MIAC Release

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Four Saint John's University basketball student-athletes earned 2018-19 Winter and Spring Academic All-MIAC honors on Thursday, June 27.

Those honored (listed alphabetically) include:

-Sophomore wing Peter Gathje (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson), a computer science major with a 3.69 GPA;
-Junior post Ethan Novacinski (St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo), a biology major (pre-physician's assistant emphasis) with a 3.96 GPA;
-Senior guard David Stokman (Maple Lake, Minn.), an economics and philosophy double-major with a 4.0 GPA;
-Junior post Lucas Walford (Elko, Minn./New Prague), a global business leadership major with a 3.63 GPA.

Student-athletes must be a sophomore, junior or senior academically with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50 on a 4.00 scale to qualify for Academic All-MIAC recognition. Transfers, like freshmen, must complete a full academic year to be eligible the following season. Athletically, basketball student-athletes must compete in 50 percent of their team's varsity, regular-season contests. 

Stokman became SJU's first three-time Academic All-American as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) this spring and graduated egregia cum laude. He was a two-time D3hoops.com All-West Region third-team honoree (2016-17, 2018-19), a National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-West District first-team selection and the co-recipient of SJU's Fr. Wilfred Theisen Student-Athlete of the Year Award.

A two-time All-MIAC first-team selection (2016-17 and 2018-19), Stokman led the MIAC in three-pointers (62), finished second in free-throw percentage (.866, 58-for-67) and sixth in scoring (16.0 ppg.) during the 2018-19 conference schedule. He led SJU in scoring (15.6 ppg.), minutes played (32.2 mpg.), three-pointers (86), assists (98) and steals (38), while finishing second in rebounding (4.5 rpg.) overall. The 86 treys set a single-season school record and he recorded eight games of 20 or more points in 2018-19 (25 in his career).

Stokman ended his career as the program's all-time leader in three-pointers (266), fourth in scoring (1,492 points) and fifth in assists (321). He is second in school history in three-point percentage (.457, 266-for-582) and fourth from the free-throw line (.864, 310-for-359).

Walford made an impact on both ends of the court this season as he led the MIAC in shooting percentage (.743), offensive rebounds (66) and blocks (34) in league play en route to All-MIAC second-team honors in 2018-19. Overall, Walford averaged 11.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, while shooting .712 (136-for-191) from the floor. He would have led NCAA Division III in field-goal percentage, but missed (4.86) the requirement of five made field goals per game. Walford registered 11 double-doubles in 2018-19 (15 career) and became the program's all-time leader in blocks with 91.

Novacinski came off the bench in all 28 games and shot 71.4 percent (70-for-98) from the field last season. He averaged 5.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per game, and scored a career-high 29 points, on 13 of 15 shooting, Dec. 12 at Saint Mary's.

Gathje appeared in 15 games, 13 during the regular season, and collected 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

A freshman wing athletically due to a medical hardship, Connor Schoborg (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) is a global business leadership with a 3.65 GPA. He appeared in 12 regular-season games, one shy of the Academic All-MIAC requirement.

SJU (23-5, 17-3 MIAC) won its sixth MIAC Playoff championship in program history (first since 2001) and made its second consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament appearance in 2018-19, ending the season ranked No. 23 nationally. The Johnnies ended the 2018-19 season as the Division III statistical leader in shooting percentage (.536), second in rebound margin (+12.6 rpg.), third in scoring margin (+18.0 ppg.) and eighth in three-point percentage (.407).