Mangas Named League Player Of The YearMARION – The unprecedented freshman season for Indiana Wesleyan University guard Kyle Mangas continued on Wednesday as he was voted the Crossroads League Men’s Basketball Player of the Year.
In addition, the former Warsaw Community High School standout and 2017 Indiana All-Star was named All-Crossroads League First Team and the Crossroads League Freshman of the Year.
Indiana Wesleyan’s Greg Tonagel was tabbed Crossroads League Coach of the Year, Evan Maxwell earned All-Crossroads League Second Team, Jacob Johnson was an All-Crossroads League Third Team selection, and Joel Okafor was voted to the All-Defense Team.
“Individual accolades are always a result of team success,” said Tonagel. “Each of these guys put their teammates above themselves all year long. As a result, the team reached new levels, as did they.”
Other members of the men’s Crossroads League First-Team are Bryce Lienhoop (St. Francis), Wes Stowers (Marian), Gage Ott (Bethel) and Spring Arbor’s Paul Marandet, who was Mangas’ high school teammate and helped lead the Warsaw Tigers to a 25-2 record in and semistate appearance in 2016.
Mangas is the first freshman to earn the Player of the Year award in the Crossroads League since the inception of the honor in the 1989-90 season (91 and 94 winners are unknown at this time). Alex Kock of Huntington University was the last non-senior to win the award when he shared it with senior Eric Ford of Taylor University in 2005-06, and he was the last non-senior to win the award outright as a sophomore in 2004-05.
Mangas and Kock are the only underclassmen to earn the Player of the Year award in the Crossroads League.
Mangas currently averages 21.8 points, 4.9 rounds, and 3.0 assists per game. His 718 points this season are third most in program history and fifth in NAIA Division II. Mangas is the fourth Wildcat to ever be named Crossroads League Player of the Year, joining Lane Mahurin (2016-17), Jordan Weidner (2013-14), and Patrick Hopkins (2012-13).
Tonagel was named Crossroads League Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his 13-year career. He last received the recognition in 2014-15.
“We measure success by the growth of others,” said Tonagel. “Each of these guys played a significant role in the growth of their teammates.”
Indiana Wesleyan is 26-7 on the season and won the Crossroads League regular season and tournament championships. IWU has punched its ticket to the NAIA Division II National Championship and will play Antelope Valley College (Calif) in the first round of the NAIA Division II national tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D. on March 8.
The Grace College Lancers are represented on the All-Crossroads League Third Team by junior Logan Godfrey, while senior Erik Bowen received honorable mention status and Matt Jennings was named to the All-Freshmen Team.
On the women’s side, Marian University’s Joana Soeiro was named Player of the Year and Katie Gearlds the Coach of the Year.
Joining Soeiro on the women’s first-team is Kendall Bradbury (Taylor), Kara Gerka (St. Francis), Kellie Kirkhoff (Marian) and Anna Imhoff (Indiana Wesleyan).
The Grace College Lady Lancers are represented on the second-team by Brooke Sugg and on the third-team by Vironnica Drake.
