News & Links 1/12/2026 1:00:00 PM MIAC Athletes of the Week - January 12, 2026 BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for basketball and hockey on Monday. Student-athletes from Bethel, Gustavus, St. Catherine, Saint Mary's, St. Olaf, and St. Scholastica 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 winter season, team sports (basketball and hockey) Athletes of the Week will be recognized on Monday afternoons, with individual sports (swimming & diving) announced on Tuesday afternoons. The winners of the latest Athlete of the Week awards are listed below, along with details on their outstanding performances. The MIAC Athlete of the Week archive has complete details on each week's selections and winners. MIAC Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week Blake Schmitz Bethel University Jr. | Guard Hermantown, Minn. / Hermantown Blake Schmitz went 12-for-15 for 36 points in the Royals' 93-81 victory over Carleton on 1/10. Schmitz was 3-for-5 from long range and 9-for-13 from the charity stripe, and added four assists and five steals in the win. Schmitz also logged a 16-point performance in an 85-83 win over Saint Mary's on 1/7. MIAC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week Carson Koch Gustavus Adolphus College Sr. | Guard Woodbury, Minn. / East Ridge Carson Koch led the defensive effort for the Gusties to extend their win streak to 11 games with 15 rebounds and six steals in wins over St. Olaf and Minnesota Morris last week. After collecting seven boards and three steals in a victory over the Oles on 1/7, Koch posted eight rebounds, three steals, and two blocked shots against the Cougars, helping Gustavus match the single-game program record for steals with 18 in the win. MIAC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week Brianna Nusbaum Saint Mary's University So. | Guard Spring Lake Park, Minn. / Spring Lake Park Brianna Nusbaum scored 30 points in the Cardinals' one-point loss to nationally-ranked Bethel on 1/7. Nusbaum was 11-for-22 in her second 30-point effort of the season, while knocking down 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. Nusbaum added 13 more points to go along with four steals in the Cardinals' upset victory over nationally-ranked Concordia on 1/10. MIAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week Colette Duininck Bethel University Sr. | Guard Prinsburg, Minn. / Central Minnesota Christian Colette Duininck collected 11 steals to help the Royals earn a pair of conference wins over Saint Mary's and Carleton last week. Duininck logged six steals in a 70-69 win over the Cardinals on 1/7 and swiped another five against the Knights in a 62-55 decision on 1/10. She also contributed 12 assists and five rebounds for the week. MIAC Men's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week Wilmer Svensson Gustavus Adolphus College Sr. | Forward Stockholm, Sweden / Kunskapsgymnasiet Wilmer Svensson scored twice in the Gusties' 5-4 overtime win against Saint Mary's on 1/9, scoring a go-ahead, power-play goal in the second period before punching in the game-winner 65 seconds into the extra frame. It was his second game-winning goal in overtime this season. Svensson also contributed an assist in the Gusties' 5-3 series-sweeping victory over the Cardinals on 1/10. MIAC Men's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week Ryan Nolan St. Olaf College Fy. | Goaltender Hampton, N.H. / Holderness School Ryan Nolan stopped 29-of-30 shots for a save percentage of .967 in the Oles' win over Hamline on 1/10. Nolan recorded at least nine saves in each period of the 9-1 victory. MIAC Women's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week Ana Myers St. Catherine University So. | Forward Lino Lakes, Minn. / Gentry Ana Myers enjoyed a career week thanks to a five-goal, six-point performance in the Wildcats' victory over Lawrence on 1/9. Myers tallied a hat trick - the third of her collegiate career - by the end of the first period, before adding one more goal in each of the next two frames of the team's 7-2 win. Her first two goals of the game came on power play opportunities. She was also credited with an assist on the Wildcats' first goal of the third period, and added another helper in the team's 2-0 series-clinching win on 1/10. MIAC Women's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week Makenzie Cole The College of St. Scholastica Sr. | Goaltender Cohasset, Minn. / Grand Rapids Makenzie Cole backstopped the Saints to a weekend sweep of nationally-ranked St. Norbert on 1/9-10. Cole faced 83 total shots and stopped 82 of them, including a season-high 44 in a 3-1 win over the Green Knights on 1/9. Twelve of Cole's 44 saves came during the Saints' six minutes of penalty-kill time. Cole went on to record 38 saves for a 1-0 win and her second shutout of the season.