BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for baseball, softball, and tennis on Monday. Student-athletes from Augsburg, Bethel, Gustavus, Hamline, and Saint John's claimed the Conference's weekly honors.
The MIAC Athlete of the Week awards are nominated by the Conference's sports information directors and selected by MIAC staff. Throughout the spring season, team sports (baseball, softball, and tennis) Athletes of the Week will be recognized on Monday afternoons, with individual sports (golf and indoor track & field) announced on Tuesday afternoons. The winners of the latest Athlete of the Week awards are listed below, along with details on their outstanding performances.
To view each sport's 2023-24 Athlete of the Week home page, navigate to the 2023-24 Athlete of the Week archive for complete details on each week's selections and winners.
MIAC Baseball Player of the Week
Isaac Becker
Gustavus Adolphus College
Jr. | Outfield
Columbia Heights, Minn.
Isaac Becker hit a double, triple, and a home run as the Gusties swept Northwestern-St. Paul in its season-opening doubleheader on 2/26, winning 12-2 and 22-2. Starting in left field both games, Becker hit 3-for-4 with six runs batted in, highlighted by a three-run homer, and walked twice. Becker slugged at 2.250 with an OPS of 3.083 in the doubleheader.
MIAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week
Kody Dalen
Saint John's University
Sr. | Right-handed Pitcher
Carver, Minn. | Chanhassen
Kody Dalen pitched 10 scoreless innings across two starts with a 0.152 opponent batting average (5-for-33) and 12 strikeouts for the Johnnies last week. Dalen allowed one hit and struck out eight over four innings in a no-decision on 2/26 against UW-Superior and followed that with his first win of the season on 3/3 against Otterbein. Dalen allowed four hits and struck out four Cardinals over six innings for the victory, the 13th of his career.
MIAC Softball Player of the Week
Kayla Hokanson
Bethel University
Gr. | Second Base
Hutchinson, Minn.
Kayla Hokanson led the Royals to a 3-1 week at the NFCA Division III Classic hitting 0.500 with a 0.786 slugging percentage and 0.500 on-base percentage. Hokanson drove in the game-winning run in the Royals' season-opening 2-1 win over Piedmont on 3/2 before going 2-for-4 with two RBI and a home run in a 9-4 loss to Wartburg later in the day. On 3/3, she helped Bethel to a 4-3 win over nationally-ranked Moravian by putting BU on the board in the fifth with an RBI single. Hokanson then went 2-for-3 one game later in a 3-2 win over nationally-ranked Central.
MIAC Softball Pitcher of the Week
Morgann Paaske
Augsburg University
Jr. | Pitcher
Crystal Lake, Ill. | Central
Morgann Paaske made her Auggie debut last week, going 3-0 with a 0.70 earned-run average in three complete games, striking out 20 against nine walks and 13 hits allowed. Paaske struck out eight against two walks and three hits in a 4-0 win over Northland on 2/27. On 3/1, she had six strikeouts against two walks and four hits in a six-inning win over Crown before logging six more Ks against five walks and six hits in an 8-2 win over Martin Luther on 3/2.
MIAC Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week
Elijah Krause
Hamline University
Sr.
Waukesha, Wis. | Catholic Memorial
Elijah Krause picked up an 8-6 win at No. 1 doubles before logging a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 4 singles to help the Pipers secure a 5-4 team win over St. Olaf on 3/3. It was Hamline's first team victory over the Oles in seven seasons.
MIAC Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week
Kaya De Bruijn
Gustavus Adolphus College
So.
Maasland, Netherlands | Stedelijk Gymnasium
Kaya De Bruijn went 3-1 over the weekend against Division II Sioux Falls and Division I Northern Iowa. De Bruijn won at No. 2 doubles (8-5) and No. 3 singles (6-1, 6-3) against USF on 3/2 before accounting for the Gusties' only point against UNI with a 6-2, 4-6, 10-1 win at No. 4 singles.