Wolves' Wiggins Named NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month

Minneapolis/St. Paul – The NBA today named Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins as its Kia NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month for January. This is the third consecutive month Wiggins has earned the honor, the only player in franchise history to win the award multiple times. He's the first rookie to win the award in three straight months since Damian Lillard during the 2012-13 season.

Wiggins led all qualified rookies in scoring (19.8 ppg), field goal percentage (47.1%) and minutes played (38.4 mpg) while raking 2nd in FT percentage (79.0%), 4th in rebounding (4.6 rpg), 4th in steals (1.41 spg) and 5th in blocks (0.59 bpg). Wiggins tallied 20+ points nine times in 17 starts during the month, finishing as Minnesota's top scorer on eight occasions.  

Wiggins opened the month with five consecutive 20+ point efforts, running his overall streak to six, the longest such streak by a Wolves rookie in club history. He scored a team-high 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds in Minnesota's New Year's Day loss to Sacramento, adding a season-high four steals. Two weeks later, he poured in a then-season-high 31 points against Denver, the highest point total by a Wolves rookie since Stephon Marbury had 33 in 1996-97. He finished the month by erupting for a season-high 33 points against Cleveland, matching Kevin Garnett and Marbury for the most points by a Wolves teenager in a game and finishing just two points shy of the franchise rookie record (Laettner, 35).

Originally selected by the Cleveland with the 1st overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Wiggins was acquired by the Wolves on Aug. 23, 2014 in a three-team trade. This season he leads all qualified rookies in scoring (15.5 ppg) and minutes (33.9 mpg), while ranking 3rd in steals (1.15 spg), 5th in blocks (0.55 bpg) and rebounding (4.2 rpg) and 7th in assists (1.8 apg).

Lundon named NSAA Women's Basketball Player of the Week

The North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) announced its eleventh edition of the Women's Basketball Player-of-the-Week honor Monday.  Mayville State University women's basketball player Jenna Lundon was selected to this week's honor.  Jenna Lundon is a 5'6" – Junior Guard from Waubun, Minn. Lundon helped the Comets gather two NSAA conference victories on the road as they defeated Presentation and Dakota State, both games decided by three points. She scored 33 points at Presentation on 9-for-16 shooting, with 8-of-14 coming from the 3-point line, and 7-of-8 free-throws. She had five rebounds and three assists. Lundon added 17 points at Dakota State on her 5-of-10 field goals, all from the 3-point line, and made both free-throw attempts. She recorded two rebounds and three steals. For the week, Lundon averaged 25.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals. She was 14-of-26 from the field (53.8 percent), 13-of-24 from the 3-point line (54.2 percent), and converted 9 free-throws in 10 attempts.

BSU signs 39 student-athletes for the 2015 season

BEMIDJI, Minn. – Bemidji State University head football coach Jeff Tesch today announced the signing of 39 student-athletes

to the BSU roster for the 2015 season. The class is comprised of 36 high school seniors who will join the program as true

freshmen next year and three transfers who are already enrolled at Bemidji State.

“I am excited to announce the 2015 class of football recruits,” said head coach Jeff Tesch. “My staff and I feel that this group of

talented young athletes will fill needs based on the players that graduated and will energize the program.”

The signees include 19 offensive players, 19 defensive players and one special teams player.

The 2015 class was drawn from eight states, with 19 hailing from Minnesota. In addition, committed players currently reside in

Arizona, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.

The student-athletes listed below have committed to the Bemidji State University football team for 2015. All signees are

contingent upon admission to BSU and compliance with NCAA rules, including certification by the NCAA Eligibility Center.

2015 Football Signing Class

Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Exp. Hometown (Previous School)

Jacob Anderson WR 6-5 188 RS-HS Merrill, Wis. (Merrill HS)

William Annette WR 6-0 175 RS-HS Bemidji, Minn. (Bemidji HS)

Brady Beier OL 6-2 270 RS-HS Mora, Minn. (Mora HS)

Grant Bushinski* OLB 6-1 214 RS-HS Cornelius, N.C. (South Lake Christian Academy)

Brooks Carroll* WR 5-9 175 RS-HS West Lakeland, Minn. (Stillwater Area HS)

Nick Christopherson OL 6-3 260 RS-HS East Bethel, Minn. (Totino Grace HS)

Kyle Crotteau OL 6-1 255 RS-HS Rice Lake, Wis. (Rice Lake HS)

Jacob Devine P 6-5 180 RS-HS Hillsboro, N.D. (Hillsboro-Central Valley HS)

