|
|
Past Winners
1998
Michael Nogelo - Williams (MA) College
The all-time leading scorer in the history of Williams College men's basketball, Nogelo was the first ever recipient of the
Jostens Trophy. As a senior, Nogelo averaged more than 21 points and seven rebounds a game. He led his team to a berth in the Division III
national championship round. A double-major in English and Psychology, Nogelo was a part of the Williams College Big Sib program, mentoring
Scott Beattie every Sunday. He also participated in the "Run for a Cure" cancer race, and also held a 3.13 grade point average.
Alicia Moore - Emory (GA) University
Moore, a member of the women's basketball team at Emory University, was awarded the
first ever women's Josten Trophy. Moore finished her illustrious basketball career as Emory's all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocked
shots, and free throws. Off the court, Moore was one of just 15 students at Emory (out of 1,586) to receive the Woddruff Scholarship. She also
worked in the neonatal unit at Egleston Children's Hospital and with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In the classroom, the Biology/Pre-Med major
held down a 3.58 GPA.
1998 Finalists
1999
Kristen Venne, Susquehanna (PA) University
Venne, a two-time All-American selection, finished her collegiate career as the second all-time leading scorer and third
all-time leading rebounder in school history. She accumulated 1,929 college points and 894 rebounds. As a senior she averaged 21.4 points and
9.4 rebounds. In the community, Venne is active in the Shamrock Program to help less fortunate children and volunteers her time at the
Selinsgrove Center for Senior Citizens and Agapeland Pre-School. She graduated from SU with a degree in Psychology and a 3.70 GPA.
Michael Shantz, Hamilton (NY) College
Perhaps the best men's basketball player to ever play at Hamilton, Schantz finished his career with over 2,000 points
and 1,000 rebounds. In his final season at the school, he averaged 25.9 points and 12.6 rebounds per game. He was the school's Male Athlete of
the Year for three consecutive seasons. An economics major with a 3.0 GPA, Shantz was a volunteer a the National Basketball Coaches Association
Dream to Read program and was also a speaker at New Hartford Middle School's Health Day.
1999 Finalists
2000
Alia Fischer, Washington (MO) University
Fischer, a senior and native of Rochester, MN, was named the WBCA National Player of the Year as both a sophomore and junior
and is in contention for the award again this season. She currently averages 16.6 points per game for the Bears, as well as 6.7 rebounds. She is
shooting 57.8 percent from the field this season and for her career has the same mark from the floor. For the third time in her career, Fischer
was named the University Athletic Association (UAA) Player of the Year and holds the Washington University records for most points (1,908),
rebounds (899), and blocked shots (210) in a career. During her sophomore season, Fischer averaged a career-best 20.9 points per game as well as
a personal-high 9.6 rebounds each time out.
Korey Coon, Illinois Wesleyan University
A co-winner of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) “Most Outstanding Player” award this season,
Coon completed the season averaging 22.0 points per game. He finished his career at IWU with three school records. He shot 91.3 percent from the
free throw line in his four-year stay in Bloomington, IL and set an NCAA Division III record by making 70 consecutive free throws. During his
career he also made 245 three-pointers, the most by any IWU player in history. This season he shot an amazing 96.3 percent from the charity
stripe, setting another school mark. No stranger to Salem, Coon was an important part of the 1997 Illinois Wesleyan club that won the
national championship in the Salem Civic Center.
2000 Finalists
2001
Alison Grubbs - Lake Forest (IL) College
Grubbs was named a preseason All-American and is the leading scorer in the Midwest Conference and one of the top 10 scorers
in the nation. Alison has averaged 21.9 points per game this season as well as shooting 44.7% from
the field, 38.9% from behind the arc and 82.8% from the charity stripe. She has been a three time
All-American and a three-time Midwest Conference First Team selection, twice being honored as Player of the Year (1998 and 2000). With a double major in Biology and Secondary Education, she has maintained a 3.7 grade point average. Alison has been an active volunteer for the Soup Kitchen, a major volunteer service commitment for Lake
Forest students, and for Misericordia, a major volunteer service commitment for Lake Forest student-athletes.
David Jannuzzi - Wilkes (PA) University
After returning from a season-ending foot injury just four games into the 1999-00 campaign,
Wilkes’ David Jannuzzi has not missed a beat in leading his team in scoring with 22.0 points per game. He
shoots 86.2% from the free throw line and 53.0% from the field. He leads the entire Middle
Atlantic Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio. David was named an All-American during his junior
year and was also named to the Final Four All-Tournament team in Salem three years ago.
David graduated Magna Cum Laude from Wilkes in 2000 with a 3.64 grade point average as a double major in Psychology
and Elementary Education. After completing his undergraduate work, David has gone on to pursue a
Master’s degree in Educational Development and Strategies, in which program he maintains a 3.83 average.
