News & Links 5/4/2026 1:00:00 PM MIAC Athletes of the Week - May 4, 2026 BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for baseball, softball, track & field, and golf on Monday. Student-athletes from Bethel, Carleton, Concordia, Gustavus, 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 (outdoor track & field and golf) 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 Baseball Player of the Week Sam Abbas Bethel University Jr. | First Base Andover, Minn. / Andover Sam Abbas batted .500 (8-for-16) with 10 RBI and five extra-base hits - including home runs in three consecutive games - to help the Royals clinch the regular season MIAC championship last week. Abbas finished the regular season with three consecutive multi-hit and multi-RBI games, which featured a 3-for-5 performance with a double and a home run in a 10-3 win at Concordia on 4/28 and a collective 6-for-8 showing with a double and two homers in a split with Saint John's on 5/2. MIAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week Max Edwards Saint John's University Fy. | Right-Handed Pitcher Rockford, Minn. / Rockford Max Edwards tossed a three-hit, complete-game shutout in a 3-0 win against Carleton on 4/29. Edwards threw 76 total pitches in the one-hour and 29-minute affair, striking out five in seven innings of work. Eleven of Edwards' 21 outs were induced with two pitches or fewer, including six on the at-bat's first offering. MIAC Softball Player of the Week Jocelyn Maki Concordia College Sr. | First Base Hibbing, Minn. / Nashwauk-Keewatin Jocelyn Maki posted a .545 batting average (6-for-11), a 1.364 slugging percentage, and had 10 RBI in the Cobbers' four games last week. Maki recorded a hit in all four contests, which included a pair of home runs and her first career grand slam. Maki finished the week with a .692 on-base percentage and did not make an error in 34 chances in the field. Maki went 3-for-5 with three RBI and two doubles in the Cobbers' doubleheader against St. Olaf on 4/28. She followed that up by going 3-for-6 with seven RBI and two home runs in the season-ending doubleheader at Augsburg on 5/2. Maki hit the first grand slam of her collegiate career in the first game against the Auggies. MIAC Softball Pitcher of the Week Maizie Anderson Gustavus Adolphus College Sr. | Pitcher Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount Maizie Anderson earned wins in both of her appearances last week to help the Gusties clinch a spot in the MIAC Softball Playoffs. Anderson did not allow a run to score in her 12.2 innings of work, holding opponents to just four hits and a .105 batting average while striking out 11. Anderson entered the second game of the Gusties' doubleheader with St. Catherine on 5/1 in the second inning with the Gusties trailing 1-0 and then held the Wildcats to three hits the rest of the way while striking out seven in an eventual 2-1 win. In her start in Gustavus' regular season finale, Anderson tossed a one-hitter over seven innings in the playoff-clinching win. MIAC Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week Cole Stencel Saint John's University Jr. Mapleton, Minn. / Maple River Cole Stencel finished sixth out of 31 runners, and first among NCAA Division III participants, in the 1,500 meters at the Meet of the Unsaintly on 5/1. Stencel recorded a personal-best time of 3:49.71, which is good for 19th-best in NCAA Division III this season and just over one second shy of the program record of 3:48.46, set in 2015. MIAC Men's Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week Trent Beseth The College of St. Scholastica Sr. Stanchfield, Minn. / Cambridge-Isanti Trent Beseth turned in three first-place finishes while competing in a pair of meets for the Saints last week. Beseth won the shot put at the Todd Pfingsten Open on 4/29 with a distance of 17.70 meters (58' 1") before bettering that distance with a throw of 17.98 meters (59' 0") at the Meet of the Unsaintly on 5/1. He also competed in the discus at both meets, placing third overall and first among D-III competitors with a toss of 52.19 meters (171' 3") at the Todd Pfingsten Open and winning the event with a distance of 50.97 meters (167' 3") at the Meet of the Unsaintly. Three of the four throws - both shot put marks and his first discus distance - rank among the 15 best in NCAA Division III this season. MIAC Women's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week Josie Brown Concordia College Fy. Saco, Mont. / Saco Josie Brown ran the fastest 400-meter hurdle time in the MIAC this season at the Cobb Open on 5/2. Brown's time of 1:02.08 ranks 14th in NCAA Division III this year and is just 0.36 seconds shy of the 31-year-old program record. Brown also ran a MIAC Championship-qualifying time in the 100-meter hurdles, where she clocked a personal-best time of 15.80. MIAC Women's Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week Kayla Kajer Gustavus Adolphus College So. Lake Elmo, Minn. / Stillwater Kayla Kajer won the women's high jump at the Ole Open on 5/2 with a personal-best clearance of 1.65 meters (5' 5"). That mark ranks 23rd in NCAA Division III this season. Kajer had just one failed attempt on her way up the ladder to 1.65 meters. MIAC Men's Golf Athlete of the Week Sam Higaki Carleton College Jr. San Mateo, Calif. / Aragon Sam Higaki led from start to finish on his way to medalist honors at the Gustie Triangular on 4/28. Higaki was the only golfer to card two under-par rounds, scoring a 70 (-1) in round one and a 69 (-2) in round two. Higaki finished with eight birdies and shot even on the par 3s, on his way to winning the invite by five strokes. MIAC Women's Golf Athlete of the Week Anna Lee Carleton College So. Vernon Hills, Ill. / Vernon Hills Anna Lee earned medalist honors while leading the Knights to a team victory at the Spring Finale on 5/2-3. In the first top-five finish of her collegiate career, Lee out-distanced the field thanks to a 6-under par total on the par 4s, which was a seven-shot advantage over the next closest player. Lee was in second place after carding a 3-over par 76 in round one before catching fire midway through the final round to win the event by three shots. Lee was 4-under par over the final 10 holes on 5/3 and finished the day at 70 (-3) for an even-par 36-hole score of 146. She also led the field with eight birdies on the weekend.