Dylan Ellingson* DL 6-3 275 RS-HS Anoka, Minn. (Anoka HS)

Lukas Engel* DL 6-4 215 RS-HS Waterford, Wis. (Waterford Union HS)

Matthew Gross LB 5-10 200 RS-HS Napoleon, N.D. (Napoleon HS)

Chris Harris WR 6-4 190 RS-HS Phoenix, Ariz. (Valley Vista HS)

Jared Henning QB 6-4 205 RS-HS Jackson, Wis. (Kettle Moraine Lutheran HS)

Zachary Herbst* DE 6-2 220 RS-HS Prior Lake, Minn. (Prior Lake HS)

Travis Hooper RB/DB 5-9 188 RS-HS Orr, Minn. (North Woods HS)

Michael Junker DB/WR 5-11 163 RS-HS Hastings, Minn. (Hastings HS)

Andrew Kimball RB/WR/DB 6-0 185 RS-HS Duluth, Minn. (Duluth East HS)

Lowell Laudert RB 5-11 180 RS-HS Monticello, Minn. (Monticello HS)

Jake Libal* DB/WR 5-11 185 RS-HS Superior, Wis. (Superior HS)

Nick Mehlum* QB 6-2 180 RS-HS Superior, Wis. (Superior HS)

Noah Meyer* DE 6-4 215 RS-HS Green Bay, Wis. (Green Bay Southwest HS)

Devell Miller LB/DB 6-0 187 RS-HS Elk River, Minn. (Elk River HS)

Joshua Nelson* OL 6-3 280 RS-HS Hudson, Wis. (Hudson Senior HS)

Nicholas Niemi DE/TE 6-2 243 RS-HS Cloquet, Minn. (Cloquet HS)

Charlie Nihart* RB 5-7 195 RS-HS Smithville, Mo. (Smithville HS)

Kaleb Olszewski* CB 5-11 170 RS-HS Alvin, Texas (Alvin HS)

Hunter Pritzl DB 5-11 165 RS-HS Park Falls, Wis. (Chequamegon HS)

Jake Schaper* DL 6-3 256 RS-HS Maple Grove, Minn. (Osseo Senior High)

Cole Schmitz LB 6-0 185 RS-HS Perham, Minn. (Perham HS)

Andrew Schuler-Jones ILB 6-2 230 RS-HS Waupaca, Wis. (Waupaca HS)

Brady Tesdahl TE/FB/DE 6-0 215 RS-HS Crosby, Minn. (Crosby-Ironton HS)

Carson Thorsteinson RB/LB 6-1 195 RS-HS Hallock, Minn. (Kittson County Central)

Blair Van Ess* WR 6-1 185 RS-HS Bayport, Wis. (Bay Port HS)

Shane Wakefield WR 5-11 165 RS-HS Butternut, Wis. (Chequamegon HS)

Mitchell Webb* OL 6-3 250 RS-HS East Bethel, Minn. (Totino Grace HS)

Joseph Woods* OL 6-3 270 RS-HS Fertile, Minn. (Fertile-Beltrami HS)

* - Signed National Letter of Intent

Transfer Commitments (3)

Gena Adams* RB 5-8 190 Jr-TR Phoenix, Ariz. (Simon Fraser Univ.)

Ter’ra Potter* CB 6-1 175 Jr-TR Deland, Fla. (Itasca CC)

Daniel Tuckett Jr. DE 6-3 300 Jr-TR Madison, Minn. (N.D. College of Science)

UMC Football Adds 28 Players to 2015 Signing Class

CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston football team announced the signing of 28 student-athletes to National Letters of Intent or Offers of Admission to join the Golden Eagle program. The signing class is the second under Head Coach Mike Fritze. The Golden Eagle coaching staff looked to put an added emphasis on players from the region, and accomplished just that signing 17 players from the Midwest region (including Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Manitoba). The 17 regional players matches UMC's total from last year's recruiting class for the Region.

"Our main focus coming into this recruiting cycle was to get players from the region who we thought were good fits for the program and who will be committed to the program," said Head Coach Mike Fritze. "It all starts in the state of Minnesota and we were able to bring in 11 quality players from the state who we think are going to be great building blocks for this program."

In addition, the Golden Eagles brought in four players from Texas, four from California, one from Virginia and one from Hawai'i.

"Our focus in out of region recruiting was to get players that our coaching staff had developed good relationships with or players who had ties to current players in our program," Fritze said. "We are very excited about the group of players we were able to add outside of the region, as well."