David has been on the Dean’s List seven of his eight undergraduate semesters, the Middle Atlantic Conference Academic Honor Roll three
years and has been selected to the Executive Directors All-Athletic team.
2001 Finalists
2002
Heather Kile - Swarthmore College
A senior and native of Marlton, N.J., Heather Kile is the all-time
Centennial Conference leader in scoring with 1,965 career points and ranks second in the conference career rebounding category with 1,263 boards
in her four-year career. Heather averaged 18.6 points per game and shot an impressive 50.5% from the field in 2001-02. She also recorded 310 rebounds, 88 assists and 70 steals from her forward/center position. She completed
her career as Swarthmore’s all-time career leader in scoring and rebounding and is the only Centennial Conference player to be named an
all-conference first teamer all four years of her career.
Adam Jones - Buena Vista
Jones led the Beavers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2002 and averaged 19.3 points per game.
He was named the Iowa Conference’s Player of the Week three times in a row and was recognized as the D3hoops.com National Player of the
Week on January 6, 2002. He was named the Iowa Conference Player of the Year in 2001-02, matching the honor he received as a sophomore. He
finished the season leading the conference in three-point field goal percentage shooting 43.2 percent from behind the arc and knocking in 80
treys on the season. He shot an impressive 84.5 percent from the free throw line while recording 60 assists and 27 steals from his guard
position.
2002 Finalists
2003
Whitney Bull - Wilkes University
The
5-11 center completed her college undergraduate education at the Wilkes
Barre, Pa., institution in 3 ½ years while also excelling on the
basketball court. She completed the 2002-03 season ranked third in the
NCAA Division III rebounding category with 13.5 board per game and
averaged an impressive 16.5 points per contest. She surpassed the 1,000
point and 900-rebound career marks and posted a conference leading 19
double-doubles in 24 games. In addition to her basketball prowess, Bull
also is an exceptional tennis player holding the number-one position on
the Wilkes squad and serving as the team captain.
Derek Reich - Chicago
Reich
was tabbed the University Athletic Association (UAA) Player of the Year
for an unprecedented fourth year in a row, completed a senior season full
of excitement, including averaging over 25.4 points per game and scoring
the 2,000th point of his career. He shot an impressive 53
percent from the field, 44% from behind the arc and grabbed an average of
9.2 boards per game. A preseason Division III All-American, Reich was
named the UAA Player of the Week seven times this season and made the
roster of the d3hoops.com Team of the Week on three occasions.
This year’s men’s recipient is Chicago’s Derek Reich. Reich, who was
recently tabbed the University Athletic Association (UAA) Player of the
Year for an unprecedented fourth year in a row, completed a senior season
full of excitement, including averaging over 25.4 points per game and
scoring the 2,000th point of his career. He shot an impressive
53 percent from the field, 44% from behind the arc and grabbed an average
of 9.2 boards per game. A preseason Division III All-American, Reich was
named the UAA Player of the Week seven times this season and made the
roster of the d3hoops.com Team of the Week on three occasions.
2003 Finalists
2004
Kay Mikolajczak - U. Wisconsin-Oshkosh
This
year’s women’s recipient is UW-Oshkosh’s Kay Mikolajczak.
Mikolajczak, who was tabbed a preseason all-America by D3hoops.com,
completed the season with a league-leading, 55.8% field goal accuracy and
7.42 defensive rebounds per game. Her stellar hoop accomplishments
continued with an impressive 17.1ppg average, 9.1 boards per game and 1.25
blocks a contest. For her four-year career, Mikolajczak averaged 13.2ppg
and shot over 55 percent from the field. A two-time Wisconsin
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Player of the Week in 2003-04,
Mikolajczak was named a second team member of the 2004 CoSIDA Academic
All-America College Division Women's Basketball Team, marking the first
time a player from UW-Oshkosh had been so honored.
A native of Franklin, Wis., Mikolajczak graduated with a degree in Biology
and minor in Pre-Physical Therapy. She maintained an astonishing 3.928 GPA
and has been a member of the WIAC’s Scholastic Honor Roll for all four
years. She held the UW-Oshkosh Governor’s Scholarship for being her high
school’s valedictorian and was a member of the UW-Oshkosh Dean’s List
every semester. She also held the Chancellor’s and Brady Corporation
Scholarships.
Kay volunteered numerous hours with the local Special Olympics, Senior Day
Care and served an active role with ADVOCAP and local youth camps and
clinics. She was the university’s Student-Athlete Advisory Board (SAAB)
President and was active with the campus Gender Equity Committee serving
its female student-athlete representative.
