CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The 2021-22 American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) All-Conference Men’s Basketball Team as voted on by the league’s head coaches:

2021-22 All-American Rivers Conference Men's Basketball Team
Most Valuable Player Peter Ragen, Sr., University of Dubuque
Defensive Player of the Year Brock Simon, Jr., 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.	F	Orland Park, Ill./Joliet Catholic
Defensive Player of the Year	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Brock Simon ~	Dubuque	Jr.	G	Cascade, Iowa/Cascade
First Team	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Michael Demers % @	Buena Vista	Sr.	G	Storm Lake, Iowa/St. Mary's
Jake Thompson *	Buena Vista	Sr.	F	Le Mars, Iowa/Le Mars
Jarad Kruse %	Coe	Sr.	F	Oskaloosa, Iowa/Oskaloosa
Cael Schmitt %	Coe	So.	G	Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert Catholic
Sam Kilburg $	Dubuque	So.	G	Eldridge, Iowa/North Scott
Ali Sabet	Loras	So.	G	Glenview, Ill./Maine East/Oakton
Peter Lash	Nebraska Wesleyan	Fr.	F	Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian School
Drew Olson	Wartburg	Sr.	G	Osage, Iowa/Osage Community School
Second Team	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Zane Neubaum $	Buena Vista	So.	G	Rockwell City, Iowa/South Central Calhoun
Garrett Sittner *	Buena Vista	Sr.	G	Juniata, Neb./Adams Central
Jaylin McCants	Dubuque	Fr.	G	Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg
Brock Simon ~	Dubuque	Jr.	G	Cascade, Iowa/Cascade
Rowan McGowen % ! #	Loras	Gr.	G	Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North
Cole Navigato %	Loras	Sr.	F	Geneva, Ill./Geneva
Ben Gill	Luther	So.	C	Sydney, Australia/Newington College
Jack Molstead ^	Wartburg	Jr.	G	Charles City, Iowa/Charles City
Honorable Mention	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Josh Van Gorp	Central	So.	C	Pella, Iowa/Pella Christian
Jacob Robertson @	Coe	Sr.	G	Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Linn-Mar
Ray Thrapp	Coe	Sr.	F	Davenport, Iowa/Assumption Catholic
Landon Torneten	Nebraska Wesleyan	So.	F	Council Bluffs, Iowa/Abraham Lincoln
Chris Honz %	Simpson	Sr.	F	Omaha, Neb./Burke
Tajen Ross	Simpson	Jr.	G	Adel, Iowa/ADM
Keagan John	Wartburg	Sr.	G	New Hampton, Iowa/New Hampton
Previous Honors
% - 2020-21 First Team All-Conference
$ - 2020-21 Second Team All-Conference
* - 2020-21 Honorable Mention
~ - 2020-21 Defensive Player of the Year
& - 2020-21 Most Valuable Player
! - 2019-20 First Team All-Conference
@ - 2019-20 Second Team All-Conference
^ - 2019-20 Honorable Mention
# - 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 2021-22 season. University of Dubuque senior forward Peter Ragen (Orland Park, Ill./Joliet Catholic) was named the American Rivers Most Valuable Player, with junior guard teammate Brock Simon (Jr., Cascade, Iowa/Cascade) being voted Defensive Player of the Year. Ragen and Simon are earning these awards for the second-consecutive year. University of Dubuque head coach Robbie Sieverding earned the honor of American Rivers Conference men’s basketball Coach of the Year for the second-straight year after guiding UD to a 14-2 conference record.
 
For the third time in four years, a single team sweeps the major conference awards. University of Dubuque swept the major awards a year ago and Nebraska Wesleyan swept the awards in 2018-19. This is the fourth time since 2017 Dubuque players sweep the major play awards. Andre Norris and Brandon Ferguson earned Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year honors, respectively, in 2014-15. The 2015-16 season saw Norris take home both major awards, and last season Ragen and Simon took home the honors.
 
Ragen is now a three-time all-conference selection, garnering first-team honors in 2019-20 and 2020-21. He becomes the fifth player from Dubuque to be named Conference MVP in consecutive seasons. The Joliet Catholic prep joins Andre Norris (2015, 216), Dave Crawford (1990, 1991), Tim Lundquist (1986, 1985), and Bob Finnegan (1969, 1970).
 
In 16 league contests, Ragen ranked fourth in the conference with 16.3 points per game (ppg) and his free throw percentage stook fifth-best at 75.3% (55-for-73). The Orland Park, Ill. native shot 44.3% from the floor and 37.2% from 3-point range during conference play. At 5.4 rebounds per game (rpg), Ragen owned 11^th in the league standings.
 
