After a week of voting, it is time to announce True To The Cru’s Basketball Players of the Year, which were voted on both by the media and the general public at the conclusion of phenomenal seasons for both the UMHB men’s and women’s basketball teams, who each went deep in the NCAA Tournament, making the tournament in the same year for the first time in school history.
We want to congratulate both teams on their successes as well as each of the student-athletes who were nominated for these four postseason awards.
We also want to thank our gold sponsors; Montgomery Chiropractic, Sacrifice Training and the Crusader Football Alumni Association for their support and sponsoring of this year’s Players of the Year honors.
Josiah Johnson and Carson Hammond tied for the Men’s Basketball Player of the Year honor, after the media votes were counted. The duo helped guide the Cru on both ends of the floor, as Johnson averaged 24.4 points per game in 30 starts, while Hammond hit a number of critical shots during UMHB’s NCAA Tournament run while leading the team with 58 three-pointers. Johnson’s offensive success was highlighted nationwide, but his defensive abilities were also noteworthy, as the junior broke the program record for steals in a season, finishing with 80, including a season-high seven takeaways in the Sweet 16 victory over Case Western Reserve. Hammond, a Belton native, entered the Cru’s first-round tournament game against Chapman averaging 8.2 points per game, but finished his season with 9.0 PPG, highlighted by a 23-point performance in the victory over Chapman that saw him connect on two three-pointers within the final two minutes, allowing UMHB to retake the lead and seal the win. He also made two critical free throws against CWRU in Cleveland, sending the game into overtime, where UMHB eventually won 87-84.
Luke Feely and Ty Prince, the additional two nominees for this honor, contributed in a big way to UMHB’s 28-3 record, with Prince earning ASC Tournament MVP honors, while Feely averaged 11.5 points per game and had a team-best 62 offensive rebounds.
Feely, a transfer from Black Hills State, made a key mark in his first season with the Cru, and is True To The Cru’s Men’s Basketball Newcomer of the Year. Feely was a unanimous vote for this honor by the media voters, and also earned 75 percent of the overall vote.
The Women’s Basketball Player of the Year honor goes to Arieona Rosborough, a true freshman who started 24 games at guard for the Cru, averaging 11.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Rosborough played a major role in UMHB’s first-round NCAA Tournament victory over Webster in Memphis, as she tallied 25 points and 13 rebounds. The Mansfield, Texas native led the Crusaders in scoring, and steals, stepping up early on in the year. Rosborough was also the only freshman to start during the 2021-22 season for head coach Mark Morefield’s team. She received 75 percent of the media vote and 57 percent of the overall vote.
Bethany McLeod, Ashley Faux and Kaitlyn Kollmorgen were also nominees for the honor. McLeod, a senior, led the team with 79 assists, and Faux shot a team-best 78.8 percent from the free-throw line, starting 29 games. Kollmorgen tallied 7.0 rebounds per game, posting a team-high 26 blocks.
Rosborough also was voted the Newcomer of the Year, with a unanimous vote from the media and 89 percent of the vote from the fans. She was recognized as D3hoops.com’s Region 10 Rookie of the Year and was also the ASC’s Freshman of the Year.
