CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The 2020-21 All-American Rivers Conference Men's Basketball Team as voted on by the league's head coaches:

2020-21 All-American Rivers Conference Men's Basketball Team
Most Valuable Player Peter Ragen, Sr., University of Dubuque
Defensive Player of the Year Brock Simon, So., University of Dubuque
Coach of the Year Robbie Sieverding, University of Dubuque
Most Valuable Player	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Peter Ragen !	Dubuque	Sr.	G	Orland Park, Ill./Joliet Catholic
Defensive Player of the Year	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Brock Simon	Dubuque	So.	F	Cascade, Iowa/Cascade
First Team	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Michael Demers @	Buena Vista	Sr.	G	Storm Lake, Iowa/St. Mary's
Adam Flinn @	Central	Sr.	G	St. Louis, Mo./Lafayette
Jarad Kruse	Coe	Jr.	F	Oskaloosa, Iowa/Oskaloosa
Cael Schmitt	Coe	Fr.	G	Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert Catholic
Patrick Mayfield	Dubuque	So.	G	Elgin, Ill./Burlington Central
Rowan McGowen # !	Loras	Sr.	G	Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North
Cole Navigato	Loras	Sr.	F	Geneva, Ill./Geneva
Chris Honz	Simpson	Jr.	F	Omaha, Neb./Burke
Second Team	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Zane Neubaum	Buena Vista	Fr.	F	Rockwell City, Iowa/South Central Calhoun
Caden Mauck	Central	Sr.	F	Kansas City, Mo./Blue Springs South
Sam Kilburg	Dubuque	Fr.	G	Eldridge, Iowa/North Scott
Jake Healy	Loras	So.	G	Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South
Jadyn Torres	Luther	Sr.	F	San Marino, Calif./San Marino
Conner Riekenberg	Nebraska Wesleyan	So.	G	Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln East
Andrew Curran	Simpson	So.	G	Ottumwa, Iowa/Waukee
Collin Lister	Simpson	So.	G	Carlisle, Iowa/Carlisle
Honorable Mention	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Garrett Sittner	Buena Vista	Sr.	G	Juniata, Neb./Adams Central
Jake Thompson	Buena Vista	Sr.	F	Le Mars, Iowa/Le Mars
Levi Scheuermann	Dubuque	So.	G	Mackinaw, Ill./Deer Creek - Mackinaw
Keegan Zimmerman	Dubuque	So.	F	Eureka, Ill./Eureka
Max Smith Drahos ~ &	Wartburg	Sr.	G	Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie
Ryan Stulken &	Wartburg	Sr.	F	Walford, Iowa/Xavier
Previous Honors
! - 2019-20 First Team All-Conference
@ - 2019-20 Second Team All-Conference
& - 2019-20 Honorable Mention
*- 2018-19 Second Team All-Conference
~ - 2018-19 Honorable Mention
$ - 2017-18 First Team All-Conference
% - 2017-18 Second Team All-Conference
# - 2017-18 Honorable Mention

NOTE: The MVP shall have standing as an All-Conference player but is not a member of the first or second team.
NOTE: The defensive player of the year is not honored as All-Conference unless selected to the first or second team by the coaches

The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced today its major men's basketball awards and the 17-member All-Conference team for the 2020-21 season. University of Dubuque senior guard Peter Ragen (Orland Park, Ill./Joliet Catholic) was named the American Rivers Most Valuable Player, with sophomore forward teammate Brock Simon (So., Cascade, Iowa/Cascade) being voted Defensive Player of the Year. University of Dubuque head coach Robbie Sieverding earned the honor of American Rivers Conference men's basketball Coach of the Year after guiding UD to a perfect 14-0 season.

For the second time in three years, a single team sweeps the major conference awards. The last team to do so was Nebraska Wesleyan in 2018-19. This marks the third time since 2016 Dubuque players sweep the major player awards. Andre Norris and Brandon Ferguson earned Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year honors, respectively, in 2014-15. The 2015-16 saw Norris take home both major awards.  

Ragen is now a two-time all-conference selection, garnering first-team honors a season ago, and becoming the seventh Dubuque player to be named Conference MVP. The Joliet Catholic prep joins former UD conference MVPs Andre Norris (2015, 2016), Dave Crawford (1990, 1991), Todd Millon (1988), Tim Lundquist (1986, 1985), Robin Davis (1983), and Bob Finnegan (1969, 1970) who was the conference's first MVP. 

In seven league contests Ragen ranked fourth in the conference with 17.6 points per game (ppg) and his 123 total points stood third-best. The Orland Park, Ill. native shot 42.5% from the floor and 40.9% from 3-point range during conference play. His 2.6 3-pointers per game stood fourth in the conference. Going 33-for-39 (84.6%) at the free throw line, Ragen landed sixth on the leaderboard. At 6.4 rebounds per game (rpg) Ragen owned ninth in the league standings. Defensively he ranked second-best in blocked shots per game at 1.1 and ranked 10th in steals per game (1.1). 

