
Jr. |
Northwestern |
Guard |
Grey Eagle, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle |
| Travis Voigt |
So. |
North Central |
Guard |
Green Bay, Wis./N.E.W. Lutheran |
UMAC All-Defensive Team
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| CD Douglas |
So. |
Minnesota Morris |
Guard |
Marshall, Minn./Marshall |
| Julius Johnson |
Jr. |
St. Scholastica |
Guard |
Minneapolis, Minn./Henry Sibley |
| Kyle Ooms |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Forward |
Hollandale, Minn./Albert Lea |
| Cody Sprenger |
Jr. |
Northwestern |
Guard |
Grey Eagle, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle |
| Tyler Ukkelberg |
So. |
Minnesota Morris |
Guard |
Battle Lake, Minn./Battle Lake |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Northwestern
Bethany Lutheran – Nick Sanborn, Sr., Lakeville, Minn.
Crown – Seth Moan, Jr., Corcoran, Minn.
Martin Luther – JD Uhlhorn, Sr., Scottsdale, Ariz.
Minnesota Morris – Kevin Heysse, Sr., St. Cloud, Minn.
North Central – Isaiah Rustad, Jr., Hudson, Iowa
Northland – Dan Campion, Jr., Sheboygan, Wis.
Northwestern – Cody Sprenger, Jr., Grey Eagle, Minn.
St. Scholastica – Jordan Hughes, Jr., Superior, Wis.
Wisconsin-Superior – Taylor Mattison, Sr., Sturgeon Lake, Minn.