APPLETON, Wis. -- Lawrence University men's basketball player Ryan Kroeger was named the Midwest Conference Player of the Year, and Andy Hurley earned first-team all-conference honors for the Vikings.
Kroeger becomes the fifth Player of the Year selection for Lawrence. The junior guard from Glendale, Wis., joins Joel DePagter (1997), Adam LaVoy (2000), and Chris Braier (2004 and 2006) as Player of the Year winners. Kroeger becomes the first underclassman to be named Player of the Year since Braier did it as a sophomore in 2004.
Kroeger, a former star at Nicolet High School, finished sixth in the league in scoring at 17.3 points per game. He was fourth in field goal percentage (55.4 percent), third in 3-point field goal percentage (46.6 percent), and second in free throw percentage (86.3 percent). Kroeger, who was a second-team selection last season, also averaged 2.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
Kroeger currently ranks 14th in career scoring at Lawrence with 1,061 points. He just passed Jason Holinbeck (1,051) and is only eight points behind Tom Steinmetz (1,073).
Hurley, a Kimberly, Wis., native, was a first-team all-conference selection for the first time after earning honorable mention a season ago. The senior forward and former standout at Kimberly High School finished 15th in the league in scoring at 12.4 points per game and led the league at 9.7 rebounds per contest.
Hurley, who shot 51.9 percent from the floor, finished fourth in the league at 1.12 blocks per game and averaged 1.9 assists per contest.
Lawrence is 22-2 and posted a 15-1 mark in league play to claim its fourth conference title in the past five seasons. The Vikings also won the MWC Tournament championship and will play in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five seasons.
Also named to the first team were Grinnell's John Grotberg, Beloit's Andy Horton, Carroll's Wes Ladwig, and Monmouth's Joe Terwelp. Knox's Tim Heimann was named Coach of the Year in his 24th and final season with the Prairie Fire. Knox finished tied for fifth place in the league with a 7-9 record (8-15 overall).