News & Links 11/9/2026 1:00:00 PM MIAC Athletes of the Week - November 9, 2026 FARMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for football, volleyball, basketball, and hockey on Monday. Student-athletes from Augsburg, Bethel, Concordia, Gustavus, Hamline, Saint Benedict, St. Catherine, Saint John'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. Transitioning to the winter season, team sports (football, volleyball, 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 Football Offensive Player of the Week Nick Walter Concordia College Jr. | Quarterback Annandale, Minn. / Annandale Nick Walter completed 15-of-18 for 288 yards and four touchdowns in the Cobbers' victory over Macalester on 11/7. Walter also rushed for a touchdown in the game, setting a new program record for combined passing (23) and rushing (12) touchdowns in a single season with 35 this fall. MIAC Football Defensive Player of the Week Drew Kretlow Gustavus Adolphus College Sr. | Linebacker Owatonna, Minn. / Owatonna Drew Kretlow led the Gusties in a 23-0 shutout win over Augsburg on 11/7 with 13 total tackles (10 solo), five tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles, and a quarterback hurry. Kretlow was part of a Gustie defensive front that set a program record with 10 sacks against the Auggies. Kretlow logged two sacks and a forced fumble - that was returned for a Gustavus touchdown - on a single drive late in the first quarter. He went on to wreck another drive in the third quarter with back-to-back short-yardage stops, followed by a forced fumble on a rush up the middle to give the ball back to the Gustie offense. MIAC Football Special Teams Player of the Week Alec Mahoney St. Olaf College Jr. | Safety Mahtomedi, Minn. / Mahtomedi Alec Mahoney returned two kickoffs for 70 yards and ran a blocked extra point back 94 yards for two points in the Oles' 43-26 win at Hamline on 11/7. The junior returned a kickoff 53 yards to the Hamline 37-yard line to set up a touchdown in the second quarter before running a blocked PAT back nearly the length of the field in the fourth quarter. MIAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week Logan Brent Gustavus Adolphus College Jr. | Outside Hitter Ramsey, Minn. / Anoka Logan Brent led the Gusties to a 3-0 week, with victories over Northwestern (11/4), Concordia (11/6), and Hamline (11/7) to secure a home match in the MIAC Playoffs. Brent totaled 50 kills (4.55 per set) on .248 hitting while also recording 29 digs (2.64 per set) for the week. Brent led the way with 16 kills, a service ace, and eight digs in a 3-1 road win over nationally ranked Northwestern. She then had 15 kills and two aces with 10 digs in a 3-1 win over Concordia. Brent closed the week with a 19-kill, 11-dig performance on .452 hitting to sweep Hamline in the regular-season finale. MIAC Volleyball Specialty Player of the Week Izzy Torve College of Saint Benedict Jr. | Setter Loretto, Minn. / Orono Izzy Torve totaled 24 digs (4.00 per set), 30 assists (5.00 per set), two kills, and an ace in a 1-1 week for the Bennies. Torve opened the week with 10 digs and 10 assists at Bethel on 11/4 and posted a second double-double performance with 20 assists and 14 digs in a sweep of Carleton on 11/7 to secure a home playoff match for CSB. MIAC Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week Myles Barnette Gustavus Adolphus College Sr. | Guard Maple Grove, Minn. / Wayzata Myles Barnette led the Gusties at the 42nd Annual Lopata Classic on 11/6-7, averaging 28.0 points per game on 62.9 percent shooting from the field. Barnette opened the season with 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting in an 87-59 win over Transylvania on 11/6 before scoring a season-high 34 points on 13-for-20 shooting from the field with two assists against nationally-ranked WashU on 11/7. MIAC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week Blake Schmitz Bethel University Sr. | Guard Hermantown, Minn. / Hermantown Blake Schmitz averaged 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals in a week that consisted of an 80-72 win over Concordia Chicago on 11/6 and an 84-81 loss to Minnesota Morris on 11/7. Schmitz registered a career-high 37 points in addition to eight rebounds and three steals against Minnesota Morris. He began the week with 21 points, five rebounds, and three steals against Concordia Chicago. MIAC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week Drew Buslee College of Saint Benedict Jr. | Guard Eagan, Minn. / Eagan Drew Buslee earned MVP honors at the CSB Tipoff Tournament after averaging 20.5 points in a pair of victories over Minnesota Morris (11/6) and Loras (11/7). Buslee scored 18 points and recorded five assists in the season-opening win over the Cougars before pouring in 23 points, including 12 from beyond the arc, in a win over the Duhawks. MIAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week Emma Theisen College of Saint Benedict So. | Forward Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount Emma Theisen had back-to-back four-steal games to open the season, as the Bennies took down Minnesota Morris (11/6) and Loras (11/7) at the CSB Tipoff Tournament. Theisen added three blocks and eight rebounds against the Cougars and logged seven boards against the Duhawks. MIAC Men's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week Landon Parker Augsburg University Sr. | Forward East Grand Forks, Minn. / East Grand Forks Landon Parker netted his first collegiate hat trick, scoring three goals in the Auggies' 4-3 victory at UW-Stevens Point on 11/7. Parker scored twice in the second period and had the eventual game-winning goal in the third, as the Auggies rallied back from a 2-0 deficit for the win. The hat trick was Parker's first in his 70th collegiate game. MIAC Men's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week Ryan Nolan St. Olaf College So. | Goaltender Hampton, N.H. / The Holderness School Ryan Nolan totaled 60 saves in the Oles' split with nationally ranked St. Norbert on 11/6-7. Ryan made 39 saves in St. Olaf's 3-2 win on 11/7 and helped the Oles kill off all three power plays for the Green Knights. MIAC Women's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week Nina Thorson Hamline University So. | Forward Duluth, Minn. / Duluth Marshall Nina Thorson scored three goals and assisted on four more in the Pipers' sweep of UW-Superior on 11/6-7. Thorson scored twice and assisted once in the series opener on 11/6 before collecting another goal and three helpers on 11/7. She scored an even-strength goal and a shorthanded goal in the first game and made it count on a power play in the second. MIAC Women's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week Casey Stockbridge St. Catherine University Fy. | Goalkeeper Prospect Heights, Ill. / John Hersey Casey Stockbridge stopped 32 of 33 shots (.970) in the Wildcats' 3-1 win over UW-Stevens Point on 11/7. The lone goal allowed came on a power play. Her 32 saves in the contest are a new collegiate high.