2021-22 MIAC MEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS

MINNEAPOLIS – Augsburg University's Joe Palmer (JR, Faribault, Minn./Faribault HS) was named the Joe Hutton Men's Basketball Player of the Year by the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference while five other Auggies earned various MIAC honors, it was announced on Monday.

Palmer was also named to the six-player All-MIAC first team for the first time in his career. He was previously named to the MIAC All-First-Year Team in his first season. Guard  Rayquan Moore (JR, Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) was named the MIAC Sixth Man of the Year, the first MIAC honors of his career. Jack Sorenson (JR, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS) earned All-MIAC second team honors, also earning his first career MIAC award.  

Conner Knoepfle (SR, Andover, Minn./Andover HS) was selected to the MIAC All-Defensive Team for the first time in his career. Matt Carik (SR, Rogers Minn./Rogers HS) was named and All-MIAC Honorable Mention, having previously been named All-MIAC third team in 2019 and second team in 2020. Dominick Ingram (SR, Edina, Minn./Edina HS) was named to the conference's All-Sportsmanship team.

Palmer becomes the seventh Auggie to earn MIAC Men's Basketball Player of the Year honors, with Brian Ammann '85 earning the honor in 1984-85, Devean George earning it twice in 1997-98 and 1998-99, Jeoffrey Reed '00 being named co-Player of the Year in 1999-2000, Dan Kornbaum '14 earning the honor in 2013-14, Collin Olmscheid '18 earning the honor in 2017-18, and Booker Coplin '20 earning it in both 2018-19 and 2019-20. The award is named for Joe Hutton, who won 591 games coaching at Hamline University from 1930 to 1965. 

Palmer had a phenomenal season for the Auggies, leading the conference in both points (21.0) and rebounds (9.0) per-game and ranking ninth in field goal percentage (50.8%). His 21 points per-game also ranked him 31st in all of NCAA Division III. Making all 24 starts for Augsburg, he finished the season with 11 double-doubles and scored 20 or more points in 14 games this season, including four 30-plus point performances. He earned MIAC Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week honors four times this season and was named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week once. A history and secondary education major with a 3.71 grade-point average, he was also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team.

Moore was named the MIAC Men's Basketball Sixth Man of the Year for his outstanding season off the bench, becoming just the second Auggie to earn the award all-time (Kevin Van Rossum, 1997-98). He played in 23 of Augsburg's 24 games this season, averaging 8.0 points and 2.6 rebounds per-game. He also tallied 45 assists, 28 blocks, and two steals on the season.

Transferring in as a junior from North Dakota State College of Science, Moore scored in double figures eight times this season, including a career-high 15 points against St. Scholastica on 12/1.

Sorenson earned a spot on the All-MIAC second team after averaging 11.7 points and 2.8 rebounds per-game this season, also notching 51 assists, 36 steals, and three blocks. He started all 24 games for the Auggies this season, reaching double-figures in 19 of them. He knocked down 44.6% of his attempts from beyond the arc this season, good for second in the MIAC.

For his career, Sorenson has played in 40 games and scored 451 points for the Auggies.

Knoepfle earned his first career MIAC nod, being named to the conference's All-Defensive Team. He started all 24 games for the Auggies this season, reaching double figures nine times. The senior averaged 9.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per-game, adding 45 assists, 13 steals, and three blocks. He scored a career-high 19 points in Augsburg's final MIAC Playoff game against Macalester on 2/25.

In his four-year career, Knoepfle has played in 53 games for the Auggies and scored a total of 283 points with 109 rebounds, 79 assists, and 22 steals.

Carik was named an All-MIAC Honorable Mention, the third MIAC honor of his career having previously been named All-MIAC third team in 2019 and second team in 2020. Carik started all 24 games for Augsburg and averaged 11.4 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. He also tallied 68 assists, 25 blocks, and six steals.

Carik became just the 24^th player in Augsburg men's basketball history to reach the 1,000 career-points mark, doing so in his 101^st career game against Gustavus on 2/7. In total, the senior has played in 107 career games at Augsburg and recorded 1083 points, 414 rebounds, 344 assists, and 113 steals.

Ingram was named All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team, as part of the conference's sportsmanship initiative. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition.

Ingram has played in 10 games for Augsburg in his career, scoring his first career points with a triple against Concordia-Moorhead on 2/16.

Under head coach Aaron Griess, the Auggies finished 17-7 overall and 13-4 in MIAC play, earning the No. 2 seed in the MIAC Playoffs.