Colorado Mesa University’s Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams have been rewarded for their outstanding performances in the regular season with six major awards from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). Both teams clinched the RMAC regular season titles and are poised for postseason success.
Baskin and Reed named RMAC Players of the Year
The RMAC announced its annual awards on Thursday, March 7, 2024, and CMU Basketball swept the Player of the Year honors. Redshirt Junior Forward Trevor Baskin was named the Men’s Player of the Year, while Sophomore Forward Olivia Reed was named the Women’s Player of the Year.
Baskin averaged 17.9 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game, and was third in the conference in blocks. He also shot 54.6% from the field and 40.7% from the three-point line. He led the Mavericks to a 19-1 record and the top seed in the RMAC Tournament. He was also named to the RMAC All-Conference First-Team along with Redshirt Junior Guard Mac Riniker.
Reed averaged 16.9 points per game and 11.2 rebounds per game, leading the conference in both categories. She also recorded 11 double-doubles and had a career-high 30 points and 24 rebounds in a win over Colorado Christian. She helped the Mavericks to a 17-3 record and the second seed in the RMAC Tournament. She was the RMAC Freshman of the Year last season, and this year’s winner of that award is also a Maverick.
Rowland and Riniker win Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year awards
Freshman Guard Mason Rowland was named the RMAC Freshman of the Year after averaging 14.8 points per game, second on the team behind Reed. She also shot 46.8% from the field and 41.2% from the three-point line. She was named to the All-RMAC Second Team, along with Junior Guard Kylie Kravig, who led the conference in assists with 168.
Riniker was named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, after leading the conference in steals with 49 and ranking fourth in blocks with 23. He also averaged 15.8 points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game, and 4.4 assists per game. He was named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week four times this season.
DeGeorge and Wagner earn Coach of the Year honors
Both CMU Basketball head coaches also received the RMAC Coach of the Year awards, after guiding their teams to impressive regular season records and rankings. Men’s Head Coach Mike DeGeorge won the award for the second year in a row, and his third time in the last four seasons. He has a 107-31 record in six seasons at CMU, and has led the Mavericks to four RMAC regular season titles and two RMAC Tournament titles.
Women’s Head Coach Taylor Wagner won the award for the eighth time in his 12 seasons at CMU. He has a 263-81 record at CMU, and has led the Mavericks to eight RMAC regular season titles and six RMAC Tournament titles. He has also taken the Mavericks to the NCAA Tournament nine times, reaching the Elite Eight in 2017.
CMU Basketball ready for postseason action
Both CMU Basketball teams will look to add more hardware to their trophy cases in the postseason. The Men’s team will host an RMAC Semifinal game on Friday against Black Hills State, while the Women’s team awaits their NCAA Tournament fate, to see if they can secure an at-large bid on March 10. Both teams have high hopes of making deep runs and bringing glory to CMU.
