MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) has announced its major award winners and all-conference teams for the 2022-2023 men's basketball season.
Wisconsin Lutheran College junior forward
Ryan Broeckel (Chilton, Wis.) was named NACC Player of the Year, while St. Norbert College senior guard
Michael Payant (Pewaukee, Wis.) was named NACC Defensive Player of the Year and Benedictine University forward
Andrew Stokes (Westchester, Ill.) was named NACC Freshman of the Year.
Additionally, the coaching staff at Wisconsin Lutheran College was recognized by their peers as the NACC Coaching Staff of the Year.
All honors are selected by a vote of the league's head men's basketball coaches.
NACC Player of the Year --- Ryan Broeckel, jr., F, Wisconsin Lutheran College
Broeckel played in all 27 games for the Warriors this season, averaging 17.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game while leading WLC to a share of the NACC title. He also posted 59 assists, 44 blocked shots, and 38 steals. Broeckel ranked second in the league in blocks and third in scoring (478), scoring average, total rebounds (237), rebounding average, field goal attempts (352), field goals made (183), blocks per game (1.63), and double-doubles (10). He was also fourth in the NACC in both free throws (94) and free throw attempts (134).
Broeckel failed to reach double figures in scoring just twice this season, reaching the 20-point plateau on 10 occasions. He also had 10 games with double-digit rebounds and recorded at least one blocked shot in 21 of 27 games. Broeckel's best statistical game of the year came in late November when he scored 37 points on 16-of-28 shooting from the floor and pulled down a career-high 20 rebounds in an 88-73 home win over Concordia Wisconsin.
Broeckel joins current WLC assistant coach Andrew Bruggink (2020) in the league's annals as NACC Men's Basketball Players of the Year hailing from Wisconsin Lutheran.
NACC Defensive Player of the Year --- Michael Payant, sr., G, St. Norbert College
Payant has played in all 26 of St. Norbert's games this season, leading the Green Knights to a share of the NACC regular-season title as well as the NACC Tournament crown and a berth in the NCAA Division III Championship. He leads the team in scoring (11.9 ppg), rebounding (7.7 rpg), assists (76), and steals (57), and also sits second on the team in 3-point field goals (36) and third in blocked shots (12).
Amongst league leaders, Payant is second only to Dominican's Joshua West in steals and steals per game (2.19), while ranking fourth in rebounds, defensive rebounding average (6.77) and double-doubles (6), fifth in free throws (90), sixth in free throw attempts (114) and free throw percentage (78.9), and eighth in overall rebounding average (7.7). He reached double figures in scoring 16 times, recording a season-best 23 on two occasions - Dec. 3 against Aurora and Feb. 18 at Edgewood.
Payant is the second St. Norbert student-athlete to receive a NACC major award in men's basketball. Parker Lawrence was named last year's NACC Freshman of the Year.
NACC Freshman of the Year --- Andrew Stokes, F, Benedictine University
Stokes played in all 26 games for Benedictine, leading the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game while shooting 54.9 percent (151-of-275) from the field. He also averaged 6.12 rebounds per game and dished out a total of 29 assists. Stokes' shooting percentage ranked fifth amongst NACC players.
Stokes reached double figures in scoring 21 times, hitting the 20-point plateau on five occasions including a season-best 28 in a five-point loss to NCAA Tournament qualifier North Park on New Year's Eve. He finished the year with six double-doubles.
Stokes is the fifth Benedictine student-athlete to be named NACC Men's Basketball Freshman of the Year, joining Dan Klecan (2007), Michael Blaszczyk (2014) and current teammates Trevor Montiel (2021-South) and Nick Kosich (2020).
NACC Coaching Staff of the Year --- Wisconsin Lutheran College (Aaron Aanonsen, head coach)
Wisconsin Lutheran, led by sixth-year head coach
Aaron Aanonsen, finished the year 19-8 overall and tied St. Norbert for the NACC regular-season title with a 14-3 mark in league play. It was the third NACC title in the last four years for the Warriors.
WLC ranked second in the conference in scoring offense (82.48 points per game) and third in scoring defense (70.74 ppg), equating to a league-best scoring margin (+11.74). The Warriors were very active on the defensive end of the floor, leading the NACC in both steals (245) and turnover margin (+5.19). Offensively, no one in the conference made more 3-pointers than Wisconsin Lutheran (258), which drained nearly 10 per game (9.56).
Aanonsen is assisted by
Evan Sizemore,
Donavin Robbins, and
Andrew Bruggink.
This is the third time in four seasons that Aanonsen or an Aanonsen-led staff has received the league's top coaching honor from their peers (2020, 2021-North).
All-Conference Teams Announced
Nine of the NACC's 13 men's basketball programs are represented on the 15-member all-conference teams, with two players each from Benedictine, Illinois Tech, Marian, Rockford, St. Norbert, and Wisconsin Lutheran receiving honors. Marian and Wisconsin Lutheran both had two players selected to the 10-person first team, while the remainder had their selections split between the first team and the second team. Edgewood and MSOE landed their lone selection on the All-NACC First Team, while Concordia Wisconsin had one player named to the All-NACC Second Team.
| 2022-2023 All-NACC Men's Basketball Team |
| Player of the Year - Ryan Broeckel, Wisconsin Lutheran College |
| Defensive Player of the Year - Michael Payant, St. Norbert College |
| Freshman of the Year - Andrew Stokes, Benedictine University |
| Coaching Staff of the Year - Wisconsin Lutheran College (Aaron Aanonsen, head coach) |
|
| First Team |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Andrew Stokes |
Benedictine |
Fr. |
F |
Westchester, Ill. |
| Jake Schroeckenthaler |
Edgewood |
Sr. |
F |
Cottage Grove, Wis. |
| Milos Dugalic |
Illinois Tech |
Sr. |
F |
Des Plaines, Ill. |
| David Britton |
Marian |
Sr. |
G |
Hartford, Wis. |
| Tyler Gouin |
Marian |
Sr. |
G |
Hartland, Wis. |
| Mason Dopirak |
MSOE |
Fr. |
G |
Newton, Wis. |
| Micah Swanson |
Rockford |
Jr. |
F |
DeSoto, Texas |
| Michael Payant |
St. Norbert |
Sr. |
G |
Pewaukee, Wis. |
| Ryan Broeckel |
Wisconsin Lutheran |
Jr. |
F |
Chilton, Wis. |
| Grayson Goetz |
Wisconsin Lutheran |
Jr. |
G |
Aurora, Ill. |
| Second Team |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Trevor Montiel |
Benedictine |
Jr. |
F |
Roselle, Ill. |
| Jared Jurss |
Concordia Wisconsin |
Sr. |
G |
Sheboygan, Wis. |
| Otis Reale |
Illinois Tech |
Sr. |
G |
Rome, Italy |
| Kevin Diemer |
Rockford |
Jr. |
F |
Rockford, Ill. |
| Evan Glaser |
St. Norbert |
Jr. |
F |
Menasha, Wis. |
| Honorable Mention |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Cam Jaeger |
Lakeland |
Jr. |
G |
Oostburg, Wis. |