CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference has announced that Ball State's Sean Sellers, Bowling Green's Richaun Holmes and Kent State's Kris Brewer have earned top honors for the 2014-15 basketball season.
Sellers was named Freshman of the Year, while Holmes was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, Brewer was tabbed as the MAC Sixth Man of the Year. The Freshman of the Year award was voted on by a 27-member MAC News Media Association Panel, while the Defensive Player of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year were voted on by the league's head coaches.
MAC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Sellers is the top freshman scorer in the MAC at 11.9 points per game. His 346 points this season are tied with Jarrod Jones (2008-09) for fifth on Ball State's all-time freshman scoring list. The Greensburg, Ind., product burst onto the scene with 26 points in his collegiate debut at nationally ranked Utah and went on to score double figures in 18 games. He has started every game but one and leads the Cardinals in minutes played. Sellers has knocked down a BSU freshman record 63 3-pointers and ranks fourth in the MAC with a .432 percentage from beyond the arc. That mark is the fourth-best among all freshmen in the country with at least three attempts per game. He ranks second in the MAC in free throw percentage at .807.
"I am proud of Sean for having a great freshman year," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "We relied on him very heavily, and he consistently delivered. He has an incredibly bright future. In addition to being talented, he has high character and a great work ethic. I am confident he will have a great career at Ball State."
MAC SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR
Brewer is an All-MAC honorable mention selection for the second consecutive season. He played in 30 games with 10 starts, but transitioned to the sixth man role for the Golden Flashes over the last few months of the season. Brewer averaged of 11.2 points and 2.7 assists per game and was named MAC East Division Player of the Week for the final week of the regular season after averaging 20.5 points per game and shooting 8-for-10 from the three-point line in wins over Bowling Green and Akron. He was the Flashes' go-to player at crunch time, scoring the game-winning points in the final 15.1 seconds on four occasions, including a buzzer-beater to beat Akron in the regular season finale.
"This is a well-deserved honor for Kris," said Kent State Head Coach Rob Senderoff. "He started every almost every game during his sophomore and junior seasons, and showed tremendous selflessness in accepting a role coming off the bench and being a spark for our team. His last week of the regular season is something that will never be forgotten at Kent State, and I'm really proud of him for the way he led our team this season."
MAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Holmes, who became the only Falcon in BGSU history to record 1,000 career points, 600 career rebounds and 200 career blocks, was ranked 10th in the MAC in scoring at 14.7 points per game and tied for third in rebounding at 8.0 boards per contest for the year. The BGSU senior also ranked second in the MAC in field goal percentage at a stellar 55.7 percent on the season. In league play, Holmes increased his scoring output to 15.1 points per game, which ranked eighth in the MAC, and shot 55.5 percent from the field overall, while grabbing 7.6 rebounds per game and swatting away an average of 2.7 shots per contest. The 6-8 forward also led the MAC in blocked shots per game at 2.7 per outing, which placed him in the top-25 nationally all season long.
"I'm excited for Richaun. He was very deserving of the award." said Bowling Green head coach Chris Jans. "Richaun is a great all-around player. That's what I love the most about him. When a lot of guys make first team All-MAC, it's because of their scoring. But Richaun has developed into a all-around player. He's the main reason why we have been successful at the defensive end."
The MAC Player of the Year & Coach of the Year awards will be announced Wednesday morning. MAC Men's Basketball Second Round games will take place tomorrow night as well when No. 5 Bowling Green takes on No. 8 Eastern Michigan (6:30 p.m., TWCS/BCSN/ESPN3), while No. 6 Western Michigan battles No. 7 Akron 30 min following the conclusion of game one.
MAC Freshman of the Year (First Place Votes)
Sean Sellers, Ball State, Forward (17)
Noah Robotham, Akron, Guard (3)
Lamonte Bearden, Buffalo, Guard (6)
Thomas Wilder, Western Michigan, Guard (1)
Sellers was named Freshman of the Year, while Holmes was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, Brewer was tabbed as the MAC Sixth Man of the Year. The Freshman of the Year award was voted on by a 27-member MAC News Media Association Panel, while the Defensive Player of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year were voted on by the league's head coaches.
MAC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Sellers is the top freshman scorer in the MAC at 11.9 points per game. His 346 points this season are tied with Jarrod Jones (2008-09) for fifth on Ball State's all-time freshman scoring list. The Greensburg, Ind., product burst onto the scene with 26 points in his collegiate debut at nationally ranked Utah and went on to score double figures in 18 games. He has started every game but one and leads the Cardinals in minutes played. Sellers has knocked down a BSU freshman record 63 3-pointers and ranks fourth in the MAC with a .432 percentage from beyond the arc. That mark is the fourth-best among all freshmen in the country with at least three attempts per game. He ranks second in the MAC in free throw percentage at .807.
"I am proud of Sean for having a great freshman year," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "We relied on him very heavily, and he consistently delivered. He has an incredibly bright future. In addition to being talented, he has high character and a great work ethic. I am confident he will have a great career at Ball State."
MAC SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR
Brewer is an All-MAC honorable mention selection for the second consecutive season. He played in 30 games with 10 starts, but transitioned to the sixth man role for the Golden Flashes over the last few months of the season. Brewer averaged of 11.2 points and 2.7 assists per game and was named MAC East Division Player of the Week for the final week of the regular season after averaging 20.5 points per game and shooting 8-for-10 from the three-point line in wins over Bowling Green and Akron. He was the Flashes' go-to player at crunch time, scoring the game-winning points in the final 15.1 seconds on four occasions, including a buzzer-beater to beat Akron in the regular season finale.
"This is a well-deserved honor for Kris," said Kent State Head Coach Rob Senderoff. "He started every almost every game during his sophomore and junior seasons, and showed tremendous selflessness in accepting a role coming off the bench and being a spark for our team. His last week of the regular season is something that will never be forgotten at Kent State, and I'm really proud of him for the way he led our team this season."
MAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Holmes, who became the only Falcon in BGSU history to record 1,000 career points, 600 career rebounds and 200 career blocks, was ranked 10th in the MAC in scoring at 14.7 points per game and tied for third in rebounding at 8.0 boards per contest for the year. The BGSU senior also ranked second in the MAC in field goal percentage at a stellar 55.7 percent on the season. In league play, Holmes increased his scoring output to 15.1 points per game, which ranked eighth in the MAC, and shot 55.5 percent from the field overall, while grabbing 7.6 rebounds per game and swatting away an average of 2.7 shots per contest. The 6-8 forward also led the MAC in blocked shots per game at 2.7 per outing, which placed him in the top-25 nationally all season long.
"I'm excited for Richaun. He was very deserving of the award." said Bowling Green head coach Chris Jans. "Richaun is a great all-around player. That's what I love the most about him. When a lot of guys make first team All-MAC, it's because of their scoring. But Richaun has developed into a all-around player. He's the main reason why we have been successful at the defensive end."
The MAC Player of the Year & Coach of the Year awards will be announced Wednesday morning. MAC Men's Basketball Second Round games will take place tomorrow night as well when No. 5 Bowling Green takes on No. 8 Eastern Michigan (6:30 p.m., TWCS/BCSN/ESPN3), while No. 6 Western Michigan battles No. 7 Akron 30 min following the conclusion of game one.
MAC Freshman of the Year (First Place Votes)
Sean Sellers, Ball State, Forward (17)
Noah Robotham, Akron, Guard (3)
Lamonte Bearden, Buffalo, Guard (6)
Thomas Wilder, Western Michigan, Guard (1)
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