WIAC Men’s Basketball All-Conference and Awards Announced
University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s Logan Pearson was selected the Kwik Trip Player of the Year to top the individuals chosen to the 2024 All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Men’s Basketball Team by the league coaches. In addition, UW-Oshkosh’s Michael Metcalf-Grassman was tabbed the Kwik Trip Newcomer of the Year and UW-Platteville’s Jeff Gard was named the Kwik Trip Coach of the Year.
Pearson secured first team recognition for the second straight year. He ranks second in the conference with 23.4 points per game, third with a .842 free throw percentage, tied for fourth with 6.0 rebounds per contest and a .437 three-point field goal percentage, and tied for fifth with 55 three-point field goals. Pearson has surpassed the 20-point mark in 19 games, including a career-high 38 points against UW-La Crosse on Jan. 27.
Metcalf-Grassman is third in the WIAC with a .539 field goal percentage, tied for fifth with 6.0 rebounds per game and 16th with 12.4 points per contest. A newcomer is defined as a student-athlete who used his first season of participation in men’s basketball this season. Transfers are not eligible unless they didn’t participate in men’s basketball at their previous institution.
UW-Whitewater’s Miles Barnstable and Trevon Chislom were repeat selections on the first team from a season ago. Barnstable also collected Newcomer of the Year recognition.
Gard secured the coaching honor for the third time in his career (2018, 2020) after leading the Pioneers to the 23rd regular-season WIAC championship in program history, as well as their fourth WIAC tournament crown. UW-Platteville owns a 23-4 record and earned a bid into the NCAA Division III tournament. The 23 wins are the most since the 2019-20 campaign.
A five-member All-Defensive Team was selected and an All-Sportsmanship Team was named for individuals that displayed exemplary sportsmanship throughout the season. The All-Sportsmanship Team included one member from each school.
2024 All-WIAC Men’s Basketball Team
Name, School, Year, Position, Hometown (High School)
First Team
Malik Abdul-Wahid, Stevens Point, Junior, Forward, Brookfield, Wis. (Central)
Miles Barnstable, Whitewater, Sophomore, Guard, Sheboygan, Wis. (Howards Grove)
Trevon Chislom, Whitewater, Senior, Forward, McFarland, Wis. (McFarland)
Brody Fox, Stout, Junior, Guard, Mahtomedi, Minn. (Mahtomedi)
Carter Huschka, Eau Claire, Senior, Forward, Farmington, Minn. (Farmington)
Zac Johnson, River Falls, Junior, Guard, River Falls, Wis. (River Falls)
Jack Leifker, River Falls, Sophomore, Center, Blaine, Minn. (Spring Lake Park)
Max Love, Platteville, Sophomore, Forward, St. Charles, Ill. (North)
Michael Metcalf-Grassman, Oshkosh, Freshman, Guard, Shawano/Waukesha, Wis. (Shawano)
JJ Paider, La Crosse, Sophomore, Forward, Neenah, Wis. (Neenah)
Logan Pearson, Platteville, Senior, Forward, Kimberly, Wis. (Kimberly)
Honorable Mention
Delvin Barnstable, Whitewater, Senior, Guard, Sheboygan, Wis. (Lutheran)
Josiah Butler, Stevens Point, Freshman, Guard, Appleton, Wis. (Fox Valley Lutheran)
Dustin Derousseau, La Crosse, Sophomore, Guard, Tomah, Wis. (Tomah)
Will Fuhrmann, La Crosse, Senior, Guard, Reedsburg, Wis. (Reedsburg)
Noah Hanson, River Falls, Senior, Guard, Eau Claire, Wis. (North)
Drew Maloney, Eau Claire, Junior, Guard, St. Charles, Minn. (St. Charles)
Brady Olson, Platteville, Junior, Guard, Cuba City, Wis. (Cuba City)
Ben Probst, Platteville, Senior, Guard, Madison, Wis. (La Follette)
Aidan Shore, Stout, Junior, Center, Sterling, Ill. (Sterling)
All-Defensive Team
Jake Gross, La Crosse, Senior, Guard, Kenosha, Wis. (Tremper)
Marshall Holland, River Falls, Senior, Forward, Coon Rapids, Minn. (Coon Rapids)
Carter Huschka, Eau Claire, Senior, Forward, Farmington, Minn. (Farmington)
Brady Olson, Platteville, Junior, Guard, Cuba City, Wis. (Cuba City)
Aidan Shore, Stout, Junior, Center, Sterling, Ill. (Sterling)
All-Sportsmanship Team
Josh Crubaugh, La Crosse, Sophomore, Forward, New Berlin, Wis. (Eisenhower)
Caden Hoffman, Stout, Senior, Guard, Scottsdale, Ariz. (Rancho Solano Prep)
Logan Ketterhagen, Eau Claire, Junior, Guard, Cedar Grove, Wis. (Cedar Grove-Belgium)
Ryan Peterson, Stevens Point, Senior, Guard, Eagle River, Wis. (Northland Pines)
Will Pytleski, Whitewater, Senior, Forward, Green Bay, Wis. (Southwest)
Jake Reeck, River Falls, Senior, Guard, Winona, Minn. (Winona)
Austin Schaff, Platteville, Senior, Guard, Sussex, Wis. (Kettle Moraine Lutheran)
Quinn Steckbauer, Oshkosh, Senior, Guard, Merrill, Wis. (Merrill)
Kwik Trip Player of the Year: Logan Pearson of Platteville
Kwik Trip Newcomer of the Year: Michael Metcalf-Grassman of Oshkosh
Kwik Trip Coach of the Year: Jeff Gard of Platteville
Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete: Quinn Steckbauer of Oshkosh
UW-OSHKOSH’S STECKBAUER NAMED MAX SPARGER MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHOLAR-ATHLETE
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s Quinn Steckbauer has been named the recipient of the 2024 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Max Sparger Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete Award.
Steckbauer, a senior from Merrill, Wis. (Merrill), is majoring in strength and conditioning with a minor in psychology and maintains a 3.76 grade point average. He is a four-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll and been recognized on UW-Oshkosh’s Dean’s List and Honor Roll numerous semesters.
Steckbauer is a three-year team captain and received All-WIAC honorable mention recognition in 2022 and 2023. He was a member of UW-Oshkosh’s team that advanced to the Elite Eight of the 2023 NCAA Division III Championship. Steckbauer helped the Titans win conference regular-season titles in 2022 and 2023, as well as tournament championships in 2020 and 2022.
In addition to his academic and athletic achievements, Steckbauer works at Target.
Also nominated for this year’s scholar-athlete award were: UW-Platteville’s Brad Nies (Sr., De Pere, Wis./De Pere); UW-River Falls’ Jake Reeck (Sr., Winona, Minn./Winona); UW-Stout’s Caden Hoffman (Sr., Scottsdale, Ariz./Rancho Solano Prep); and UW-Whitewater’s Will Pytleski (Sr., Green Bay, Wis./Southwest).
The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is named after Max Sparger, who served as commissioner of the Wisconsin State University Conference for 22 years from 1971-93. He oversaw the transition of the conference from NAIA to full NCAA membership. Sparger arrived at UW-Stout in 1959 and served the institution in a variety of capacities, including an assistant football and basketball coach, head wrestling coach and head football coach. He served as UW-Stout’s athletics director from 1969-71 and was inducted into the WIAC Hall of Fame in 2012.
In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.50 grade point average. In addition, he must be in his last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years. The award is based on academic achievements, athletics accomplishments and involvement in other campus activities, organizations and community service projects.
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