The Golden Eagles signed 14 offensive players, 13 defensive players and one special teams player. UMC's most highly recruited position were wide receiver and linebacker, bringing in five at each position. They also put an emphasis on the trenches bringing in four offensive linemen and four defensive linemen. The Golden Eagles also brought in four defensive backs and two tight ends and also brought in one quarterback, two running backs and a long snapper.

UMC brought in 20 high school players who signed National Letters of Intent, four transfers who signed NLI's, one player who signed an Institutional Letter of Intent and three players who were mid-year transfers.

The student-athletes listed today as having signed National Letters of Intent or Offers of Admission to play at University of Minnesota, Crookston have been verified by the UMC Compliance Office once they sign the National Letter of Intent and financial aid agreement or once the student-athlete has accepted an Offer of Admission from UMC.

The Golden Eagles are looking to rebound from an 0-11 season in Fritze's second season with the Golden Eagles. UMC returns five starters on offense and six on defense as Fritze heads into his third season as head coach for the Golden Eagles. The Golden Eagles will be led by All-NSIC Honorable Mention selection Drew Selvestra (Sr., DL, Eagan, Minn.), who had a breakout season with 88 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss. Offensively, sophomore wide receiver Adam Connette (Corona, Calif.) returns after amassing 28 receiving yards and five touchdowns as a freshman.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

Follow the Golden Eagles on Facebook at Golden Eagle Sports and on Twitter at @UMCAthletics.

The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern
Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).

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2015 UMC Football Signing Class
High School Signees (20)
Aeric Berner/DB/5-10 166/Aniwa, Wis./Antigo H.S.
Sully Breckheimer/LB/5-9 200/Luverne, N.D./Hope H.S.
Kolby Castillo/OL/6-1 280/Aiea, Hawai'i/Aiea H.S.
Richard Cobble/TE/6-4 199/Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji H.S.
Blake Coffman/DB/5-11 170/Wheaton, Minn./Wheaton-Herman-Norcross H.S.
Abram Cook II/DL/5-10 294/Surprise, Ariz./Valley Vista H.S.
Will Cross/LB/5-11 210/Turtle Lake, Wis./Turtle Lake H.S.
Shane Curtis/RB/5-11 195/Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville H.S.
Conner Finnestad/LB/6-0 211/Chula Vista, Calif./Mater Dei H.S.
Zach Greenberg/LS/5-10 190/Winnipeg, Manitoba/Grant Park H.S.
Depriece Isenberg/WR/5-6 142/Bloomington, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy H.S.
Trevor Long/DB/5-11 165/Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park H.S.
Garrett Mead/DL/6-0 220/Santee, Calif./West Hills H.S.
Devante Nutall/TE/6-3 240/Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata H.S.
Chris Polk/LB/5-11 190/Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran H.S.
Brent Reed/DL/5-11 285/Arlington, Texas/Kennedale H.S.
Duke Smith/OL/5-11 327/Roanoke, Texas/Byron Nelson H.S.
Jared Smith/OL/6-0 308/Hurst, Texas/L.D. Bell H.S.
Taylor Spier/QB/6-2 207/Buffalo, Minn./Bufffalo H.S.
Rodney Stewart/WR/6-0 180/Fort Worth, Texas/North Crowley H.S.
Institutional Letter of Intent (1)
Chris Devine/RB/5-9 206/East Grand Forks, Minn./Sacred Heart H.S.
 Transfers (4)
Connor Kunkel/WR/6-1 207/Kenneth, Minn./Minnesota West Community and Technical College
Jerrod Miller/DL/6-0 297/Carol Stream, Ill./Rochester Community and Technical College
Eric Rodriguez/OL/6-5 351/Woodlake, Calif./Merced College
Josh Zitzmann/WR/6-2 210/Farmington, Minn./Rochester Community and Technical College
Mid-Year Transfers (3)
Sam Moriarty/WR/6-0 220/Cold Spring, Minn./Central Lakes C.C.
Major Rogers/LB/5-10 225/Sterling, Va./Lackawanna College
Anthony Talford/DB/6-0 200/Fresno, Calif./College of the Sequoias

State Breakdown
Minnesota (11)
Texas (4)
California (4)
Wisconsin (3)
North Dakota (1)
Illinois (1)
Virginia (1)
Manitoba (1)

Position Breakdown
QB - 1
RB - 2
WR - 5
TE - 2
OL - 4
DL -4
LB - 5
DB - 4
ST - 1

NDSU Announces 27-Man Football Signing Class

FARGO, N.D. – North Dakota State head football coach Chris Klieman today announced the addition of 27 student-athletes to the Bison program including 23 National Letter of Intent signees and four preferred walk-ons.

