Lewis, Truman Garner Major GLVC Men’s Basketball Postseason Awards

3/6/2019 10:00:00 AM

Jeff Smith, Associate Commissioner

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INDIANAPOLIS – Lewis University senior guard Kendale McCullum has been named both the 2018-19 Great Lakes Valley Conference Player and Defensive Player of the Year in men’s basketball, it was announced by the Conference office on Wednesday.  Truman State University redshirt-freshman forward Cade McKnight garnered the GLVC Freshman of the Year award, while Lewis mentor Scott Trost was recognized by his peers as GLVC Coach of the Year.  In addition, 21 student-athletes were picked as All-Conference honorees, 10 representatives were named to the league’s All-Defensive Team, five individuals were selected to the league’s All-Freshman Team, McKendree University earned the GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award, and 14 honorees were recognized as GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award recipients.

McCullum, who is in his first season with the Flyers after playing three years at former GLVC member University of Wisconsin-Parkside, becomes the first player in Conference history to garner two of the league’s top honors in the same season.  The three-time GLVC Player of the Week selection returned to the All-GLVC First Team and GLVC All-Defensive Team accolades for the second time after landing on both as a junior in 2016-17.  In 27 games this season, the Elgin, Illinois native led the GLVC in assists (6.3 per game) and steals (2.8 per game), ranked eighth in scoring (16.1 per game), and was 13th in rebounding (5.5 per game). His numbers also currently place him in the top-10 in NCAA Division II in both in steals (fifth) and assists (10th). He is just the third Flyer to be selected as the GLVC’s top player, joining Monta McGhee in 2003-04 and Larry Tucker in 1981-82.  McCullum also broke the streak of three straight Bellarmine University standouts earning GLVC Defensive Player of the Year since the award was implemented in the 2015-16 season.

McKnight took home top freshman honors after leading all GLVC newcomers in scoring at 13.3 points per game – good for 17th overall in the league. He ranked fifth in the GLVC with a 61.1 field-goal percentage over 27 games this year and led the Bulldogs with 41 total offensive rebounds. The Grinnell, Iowa native closed the year with back-to-back strong performances against a pair of regionally-ranked programs, as he scored 19 against the University of Indianapolis on Feb. 28 before capping his freshman campaign with a 23-point, five-rebound effort against No. 19 Lewis on March 2.  The lone unanimous selection to the GLVC All-Freshman Team, McKnight is the first Truman newcomer to earn GLVC Freshman of the Year.

Trost was recognized by his peers with his first GLVC Coach of the Year honor after his Flyers captured the league’s regular-season championship with a 15-3 record in Conference play.  Their 23-4 record currently has them ranked 15th nationally and first in the NCAA Division II Midwest Region.  Lewis was picked to finish third in the GLVC Preseason Poll and was the only team outside of Bellarmine to garner first-place votes (2).  Trost has now led the Flyers to the postseason in each of his 13 seasons on the sidelines.  Not only did he see an impressive season out of McCullum, but also first-team All-GLVC selection Delaney Blaylock and second-team pick Adam Pischke.  Trost now joins two other Lewis mentors who have won GLVC Coach of the Year a total of five times.  Jim Whitesell was honored back in 2003-04, while Chuck Schwarz was voted as the league’s top coach in 1981-82, 1984-85 and 1985-86.

Of the 21 All-Conference honorees, which this year featured 11 members on the All-GLVC Second Team due to a tie, Bellarmine, Indianapolis, Lewis and University of Southern Indiana tied with three selections each.  Bellarmine senior forward Adam Eberhard was a first-team selection and one of five unanimous picks by the coaches.  His teammates, senior forward Chivarsky Corbett and junior forward Ben Weyer, were both named second-team honorees.  UIndy junior guard Jimmy King was tabbed to the All-GLVC First Team, while senior forward Jesse Kempson and sophomore forward Trevor Lakes represented the Greyhounds as second-team picks.  USI senior guard Alex Stein was a unanimous first-teamer and was followed by junior guard Kobe Caldwell and sophomore forward Emmanuel Little on the All-GLVC Second Team.

Drury University sophomore guard Conley Garrison and Truman State redshirt-junior guard Brodric Thomas were the other two unanimous first-team picks, while Maryville University senior guard Casey Teson, Rockhurst University sophomore guard Curtis Lewis, and William Jewell College senior guard Keith Hayes rounded out the All-GLVC First Team.

The league also recognized McKendree as its annual GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award team recipient, as well as 14 student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees are now eligible to become one of their school’s two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced at the end of the academic year.

A complete list of the 2018-19 GLVC All-Conference teams and postseason honors follows.
 

GLVC Player of the Year:  Kendale McCullum, Sr., G, Lewis GLVC Defensive Player of the Year:  Kendale McCullum, Sr., G, Lewis GLVC Freshman of the Year:  Cade McKnight, C, Truman State GLVC Coach of the Year:  Scott Trost, Lewis

First-Team All-GLVC Adam Eberhard, Sr., G/F, BU # Conley Garrison, So., G, DU # Jimmy King, Jr., G, UINDY Delaney Blaylock, Sr., G, LEWIS Kendale McCullum, Sr., G, LEWIS # Casey Teson, Sr., G, MU Curtis Lewis, So., PG, RU Alex Stein, Sr., G, USI # Brodric Thomas, R-Jr., G, TSU # Keith Hayes, Sr., G, WJC # Unanimous selections *Extra Member Due to Tie

*Second-Team All-GLVC Chivarsky Corbett, Sr., F, BU Ben Weyer, Jr., F, BU Gilwan Nelson, Sr., G/F, UIS Jesse Kempson, Sr., F, UINDY Trevor Lakes, So., F, UINDY Adam Pischke, Jr., G, LEWIS Johnathan Matthews, Sr., G, UMSL Quinton Curry, So., C, RU Kobe Caldwell, Jr., G, USI Emmanuel Little, So., F, USI Cade McKnight, R-Fr., F, TSU

All-Defensive Team Daniel Ramser, Sr., G, BU John Williams, Sr., G, DU Daniel Soetan, Jr., G/F, UIS CJ Hardaway, Sr., G, UINDY Kendale McCullum, Sr., G, LEWIS # Steve Webb, Fr., G, UMSL Connor Evans, Sr., F, RU Jacob Norman, Sr., F, USI Brodric Thomas, R-Jr., G, TSU Eysan Wiley, So., F, WJC

All-Freshman Team Bobby Harvey, G, MU Steve Webb, G, UMSL Nick Volz, F, RU Cade McKnight, F, TSU # Mason Alexander, G WJC

2018-19 James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Team Award 
McKendree
 
2018-19 James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award Sport Honorees
Daniel Ramser, BU
Conley Garrison, DU
Logan Gonce, UIS
Miles Wayer, UINDY
Marco Pettinato, LEWIS
Eugene Jones, MU
Nate Michael, MCK
Brooks Gerrity, S&T
Jason Towery, UMSL
Demetrius Houston, QU
Curtis Lewis, RU
Jacob Norman, USI
Taurin Hughes, TSU
Keith Hayes, WJC