INDIANAPOLIS – Upper Iowa University graduate guard Jake Hilmer, McKendree University senior guard/forward Caleb Zurliene, Truman State University freshman guard Kobi Williams, and Truman head coach Jeff Horner have earned major postseason honors for the 2023-24 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Men’s Basketball season, the league office announced on Wednesday.
Hilmer was named Player of the Year, Zurliene earned Defensive Player of the Year, Williams garnered Freshman of the Year, and Horner was dubbed Coach of the Year by his peers. In total, 20 student-athletes claimed All-Conference honors, 10 earned All-Defensive Team honors, five were named to the All-Freshman team, while 14 were chosen as GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship honorees for the sport.
The All-Conference awards are nominated and voted on by league coaches, who, per GLVC Bylaws, are not permitted to vote for their own players.
Player of the Year: Jake Hilmer, Graduate, Guard, Upper Iowa
- Wins first-ever major award in any sport for Upper Iowa in school’s first year of league membership.
- Led league overall (24.0) and in GLVC-only games (22.5) for points per game and was second in free throw percentage overall (.896; 180-of-201) and in GLVC contests (.893; 125-of-140).
- Was fourth overall and in GLVC-only games with 4.3 assists per game, while second overall (2.1) and fifth in GLVC contests (1.8) for assist-turnover ratio.
- Ranked fifth in the loop for overall (1.8) and GLVC-only (1.9) steals per game.
- Sits third in NCAA Division II for points per game and fourth for total points (672).
- Started all 28 games played.
- Registered second-most doubles-doubles among league players with eight.
- Scored in double figures all but one game this season, including a season-high 39 against Michigan Tech Nov. 12, which was the second-highest single-game mark on the year and owns the second through sixth place spots for single-game high scoring.
- Made a game-high 17 field goals against Concordia-St. Paul Nov. 26 to top the GLVC on the year.
- Tabbed to Trevor Hudgins Top 15 Watch List
- Named GLVC Player of the Week on Nov. 13 and Jan. 29.
- Helped Peacocks to second seed in GLVC Tournament.
- One of just two unanimous selections on the All-GLVC First Team.
Defensive Player of the Year: Caleb Zurliene, Senior, Guard/Forward, McKendree
- Becomes McKendree’s first Defensive Player of the Year and just second major award winner in the sport after Bryson Bultman was named GLVC Freshman of the Year in 2020.
- Led league in overall (75; 2.8) and GLVC-only games (54; 2.78) for total blocks and blocks per game.
- Tied with the second-most single-game blocks (six) at both Rockhurst Nov. 30 and Southwest Baptist Feb. 15.
- Tied for fourth in NCAA D-II in total blocks and blocks per game.
- Helped McKendree rank second in the loop with 4.33 blocks per game overall and 3.85 in GLVC contests.
- Added 20 steals on the season, including 15 in GLVC games.
- Started all 27 games played, averaging 31.0 minutes of action overall and 32.1 in league competition.
- Averaged 13.6 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game, shooting .534 from the field and .850 from the foul line.
- Named GLVC Player of the Week on Jan. 24.
- Named to All-GLVC Second Team and All-Defensive Team.
Freshman of the Year: Kobi Williams, Guard, Truman State
- Wins Truman’s third Freshman of the Year award in the last six years after Cade McKnight won in 2019 and Masen Miller in 2021.
- Led GLVC freshmen in Conference games with 12.30 points per game, 246 total points, 25 steals, .700 free throw percentage, 83 free throws attempted, 58 free throws made, .420 three-point field goal percentage, 90 three-pointers attempted, 38 three-pointers made, 164 field goals attempted, 75 field goals made, and 527 minutes.
- Averaged 26.21 minutes overall and 26.35 minutes in Conference action, starting all 28 games.
- Shot .438 from the field, .418 from three, and .759 from the foul line during the season with 53 assists, 32 steals, and 11 blocks.
- Named to All-Freshman Team.
Coach of the Year: Jeff Horner, Truman State
- Voted by his peers as Coach of the Year for the second time in his career, following the first in 2021.
