INDIANAPOLIS – Six South Dakota State University wrestlers hold spots in the top 25 of their respective weight classes in the second installment of the NCAA coaches’ panel rankings for the 2017-18 season.

Leading the ranked Jackrabbits is Seth Gross, who maintained his top ranking at 133 pounds. A junior from Apple Valley, Minn., Gross enters the week with an 18-1 overall record, with his only loss coming against top-ranked 141-pounder Bryce Meredith of Wyoming. Gross also stands sixth in the first rating percentage index reveal of the season.

Two SDSU wrestlers improved their standings from the first panel rankings. Freshman 125-pounder Connor Brown moved up six spots from 29th to 23rd, while sophomore 184-pounder Martin Mueller jumped three spots from 23rd to 20th. Brown, who has a 17-10 overall record, holds the 19th-highest RPI at his weight class, while Mueller ranks 13th in RPI with an 18-4 overall mark.

The Jackrabbits’ three other wrestlers in the panel rankings dipped slightly in their coaches’ panel standings. Senior 174-pounder David Kocer slipped one spot to 10th, but ranks ninth in RPI with an 18-5 record.

Senior 157-pounder Luke Zilverberg also dropped one spot to 12th, with an RPI that ranks 11th. Zilverberg leads the team with 22 victories this season against six losses.

Three-time national qualifier Nate Rotert fell three spots from ninth to 12th in the 197-pound weight class. A senior from Spearfish, Rotert holds the seventh-best RPI in his weight class after posting a 19-3 record so far this season.

Wrestlers in each weight class will be measured by winning percentage, rating percentage index (RPI) and coaches’ rankings to earn spots in their qualifying tournaments for the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The coaches’ rankings are compiled by a vote of coaches representing each qualifying tournament. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. To be eligible for the rankings, wrestlers must have participated in at least five matches against Division I opponents in the weight class and have wrestled within the last 30 days.

The final rankings will be one of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. This year’s event is March 15-17 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

The next panel rankings will be announced Feb. 22, and will correspond with the conference allocations for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

SDSU resumes dual action this weekend with matches Friday at Pittsburgh and Sunday at Big 12 Conference rival West Virginia.

Miller named Summit League Female Athlete of the Month

ELMHURST, Ill. – For the first time in her career, South Dakota State’s Macy Miller was named Summit League Female Athlete of the Month.

The junior averaged 19.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals in eight games in January. She shot 52.9 percent from the field, 42.1 percent from 3-point range and 88.9 percent at the free-throw line. She also posted a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Miller recorded double digits in scoring seven times. She had four 20-plus point games, including a career-high-tying 31 points against Western Illinois Jan. 20.

The Mitchell native shot 60 percent-or-higher from the field four times. Miller was perfect from the foul line in four games.

Miller was honored as Summit League Player of the Week twice last month.

The guard leads SDSU and the Summit League in overall scoring, averaging 18.3 points per game in 24 contests. She is the only player in the league games to rank in the top 10 in scoring (18), re-bounding (5.3) and assists (3.2), and shoot 50 percent or better.

Daum among 10 on Karl Malone Award midseason list

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Mike Daum as one of the top 10 candidates for the 2018 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award.

Named after Hall of Famer and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Karl Malone, the annual honor in its fourth year recognizes the top power forwards in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee comprised of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 21 candidates in October, which has now been narrowed to just 10.

Daum is seventh nationally in scoring at 23.5 points per game entering Thursday’s action, and is just below a double-double average with 9.8 rebounds per night. The junior has missed double fig-ures in points just once this season, has nine 30-point games and 14 double-doubles on the year, including five straight entering this week’s action.

Last week, the Kimball, Neb., native joined the 2,000-point club, becoming the second Jackrabbit and 15th player in Summit League history to hit the mark. He did it in just 95 games and is the sixth-fastest player in NCAA Division I reach 2,000 points in the last 20 years.

Malone attended Louisiana Tech University due to its proximity to his hometown of Summerfield, La. He led the Bulldogs to a Sweet 16 appearance and earned All-Southland honors in his three seasons while averaging 18.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Malone achieved great success during his 19 seasons in the NBA as a 14-time NBA All-Star (1988-98, 2000-02), 11-time All-NBA First Team player (1989-99) and a member of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. He also won two Olympic gold medals (1992, 1996) and is a 2010 inductee of the Naismith Me-morial Basketball Hall of Fame.

In March, five finalists will be presented to Malone and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee for the 2018 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award. The winner will be honored at ESPN’s College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy’s in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, April 6. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Point Guard Award, the Jerry West Shooting Guard Award, the Julius Erving Small Forward Award and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center Award. Broadcast information will be released at a later date.

Previous winners of the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award include – Johnathan Motley, Baylor (2017); Georges Niang, Iowa State (2016); and Montrezl Harrell, Louisville (2015).

2018 KARL MALONE POWER FORWARD

OF THE YEAR AWARD CANDIDATES

Statistics through Feb. 7

Name Team PPG RPG APG

DeAndre Ayton Arizona 19.7 10.8 1.4

Gary Clark Jr. Cincinnati 13.0 9.0 2.0

Marvin Bagley III Duke 21.4 11.2 1.6

Wendell Carter Jr. Duke 14.4 9.6 1.9

Yante Maten Georgia 19.3 9.0 1.7

Nick King Middle Tennessee 21.2 8.2 2.1

Jordan Murphy Minnesota 17.5 11.7 1.4

Luke Maye North Carolina 18.3 10.3 2.4

Mike Daum South Dakota State 23.5 9.8 1.5

Robert Williams Texas A&M 10.4 9.6 1.7

   Note: Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2017-18 season.

SDSU second in Summit League baseball poll

ELMHURST, Ill. – The South Dakota State baseball team has been picked to finish second in the up-coming Summit League race, according to a poll of league coaches released Thursday.

The Jackrabbits received 20 points and one first-place vote, finishing behind defending champion Oral Roberts, which received the other five first-place votes and 25 total points. North Dakota State completed the top half of the poll with 17 points.

Rounding out the second half of the poll were Western Illinois (14 points), Omaha (9) and IPFW (5).

In addition, SDSU shortstop Tony Kjolsing was selected as a Summit League Player to Watch. A sen-ior from Chaska, Minn., Kjolsing batted .291 with four home runs and 21 RBIs while playing in 32 games during the 2017 season.

The Jackrabbits, who return six position starters, ended the 2017 season with a 26-24 overall record under first-year head coach Rob Bishop. SDSU placed third in the conference with an 18-12 league mark to qualify for the Summit League Baseball Championship for the eighth time in nine years.

SDSU is scheduled to open the 2018 campaign with a four-game series Feb. 16-18 at Mississippi Valley State. Summit League play begins March 16, when the Jackrabbits open a three-game series at Oral Roberts. The 2018 Summit League Baseball Championship is slated for May 23-26 in Tulsa, Okla.

Photo from www.gojacks.com.