Simon is the first Dubuque men’s basketball student-athlete to garner Defensive Player of the Year accolades in back-to-back seasons 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) as Defensive Player of the Year. In his junior season for the Spartans, Simon played in all 16 conference games, averaging 9.4ppg and 4.1rpg. He was fifth in the league in field goal percentage with 56.0%. In addition to his second-consecutive Defensive Player of the Year honor, Simon is collecting second-team all-conference recognition, as the defensive player of the year is not honored as all-conference unless selected to the first or second team by the league’s head coaches.
 
In his 15^th season at the helm of the Spartan men’s basketball program, Sieverding is collecting his third-career Coach of the Year honor (2022, 2021, 2016). He joins former UD head coach Jon Davison, who also won the award three times (1986, 1988, 1990), as the only men’s basketball coaches to bring the award back to Dubuque.
 
Sieverding, assisted by Chris MacMartin and John Payan, guided Dubuque to a 14-2 mark in the 2021-22 season. The Dubuque Spartans were crowned American Rivers Conference Champions for the second-consecutive season. The Spartans avenged the fifth-highest point total (74.1) during league play while limiting opponents to 60.6ppg, ranking number one in the conference. With a scoring margin of 13.6-points, UD stook atop the conference. Their offensive efficiency from the floor ranks third in the conference (.467) and their defensive percentage of .395 ranked first. With a turnover margin of 3.19, the UD squad tops the conference.
 
The American Rivers All-Conference first team highlighted players from six of the league’s nine schools, with four of the eight selections earning at least their second all-conference honors. Three of those athletes are repeat first teamers and one moves to first team after earning second team recognition a season ago. The remaining four are first-time honorees.
 
Joining Ragen as a first-team selection from Dubuque is sophomore guard Sam Kilburg (So., Eldridge, Iowa/North Scott). Kilburg is two-time All-Conference performer after a second team recognition in 2021. The sophomore guard averaged 10.2ppg, shooting 48.4% from the field during league play. Kilburg was third in the league in 3-point field goal percentage at 44.4% (24-for-54). He was also third in the league in assists, averaging 4.1 per game with an assists/turnover ration of 3.8, which leads the league.
 
After earning a first-round bye in the conference tournament, Buena Vista had two honorees on first-team, Michel Demers (Sr., Storm Lake, Iowa/St. Mary’s) and Jake Thompson (Sr., Le Mars, Iowa/Le Mars). Demers is picking up his third all-conference honor after earning second team in 2020 and first team a season ago. Playing in all 16 league games, Demers was fifth in scoring average with 15.9ppg, and seventh in rebounding with 5.9rpg. The senior guard had a field goal percentage of 51.8% and 3-point field goal percentage of 43.4%. Thompson is picking up his first all-conference honor after earning honorable mention a season ago. Thompson averaged 12.4ppg and 6.3rpg for the Beavers. The senior forward was the conference leader in assists, averaging 5.7 per game. On the defensive side of the ball, Thompson was tied for fourth in conference averaging 1.6 steals per game.
 
Coe College forward Jarad Kruse (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa/Oskaloosa) is collecting his second career all-conference honor. In 16 conference outings, Kruse averaged 17.2ppg, which stook second-best in the conference. On the glass, he secured 6.6rpg for the third-highest league average. The senior forward shot 53.5% from the floor and 36.8% from behind the arc in league play.
 
Kruse was joined on the first team by teammate Cael Schmitt (So., Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert Catholic). Schmitt is picking up his second all-conference nod after being named to first-team a season ago. The sophomore guard averaged 13.2ppg, 3.8 assists per game, and 1.6 steals per game, all sitting in the top-10 in league standings. Schmitt had a 3-point field goal percentage of 39.1% which sits eighth-best in the conference.
 
Ali Sabet (So., Glenview, Ill./Main East/Oakton) of Loras is picking up his first all-conference honor. At 13.4ppg in 16 league contests, Sabet owned the number nine spot on the conference leaderboard. The Loras guard ranked fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (.402) going 33-for-82. His 2.1 made 3-pointers per game was third-best in the league.
 
Scoring 16.9ppg in 16 league outings, Peter Lash (Fr., Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian School) of Nebraska Wesleyan was third-best in the conference. His 29 made 3-pointers and 1.8 per game was tied for seventh in the conference. He was the second-best rebounder in the league averaging 6.9 boards per game. The freshman forward is picking up his first all-conference recognition.
 
Wartburg’s Drew Olson (Sr., Osage, Iowa/Osage Community School) closes out his senior campaign with selection to the first-team all-conference roster. Olson averaged 15.3ppg and 4.9rpg in 16 conference contests. His scoring was good for sixth-best in the league this season. Olson had the best free-throw percentage in the league (.878) after going 65-for-74 on the season. The Osage, Iowa native sits second-best in assists, averaging 5.0 per game. On the defensive side of the ball, Olson led the league in steals, averaging 3.4 per game.