- Led Truman to a 15-13 overall record and 12-8 GLVC mark in his sixth season.
- Boasted most overall assists per game (16.39) and free throw percentage (.781), while second in three-point field goals made (10.9) and three-points field goal percentage (.397).
- Ranked first in GLVC-only games for assists per game (15.80), assist-turnover ratio (1.68), and free throw percentage (.769), while second in three-point field goals made (10.8) and three-points field goal percentage (.396).
- Directed Bulldogs to the 4-seed in this week’s GLVC Tournament after being picked 14th in the preseason coaches’ poll.
- In addition to guiding Williams to his major award and a spot on the All-Freshman Team, he mentored sophomore guard Xavier Hall and junior guard Trey Shearer to the All-GLVC Second Team, as well as Hall to the All-Defensive Team.
Joining Hilmer and Zurliene on the First Team was the only other unanimous selection in McKendree junior forward Milos Vicentic while Hilmer’s teammate, sophomore guard Noah King, was also chosen. University of Illinois Springfield junior guard Jordan Rice, along with University of Indianapolis senior guard Jesse Bingham and senior center Kendrick Tchoua made the list, while Lewis University junior guard Beau Frericks and University of Missouri-St. Louis sophomore guard Matt Enright both landed on the First Team. Completing the 10-member team was a pair from William Jewell College – senior guard Jordan Jermain and fifth-year guard Kobe McKinley.
William Jewell earned the sport’s GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Team Award, while 14 student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior were also recognized. These individuals must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees from full-time GLVC member institutions 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 2023-24 All-GLVC teams and postseason honors can be found below.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jake Hilmer, Gr., G, Upper Iowa
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Caleb Zurliene, Sr., G/F, McKendree
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Kobi Williams, G, Truman State
COACH OF THE YEAR: Jeff Horner, Truman State
FIRST TEAM
Jordan Rice, Jr., G, UIS
Jesse Bingham, Sr., G, UINDY
Kendrick Tchoua, Sr., C, UINDY
Beau Frericks, Jr., G, LEWIS
Milos Vicentic, Jr., F, MCK #
Matt Enright, So., G, UMSL
Jake Hilmer, Gr., G, UIU #
Noah King, So., G, UIU
Jordan Jermain, Sr., G, WJC
Kobe McKinley, 5th-Yr., G, WJC |
SECOND TEAM
Logan Applegate, So., G, DU
Jacob Hanna, Jr., G, UIS
Jack Weber, Jr., F, UIS
Paul Zilinskas, Jr., F, UINDY
Caleb Zurliene, Sr., G/F, MCK
Ikenna Okeke, Sr., F, S&T
Zion Richardson, Sr., G, QU
Timaris Brown, So., F, RU
Xavier Hall, So., G, TSU
Trey Shearer, Jr., G, TSU |
# Unanimous Selection
ALL-DEFENSIVE
Brock Wakefield, Jr., G, DU
Jacob Hanna, Jr., G, UIS
Jesse Bingham, Sr., G, UINDY
Kendrick Tchoua, Sr., C, UINDY
Gary Solomon, Sr., G, LEWIS
Caleb Zurliene, Sr., G/F, MCK
Xavier Hall, So., G, TSU
Kyle Hrncir, Fr., F, UIU
Kobe McKinley, 5th-Yr., G, WJC
Trey Shannon, 5th-Yr., F, WJC |
ALL-FRESHMAN
Juok Riak, F, DU
Ryan Renfro, F, LEWIS
Brian Hawthorne, G, RU
Kobi Williams, G, TSU
Kyle Hrncir, F, UIU
|
GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD HONOREES
Luke Stubbs, DU
Jason Bergstrom, UIS
Josiah Tynes, UINDY
Ryan Renfro, LEWIS
Luke Williams, MU
Joey Niesman, MCK
Micah Johnson, S&T
Matt Enright, UMSL
Mason Wujek, QU
Miles White, RU
Drew McMillin, SBU
Casen Lawrence, TSU
Caleb Delzell, UIU
Mawutor Nogoson, WJC
GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD TEAM WINNER
William Jewell