2024 All-GLIAC Men's Basketball teams revealed; NMU's Weisbrod selected GLIAC Player of the Year

Posted: Mar 08, 2024

GLIAC -- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced the postseason awards for the 2023-24 men's basketball season on Friday, as voted on by the league coaches.

Northern Michigan sophomore guard Max Weisbrod was selected as the GLIAC Player of the Year, while Wayne State guard Rob Lee Jr. was named freshman of the year.

Newly awarded this season was GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year and GLIAC Sixth Man of the Year. Lake Superior State junior forward Kingsley Perkins and Ferris State junior guard Ethan Erickson received those honors, respectively.

Northern Michigan's Matt Majkrzak was honored as conference coach of the year.

The First, Second and Defensive All-GLIAC Teams for the 2023-24 men's basketball season are as follows:

First Team All-GLIAC
Ben Davidson, Ferris State
Tyson Edmondson, Lake Superior State
Ethan Erickson, Ferris State
Tre Garrett, Saginaw Valley State
Dylan Kuehl, Northern Michigan
Colin O'Rourke, Parkside
Kingsley Perkins, Lake Superior State
Brendan Temple, Purdue Northwest
Marcus Tomashek, Michigan Tech
Max Weisbrod, Northern Michigan

Second Team All-GLIAC
Ethan Alderink, Grand Valley State
William Dunn, Grand Valley State
Dan Gherezgher, Michigan Tech
Marius Grazulis, Grand Valley State
Carmelo Harris, Wayne State
Marcedus Leech Jr., Davenport
Freddie McIntosh, Saginaw Valley State
Dolapo Olayinka, Ferris State
Josiah Palmer, Parkside
Toodles Seal, Saginaw Valley State

All-GLIAC Defensive Team
Nick Brown, Parkside
Mason Docks, Grand Valley State
Tre Garrett, Saginaw Valley State
Anthony Irvin, Purdue Northwest
Dylan Kuehl, Northern Michigan
Kingsley Perkins, Lake Superior State
Trevor Smith, Grand Valley State
Kevonne Taylor, Saginaw Valley State
Josh Terrian, Michigan Tech
Ray Williams Jr., Wayne State

2024 GLIAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Max Weisbrod, Northern Michigan

How does one follow up GLIAC Freshman of the Year honors? Earn the GLIAC’s most prestigious award, of course. Northern Michigan sophomore Max Weisbrod has been named the GLIAC Player of the Year and to the GLIAC First Team after leading the Wildcats to a 21-9 overall record and 14-4 conference mark that saw the Wildcats earn the program’s first regular season title since 1992-93. The native of DeForest, Wisconsin finished out the regular season fifth in the conference in scoring (17.1 ppg), second in assists/game (4.4), second in three-pointers/game (2.8) and total threes (75-189), and fourth in total free throws (101-125, 80.8%). In 15 conference games played, he averaged 19.1 points/game including 21.8/game over the final 11. No one was more clutch than Weisbrod throughout conference play this season, as he shot 7-9 (77.8%) in games in which the ‘Cats were either leading by a single possession or trailing and attempting a comeback with less than two minutes to play. The most notable was the top of the key buzzer-beating triple to beat Lake Superior State at home. In just two seasons, Weisbrod has played 60 games, totaling 874 points (14.6 ppg), 284 assists (4.7 apg), and a 148-353 (41.9%) mark from the three-point line.

2024 GLIAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kingsley Perkins, Lake Superior State

Kingsley Perkins has been named the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year after leading his team to finish the regular season as the top defensive unit in the conference, holding opponents to a league-best 68.0 points per game. Throughout the season, Perkins has proven to be one of the top centers in the conference, making key stops when his team needed them, such as a pivotal block while down two against Wayne State in the closing moments of regulation to allow his team the opportunity to force overtime on the other end. The two-time GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week has been a steady force in the paint for the Lakers, finishing the regular season as the league’s third leading rebounder (6.4), and his 38 blocks rank second in the GLIAC.

2024 GLIAC SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR
Ethan Erickson, Ferris State

Ferris State University junior guard Ethan Erickson became the first-ever player to earn the GLIAC’s Sixth Man of the Year Award this season. Erickson has led the Bulldogs to a 23-7 overall record to date this year and a berth in the GLIAC Tournament Semifinals, averaging a team-high 14.2 points per game. He’s also shot 45.4% from the three-point line this year, sinking 98-of-216 tries while ranking among the nation’s leaders. Additionally, Erickson has registered 21 double-figure scoring efforts, including a career-high 36 points in FSU’s Dec. 30 win over Kuyper. The junior standout has also shot 88.3% from the free throw line and averaged two assists per game for FSU, which is averaging 85 points per game as a team this year.

2024 GLIAC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Rob Lee Jr., Wayne State

Rob Lee, Jr. is the first GLIAC Freshman of the Year in the history of Wayne State University men's basketball. Lee paced all GLIAC rookies for points per game in GLIAC contests with 12.6 and upped his overall average to 9.5. The Flint native did so by scoring in double figures for 13 straight outings to finish the regular season. That stretch included three outputs of 21 or more points and a career-high 22 in the regular-season finale at Saginaw Valley State to help lead WSU to its first GLIAC Tournament appearance since 2021. The Beecher product leads the league, not just freshmen, in three-point field goal percentage (47.6 percent) and also shot 51 percent from the field.

2024 GLIAC COACH OF THE YEAR
Matt Majkrzak, Northern Michigan

Matt Majkrzak of Northern Michigan has been named the GLIAC Coach of the Year after leading the Wildcats to a 21-9 overall season and 14-4 conference record in which the Wildcats claimed the GLIAC regular season championship. For a team that has dealt with injuries all season long, Majkrzak has continued to make it work for the Green and Gold, plugging and playing different lineups with seemingly no interruptions. The Wildcats tied the longest winning streak in program history earlier this season at 13 games, originally set in 1984-85. Northern has been one of the best at taking care of the ball this season under Majkrzak, as its 1.68 assist/turnover ratio is the fifth best mark in the country and the 9.2 turnovers they commit is the fewest in the conference and 11th best in Division II. In his fifth season, Majkrzak has improved the team each and every year. He already has a GLIAC Tournament title, GLIAC regular season title, and an NCAA Tournament victory under his belt as he holds a record of 85-54 (.612) leading the program in Marquette.