The recruiting class includes players from high schools in nine states including North Dakota (3), Minnesota (11), Wisconsin (5), Illinois (2), South Dakota (1), Iowa (1), Missouri (1), California (1) and Florida (1).

There are 13 players on offense and 13 on defense.

Name                           Pos.     Ht.        Wt.       Yr.        Hometown (Previous School)

Jack Albrecht                OL        6-5        275       Fr.        Rolling Meadows, Ill. (Fremd HS)

Bruce Anderson            RB        6-0        195       Fr.        Ruskin, Fla. (Newsome HS)

Matt Anderson              TE        6-4        240       Fr.        Lakeland, Minn. (Stillwater HS)

Marquise Bridges          WR       6-0        170       Fr.        Brooklyn Park, Minn. (DeLaSalle HS)

Jake Brinkman              LB        6-0        205       Fr.        North Liberty, Iowa (Regina HS)

Ty Brooks                     DB       5-9        155       Fr.        Fargo, N.D. (Fargo South HS)

Jaxon Brown                 DB       6-2        195       Fr.        Eau Claire, Wis. (Regis HS)

Bryan Carlton                DT        6-4        250       Fr.        Chanhassen, Minn. (Minnetonka HS)

Jack Darnell                  DT        6-3        280       Fr.        Champlin, Minn. (Champlin Park HS)

Dom Davis                   DB       6-0        171       Fr.        Millstadt, Ill. (Belleville West HS)

Ben Ellefson                 TE        6-4        226       Fr.        Hawley, Minn. (Hawley HS)

Robbie Grimsley           DB       6-1        185       Fr.        Hutchinson, Minn. (Hutchinson HS)

James Hendricks           QB       6-2        185       Fr.        Laporte, Minn. (Bemidji HS)

Connor Hubbs               DT        6-2        272       Fr.        White Bear Lake, Minn. (White Bear Lake HS)

Zack J. Johnson           OL        6-6        261       Fr.        Blaine, Minn. (Spring Lake Park HS)

Cole Karcz                    DE       6-4        225       Fr.        Germantown, Wis. (Germantown HS)

Aaron Mercadel             LB        6-0        195       Fr.        Oakland, Calif. (Saint Mary’s College HS)

Trent Mooney                OL        6-5        255       Fr.        Lamar, Mo. (Lamar HS)

Demaris Purifoy            RB        6-1        185       Fr.        Wauwatosa, Wis. (Wauwatosa West HS)

Brock Robbins              FB        6-2        215       Fr.        Cavalier, N.D. (Cavalier HS)

Braden Sikes                DB       6-0        188       Fr.        Excelsior, Minn. (Minnetonka HS)

Derrek Tuszka               DE       6-5        218       Fr.        Warner, S.D. (Warner HS)

Dimitri Williams             WR       6-0        185       Fr.        Lakeville, Minn. (Rosemount HS)

PREFERRED WALK-ONS

Name                           Pos.     Ht.        Wt.       Yr.        Hometown (Previous School)

Tre Fort                       DB        5-9       165      Fr.      Moorhead, Minn. (Shanley HS)

Tyler Glass                 FB        6-0       215      Fr.      Lancaster, Wis. (Lancaster HS)

Cam Pedersen          K           6-1       170      Fr.      Eau Claire, Wis. (Regis HS)

Michael Veldman     QB        6-3       190      Fr.      Becker, Minn. (Becker HS)

NDSU’s Teschuk Named Summit League Athlete of the Week

ELMHURST, Ill. – Erin Teschuk of North Dakota State was named The Summit League’s Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week after clocking a mile time on Jan. 31 at the Jack Johnson Classic that ranks her eighth in the world this year.

Teschuk, a junior from Winnipeg, Manitoba, earns her second Summit League Track & Field Athlete of the Week award this year after running the fastest mile in the NCAA this season. She cut more than six seconds off her school record in the event on Saturday at the Jack Johnson Classic. Teschuk won the mile in 4:34.78, setting the meet record and University of Minnesota Fieldhouse record in the process.

Due to being run on a 200-meter flat track, her time converted to 4:32.09 for the top spot on the NCAA performance list. Teschuk’s time makes her the eighth-fastest woman in the world this year in the mile. Her previous best in the event was 4:41.19 on Jan. 17 of this season.

Teschuk’s time would have ranked No. 2 among all Canadian women last season, professionals included.