Justin
Call - Emory & Henry College
A
senior at Emory & Henry College, Call is a native of Ronda, N.C. A Sporting
News preseason all-America, Call earned numerous conference accolades
during his senior season including the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC)
Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Conference Player of
the Year awards. The 6-3 guard completed the season with a 24.8 point per
game average which ranked him fifth nationally. Besides leading the
conference in scoring, Call was also tops in three-pointers made (76) and
ranked third in the league FT category at 87.2 percent. He became the
eighth individual in school history to score 1,500 career points and only
the third to reach the milestone in three seasons. In three years at
E&H, Call assaulted the conference record book scoring in double
figures 76 of his 80 games played, ranking sixth all-time in E&H
scoring with 1,732 career points (21.7 avg.).
His presence in the classroom is equally as impressive.
As a double major in business and economics, Justin maintained a
3.744 grade point average. He was a member of Sigma Mu National Honor
Society and was recognized on three occasions as a member of the ODAC’s
All-Academic team. Also minoring in Psychology, Call was a 2002-03 third
team CoSIDA Academic All-America, including first team all-district
honors. In addition, he was
named to the 2003-04 first team CoSIDA Academic All-America team.
In terms of community, Justin had a history of service to children
including serving as a Bible School teacher and Recreation Director at his
local church. He served as a motivational speaker for a local youth
basketball camp and helped plan and organize a benefit basketball
tournament for a double lung transplant patient. He has served as an
active leader with a Summer Program for Exceptional Children (SPEC)
sponsored by the Wilkes County (NC) United Way.
2004
Finalists
2005
Tara Rohde - Trinity University (Tx.)
Rohde,
a senior from
Norman
,
Oklahoma
, is a 6-2 center on the Tiger women's basketball squad averaging 16.7
points and 7.4 rebounds per contest this season. She helped her team to an
NCAA bid and sectional appearance, including the Tigers' second conference
title in three years.
She started the
season on the right foot being named a preseason D3hoops.com
all-American. She was twice named the SCAC Player of the Week and scored
her 1,000th career point. The political science and economics major is a
force in the classroom posting an impressive 3.87 GPA at the
San Antonio
, Tx., University. She is a member of Phi Beta
Kappa, the Blue Key National Honor Society and a member of the National
Society of Collegiate Scholars. She was named a third team Verizon
CoSIDA third team all-district all-American in
2003-04. She is active in the community serving as co-captain of the
university mentoring program, member of the student orientation steering
committee and co-founder and columnist for the on-campus newsletter The
Conscience. Her service did not stop at on-campus locations.
Tara
was recently selected as a delegate for the Student Conference on United
States Affairs. As a delegate she attended a conference at
West Point
and participated in roundtable discussions on the challenges of terrorism.
Trinity Director
of Athletics Bob King offers this on
Tara
. "As AD at Trinity, I have not witnessed a more accomplished and
well-rounded student-athlete in 12 years. In the area of academics,
athletics and community/campus involvement,
Tara
not only participated but made a difference to
many peoiple in all of these categories."
Jon-David
Byers - Lebanon Valley
Byers,
a senior from
Westminster
,
Md.
, averaged 22.7 points per game and 4 assists on the season. A Bob Cousy
Collegiate Point Guard of the Year candidate, Byers was a preseason first
team all-America selection on D3Hoops.com and an honorable mention
selection in Street & Smith's. He completed the season tops in
the Commonwealth Conference, garnering the Player of the Year award for a
second consecutive season.
Outside of the
court and classroom, Byers is a leader as well. He is a member of the
Lebanon Valley Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), a team captain
for Relay for Life, a team coordinator in the Kids of Night program run by
the basketball team and is a student coordinator in the Dream to Read
Program. In addition to his contribution to the Flying Dutchmen hoops
squad, Byers has participated on the golf squad as well earning several
athletic/academic awards along the way. A business
administration/accounting major with a 3.85 grade-point average, Byers was
named as the ESPN The Magazine College
Division Men’s Basketball Academic All-America of the Year this season,
becoming
Lebanon
Valley
’s first-ever academic all-America of the year. A third team academic
all-America in both basketball and golf last season, he was named first
team academic all-America this season.He was a
third team Academic All-American in 2003-04 and member of the Middle
Atlantic Corporation's Winter All-Academic Honor Roll in 2002-03 and
2003-04.
Lebanon Valley
President Stephen MacDonald sums it up best. "J.D. Byers has done
everything at this College that one could possibly expect of a young man
with his gifts and ambitions... I cannot imagine a more worthy candidate
for the Jostens Trophy."
