River States Conference Men's Basketball Teams & Awards released for 2022-23

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- The 2022-23 All-River States Conference Men's Basketball Teams & Awards are announced at RiverStatesConference.com. Jo Valrie, a sophomore from Point Park (Pa.) University, headlines the honorees as the RSC Player of the Year and RSC Newcomer of the Year. 

Selections for the All-RSC awards were made by the 13 head coaches in the conference. The All-RSC Men's Basketball First & Second Teams recognized 10 players each. The RSC Honorable Mention Team includes seven additional players who received votes in the ballotting. Also named were the RSC Men's Basketball Champions of Character Team and the RSC Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete Team. 

Valrie, a 6-5 sophomore guard/forward from Houston, Texas, led the voting for all-conference. As the top vote-getter and also an incoming transfer this year, he claimed RSC Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. Valrie averages 19.8 ppg for second in the conference, and he averages a league-high 10.1 rpg. He is one of just 12 players in the NAIA averaging a double-double. 

IU Southeast head coach Wiley Brown was voted by his peers as RSC Men's Basketball Coach of the Year. In his 16th season, Brown has led the Grenadiers to another 20-win season at 22-8 overall as well as an appearance in the RSC Championship finals at IU Kokomo on Tuesday, Feb. 28. The Grenadiers are the No. 2 seed out of the RSC West Division.

Point Park, RSC regular-season champion University of Rio Grande (Ohio) and IU Southeast led the first team with two selections each. Point Park also had junior guard Jalen Stamps, who was third in the conference at 19.3 ppg. Rio Grande's pair of first-team selections were forward Shiloah Blevins at 15.6 ppg and 6.2 rpg and guard Miki Tadic coming in at 13.8 ppg. IU Southeast's first-teamers were guards Jocobi Hendricks (13.7 ppg) and Anthony Wales Jr (14.8 ppg).

Alice Lloyd College (Ky.) senior forward Will Philpot repeated as a First-Team selection. He led the Eagles in both scoring and rebounding and was among the league's leaders in several categories.

The RSC Champions of Character Team includes one member of each team nominated by their coach for best displaying the NAIA's five-character traits of respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership and sportsmanship. For Alice Lloyd College, senior center Noah Caudill received this honor

The RSC Scholar-Athlete Team includes players with a 3.25 GPA or higher who play the sport of men's basketball and have been at their current school at least two semesters prior to this season. Midway (Ky.) University led the conference with seven team members named to the scholar team. Alice Lloyd (Ky.) placed four on this team: Jack Brown, Jared Strickland, Noah Caudill, and Will Philpot.