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MIAC Athletes of the Week - January 26, 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 Augsburg, Bethel, Gustavus, Hamline, Saint Mary's, and St. Olaf 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
Eli Wolff
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr. | Guard
Adams, Minn. / Southland
 
Eli Wolff scored a career-high 30 points while shooting 9-for-11 (81.8 percent) from three-point range to power the Gusties to a 101-88 victory over Augsburg on 1/24. Wolff entered that game on the heels of having scored 14 points in 19 minutes in a win versus St. Scholastica on 1/21. Wolff shot 64 percent from the floor and 68 percent from long range for the week.
 
MIAC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
JJ Semanko
Augsburg University
Fy. | Guard
New Hope, Minn. / Hopkins
 
JJ Semanko recorded a 27-point, 14-rebound double-double to go along with three steals in the Auggies' home win against Hamline on 1/21 before collecting seven boards, one steal, a block, and 18 points in a loss to nationally-ranked Gustavus on 1/24. Semanko averaged 22.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in the split, while shooting 60 percent (15-for-25) from the floor, 50 percent (4-for-8) from beyond the arc, and 92 percent (11-for-12) from the free-throw line.

MIAC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Ella Peters
Gustavus Adolphus College
Jr. | Forward
River Falls, Wis. / River Falls
 
Ella Peters scored the most points in any MIAC women's basketball game this season with a 33-point performance in the Gusties' win over St. Scholastica on 11/21. Peters caught fire early, scoring 21 points in the first 13 minutes of the game. She also added 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Peters hit double figures again with 14 points in 25 minutes of play in a win at Augsburg on 1/24.
 
MIAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Emily Erickson
Bethel University
Jr. | Forward
Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes
 
Emily Erickson averaged 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game in a pair of conference victories for the Royals last week. Erickson tallied a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double with three blocks and a steal in a win at Saint Benedict on 1/21 before accumulating 23 points, five boards, two blocks, and a steal in a critical six-point win against Concordia on 1/24.

MIAC Men's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Joona Juntunen
Saint Mary's University
So. | Forward
Hyvinkää, Finland
 
Joona Juntunen factored into the scoring in both of the Cardinals' contests against Saint John's on 1/22 and 1/24. After assisting on the Cardinals' opening goal of the game, Juntunen scored a go-ahead goal in what became an eventual 2-2 tie on 1/22. Juntunen followed that up with a two-goal performance on 1/24, scoring on a power play before tallying an insurance goal in a 3-1 road victory.
 
MIAC Men's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Cade Chapman
Hamline University
Fy. | Goaltender
Rogers, Minn. / Rogers
 
Cade Chapman made two starts for the Pipers in their weekend series with Augsburg on 1/23-24. Chapman made 34 saves in regulation and overtime of a 2-2 tie on 1/23 before making a critical stop in a 3-1 shootout win to earn Hamline an extra point in the conference standings. He returned to the lineup on 1/24 and recorded a 29-save shutout, the first of his collegiate career, in a 2-0 win.

MIAC Women's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Aunna Schulte
Augsburg University
So. | Forward
Bolingbrook, Ill. / Plainfield East

Aunna Schulte scored one goal and assisted on four others, figuring into all five Auggie goals in a split weekend against nationally-ranked Hamline. Schulte scored on a power play and added an assist in a 6-2 loss at Hamline on 1/23 before tallying a career-best three assists in a 3-2 overtime win at home on 1/25. 

MIAC Women's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week 
Baylyn Shankman
St. Olaf College
So. | Goaltender
Bedminster, N.J. / Bernards
 
Baylyn Shankman stopped all 40 shots she faced in the Oles' 1-0 win at Concordia on 1/23. Shankman made 14 saves in the first and third periods, along with 12 in the second, to earn her first shutout of the season. Shankman's 40 saves are the most by a MIAC women's hockey goaltender in a shutout effort this season.