2005 Finalists
2006
Meghan Silva - Randolph-Macon College
Silva is a 5-foot-6, senior guard from Glen Allen, Va., who
currently leads the nation in scoring, averaging 23 points each time out
on the floor. In 2005-06, she has led the Yellow Jackets (27-2) to their
third Old Dominion Athletic Conference title in four years and currently
has RMC on a 21-game winning streak heading into NCAA Sectional play
this weekend. For her career, Silva has amassed ODAC records for
career points (2,324), assists (692) and steals (442). She became the
first women’s player to receive ODAC Player-of-the-Year honors on three
different occasions, is a four-time ODAC First-Team member and a
two-time All-American. In the classroom, Silva has earned a 3.69
grade-point average while majoring in Business/Economics at RMC. A
member of the Dean’s List and Randolph-Macon honors program, Silva is a
member of Phi Beta Kappa and serves as the school newspaper’s business
and advertising manager.
Silva gives
back to the community by running basketball clinics and giving
individual instruction for underprivileged children during the summers
as well as volunteering at a local church’s nursery
Chris Braier - Lawrence
University
Braier, a 6-foot-4, senior forward from Wauwatosa, Wisc.,
leads his team in scoring at 15.6 points-per-game as well as pulling
down a team-best 12.4 rebounds each time out this season. He has helped
lead the Vikings to a perfect 25-0 overall record, a Midwest Conference
title and a spot in this weekend’s NCAA Tournament Sectional-Round.
Earlier this season, Braier became the first player in the 85-year
history of the Midwest Conference to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000
rebounds in a career. A three-time Midwest All-Academic selection,
Braier posts a 3.56 grade-point-average while majoring in Biology at
Lawrence. He is a member of the Mortar Board and Lawrence’s Senior
Honor Society. Away from the Lawrence campus, Braier works as a peer
tutor at an elementary school and volunteers at a local Lawrence
Catholic Church and retirement home. He is also actively involved in
coaching various youth basketball teams.
2006 Finalists
2007
Lisa Winkle, Calvin College
A native
of Grand Rapids and a graduate of Grand Rapids South Christian High
School, Winkle was a stalwart for the Calvin women’s basketball team,
averaging 14.7 points and 8.8 rebounds a game over the course of her
career. In addition, Winkle notched double-digits in scoring in 100 of a
possible 114 games in her Calvin career and posted 46 double-double
efforts including 16 double-doubles in 2006-07. A four-time first team
All-MIAA selection, Winkle was named the MIAA’s MVP for the
second-straight year in 2007. Winkle is the only four-time first team
all-conference selection in MIAA women’s basketball history.In the
classroom, Winkle posted a 3.966 grade point average while majoring in
mathematics and secondary education. She has been a three-time ESPN The
Magazine Academic All-District selection and was named to the ESPN The
Magazine Academic All-America second team last year and to the ESPN The
Magazine Academic All-America first this year. She has already accepted
a position as a math teacher at South Christian High School for next
fall. Winkle has also been heavily involved in community service work
while at Calvin. As a Calvin student, she has served as a volunteer
tutor in both the Wyoming Godfrey Lee and Grand Rapids Public School
systems. She has also served as a volunteer boys basketball coach on
Saturday mornings in the Ada Christian Elementary School Pure Play
program and served as a Sunday school teacher at Hillside Community
Church.
Ryan Cain, WPI
WPI’s Cain, a
native of Webster, Mass., played a pivotal role in transforming WPI's
men's basketball team into a regional and national powerhouse. Over his
four-year career, the team had an impressive 89-20 record, won four
straight NEWMAC (New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference)
regular season championships and two NEWMAC tournament titles, and
appeared in the three NCAA Division III championships. Cain, who was
named NEWMAC Player of the Year in 2006-07, became WPI's all-time
leading scorer during the regular season finale on Feb. 17, surpassing
the 1,757-point mark set by Orville Bailey '85. Averaging nearly 20
points per game while shooting over 50 percent from the field (despite
facing constant double teams and special defenses), he finished his WPI
career with 1,813 points. He earned NEWMAC Rookie of the Year accolades
as a freshman, was chosen NEWMAC Player of the Year as a sophomore, and
was named an All-New England by D3Hoops.com and the ECAC as a
junior. Off the court, Cain, a civil and environmental engineering
major, excelled in the classroom and made an impressive mark in the
community. For his required science, technology and society project, he
completed a study of green engineering in the automotive industry. For
his major project, he worked with a team of students to design
affordable manufactured single-family homes for low-income families. The
homes can also be used to provide ready, low-cost housing for families
displaced by natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina. Cain has been
active in a number of community service activities, most notably the Big
Brothers Big Sisters Organization of Central Massachusetts. The men's
team became involved in the program in Cain's freshman year.
2007
Finalists
|
ACADEMICS