Simon is the third Dubuque men's basketball student-athlete to garner Defensive Player of the Year accolades since the league's inception of honoring a Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year in 2010-11. The Cascade, Iowa native joins former honorees Norris (2016) and Ferguson (2015).  In this his sophomore season for the Spartans, Simon played in five of UD's seven conference games, averaging 4.6rpg and 1.2 steals per game, which ranked seventh in the league. In those five games he averaged 0.6 blocks per game, ranking eighth in the conference. 

In his 14th season at the helm of the Spartan men's basketball program, Sieverding is collecting his second career Coach of the Year honor (2021, 2016). He joins former UD head coach Jon Davison, who won the award three times (1986, 1988, 1990), as the only men's basketball coach to bring the award back to Dubuque.

Sieverding, assisted by Jordan Townsend and John Payan, guided Dubuque to a flawless 14-0 mark in 2021. The Dubuque Spartans were crowned American Rivers Conference Champions by virtue of winning the conference tournament. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic that altered the 2020-21 regular season schedule, the conference coaches and Athletic Directors voted to award the overall Conference Championship to the Conference Tournament winner, in lieu of utilizing final regular season standings. The 2021 Conference Championship makes it nine for the Spartan program and two while under the direction of Sieverding. 

The Spartans averaged the second-highest point total (88.3) during their seven conference games while limiting opponents to 72.9ppg, also ranking second in the league. With a scoring margin of 15.4-points UD stood atop the conference. Their offensive efficiency from the floor was also tops in the conference (.498) and their defensive percentage of .425 ranked second. From 3-point range UD once again paced the league at 45%, going 72-for-160. With a turnover margin of 3.00, the UD squad stood second in the conference. 

The American Rivers All-Conference first team highlighted players from six of the league's nine schools, with three of the eight selections earning at least their second all-conference honors. Only one is a repeat first-teamer and two move to first team after earning second team recognition a season ago. The remaining five are first-time honorees.
 
After earning second team honors a season ago, Buena Vista's Micahel Demers (Sr., Storm Lake, Iowa/St. Mary's) jumps to first team in 2021. Playing in eight conference games, Demers tied for fifth in scoring average with 17.1ppg. His 12 steals were a conference-best and his 5.8ppg ranked 11th. The Storm Lake, Iowa native averaged 48.2% from the floor and made 16-of-19 at the free throw line. 

Adam Flinn (Sr., St. Louis, Mo./Lafayette) of Central, also a 2020 second-team all-conference selection, gets the first team nod this season. At 19.6ppg in five league contests, Flinn owned the number two spot on the conference leaderboard. The Dutch guard ranked seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (.500) going 17-for-34. His 3.4 made 3-pointers per game was second-best in the league and his 86.4% at the free throw line ranked fifth. 

Coe College forward Jarad Kruse (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa/Oskaloosa) is collecting his first career all-conference honor. In five conference outings Kruse averaged 19.2ppg, which stood third-best in the conference. On the glass he secured 7.6rpg for the fifth-highest league average. Efficient he was from the floor, going 41-for-68 for a 60.3-FG%, ranking sixth overall. 

Kruse was joined on the first team by teammate Cael Schmitt (Fr., Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert Catholic). The first-year guard averaged 5.0 assists per game over seven league contests for a conference-best and finished 10th overall in scoring at 15.3ppg. From the floor he went 40-of-91 (.440) and made 81.8% (18-of-22) of his free throw attempts. Additionally, the Wahlert Catholic prep owned the conference's second-best assist-to-turnover ratio (2.7). 

In addition to Ragen being recognized as an All-Conference performer with MVP accolades, Dubuque's Patrick Mayfield (So., Elgin, Ill./Burlington Central) earned first-team honors. The Spartan guard averaged 17.1ppg, shooting 54% (47-of-87) from the field and 75.9% (22-of-29) at the free throw line, ranking fifth, 10th, and 12th, respectively. This is the first all-conference honor for Mayfield. 

Scoring 21.6ppg in seven league outings, Rowan McGowen (Sr., Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) of Loras led all scorers in the conference. His 27 made 3-pointers and 3.9 per game were also tops in the league. He concluded conference play going 26-of-35 (.743) from the free throw line and averaging 2.3 assists per game. McGowen is now a back-to-back first-team all-conference award winner. The senior also picked up honorable mention recognition as a sophomore.

The Duhawk's second first-team honoree is Cole Navigato (Sr., Geneva, Ill./Geneva). The Forward played in seven conference games this season, ranking first in rebounds per game (9.0) and total rebounds (63). His 14.9ppg was good for 13th in the conference and his 53.3-FG% (40-of-75) ranked 11th. 

Simpson's Chris Honz (Jr., Omaha, Neb./Burke) closes out his junior campaign with selection to the first-team all-conference roster. Honz averaged 8.9rpg and grabbed 62 total boards in seven conference contests, placing him second on the league roster. Defensively he added 1.0 block per game for the third-best league average. On the offensive end he put up 15.0ppg, which ranked him 11th during conference action. 

The 17-member team includes four who are earning at least their second all-conference honor (first-second team). All eight members of the second-team roster are earning their first career all-conference accolade.

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