ST. PAUL--Bethany Lutheran led all institutions with four players selected to one of the three all-conference lists and grabbed the other two major awards, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced Tuesday. Riley Ashburn was selected as the Rookie of the Year, while Jared Milinkovich earned the inaugural Defensive Player of the Year award.
Bethany Lutheran was among the top defensive teams in the conference which led to its tie for the runner-up spot in the standings at 9-5. Leading the defensive efforts was senior Milinkovich who was the favorite of the coaches for the first-ever Defensive Player of the Year award. Milinkovich led a Viking defense that forced 14.1 turnovers per game against UMAC teams. The Vikings also were first in blocks per game (3.9) and defensive rebounds (33.3 rpg) and second in steals per game (7.9 spg). Milinkovich averaged 1.1 spg and 0.4 bpg in UMAC play. He also averaged 4.7 rebounds per game.
While Milinkovich provided senior leadership, Ashburn is a rising star for the Vikings. The rookie was 10th in the UMAC in rebounding (5.8 rpg) to lead all first-year players. He also added 6.8 ppg and shot 50 percent from the field. He scored in double figures on three occasions and tallied his first collegiate double double on Feb. 4 against Northland College scoring 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Milinkovich headlined a short list of just five players that have been named to one of the three All-UMAC lists three times in their careers. Alm and Brian Smith of the Vikings are the only two of the four to have been selected First-team this season and in 2020-21. Micah Filer (North Central University) and Cire Mayfield (Bethany Lutheran) also join the elite group earning three honors in the last four seasons.
Five other players have been selected to one of the three All-UMAC squads in their careers including Jordan Brennan (Northland), Kyle Kaemingk (Northwestern), Hunter Nielsen (Bethany Lutheran), Seth Royston (Crown) and Eli Vogel (University of Wisconsin-Superior).
Player of the Year Award* – Noah Alm, Sr., Northwestern
Defensive Player of the Year Award% – Jared Milinkovich, Sr., Bethany Lutheran
Rookie of the Year Award# – Riley Ashburn, Fy., Bethany Lutheran
Coach of the Year Award – Tim Grosz, Northwestern
First-Team UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Noah Alm* |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Guard |
Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake |
| Cade Carroll |
Jr. |
Crown |
Guard |
Buena Vista, Colo./Buena Vista |
| Justin Castro |
Sr. |
North Central |
Guard |
Kissimmee, Fla./Gateway |
| Micah Filer |
Sr. |
North Central |
Guard |
Sacramento, Calif./Capital Christian |
| Brian Smith |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Guard |
Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park |
Second-Team UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Jordan Brennan |
Jr. |
Northland |
Guard |
Ashland, Wis./Ashland |
| Noah Kannegiesser |
Jr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Guard |
Hancock, Minn./Hancock |
| Kyle Kaemingk |
Jr. |
Northwestern |
Forward |
Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy |
| Hunter Nielsen |
Jr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Forward |
New Prague, Minn./New Prague |
| Xavier Patterson |
So. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Guard |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
Honorable Mention UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Henry Fahnbulleh |
So. |
Northwestern |
Forward |
Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove |
| Jack Heichelbech |
Sr. |
Martin Luther |
Forward |
Pewaukee, Wis./Luther Prep |
| Cire Mayfield |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Guard |
St. Louis Park, Minn./St. Louis Park |
| Jared Milinkovich |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Guard |
New Prague, Minn./New Prague |
| Seth Royston |
Sr. |
Crown |
Forward |
Leroy, Minn. |
| Jacob Van Dam |
So. |
Crown |
Guard |
Edgerton, Minn./Southwest Minnesota Christian |
| Eli Vogel |
Jr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Guard |
Appleton, Wis./Appleton West |
UMAC All-Defensive Team
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Mason Ackley |
Jr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Guard |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Justin Castro |
Sr. |
North Central |
Guard |
Kissimmee, Fla./Gateway |
| Henry Fahnbulleh |
So. |
Northwestern |
Forward |
Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove |
| Jared Milinkovich% |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Guard |
New Prague, Minn./New Prague |
| Seth Royston |
Sr. |
Crown |
Forward |
Leroy, Minn. |
| Harley Shear |
Sr. |
Northland |
Guard |
Iowa City, Iowa/West |
| Caleb Waldeck |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Guard |
Newhall, Calif./Hart |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Martin Luther
Bethany Lutheran – Jacob Milinkovich, Sr., New Prague, Minn./New Prague
Crown – Seth Royston, Sr., Leroy, Minn.
Martin Luther – Jacob Price, Sr., Weston, Wis./Northland Lutheran
Minnesota Morris – James Pendleton, Sr., Redwood Falls, Minn./Redwood Valley
North Central – Eddie Speller, Jr., Fy., Monument, Colo./Lewis-Palmer
Northland – Kade Panich, So., Wautoma, Wis./Wautoma
Northwestern – Caleb Hoilien, So., Minneapolis, Minn./Hope Academy
Wisconsin-Superior – Carter Brown, Sr., Eau Claire, Wis./Regis Catholic
