KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two Northwestern College men’s basketball players were tabbed All-American performers by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) for their performances on the court this season, the national office announced this morning. Alex Van Kalsbeek was named a Second Team All-American and Trent Hilbrands garnered Honorable Mention honors.
Both Van Kalsbeek and Hilbrands were First Team All-Conference players this season, marking back-to-back seasons the duo was named First Team performers.
HILBRANDS; HONORABLE MENTION ALL-AMERICAN
A constant threat from deep, the 40% 3-point shooter Hilbrands (Sr., Remsen, Iowa/Le Mars Community) collected NAIA Honorable Mention All-American honors. The Remsen, Iowa native was second on the team in scoring at 18.1 points per game. He also dished out 54 assists and recorded 13 steals. The senior also saw the most playing time of any Raider, averaging just over 37 minutes per game.
Hilbrands concludes a phenomenal career in a Red Raider uniform, moving up to sixth all-time in scoring (2,132 points), 23rd in program history in assists (273), and second all-time in made 3-point baskets (339).
Hilbrands is earning his third-career All-American accolades with all three being Honorable Mention honors for the Remsen, Iowa native.
VAN KALSBEEK; SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICAN
The sophomore sat seventh in the NAIA this season averaging 23.2 points per game, which sat second in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC). One of four GPAC athletes to shoot above 60% from the floor on the year, Van Kalsbeek (So., Orange City, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley) sat third in the conference with a 64.5% mark. The First Team All-GPAC performer achieved this feat averaging 35.7 minutes per game, the second-most minutes on the team this season.
He was one of two Raiders to snag 200+ rebounds with his team-leading 254 boards, including a second-best 40 offensive rebounds. On the year, he averaged 7.9 rebounds per game which sat tied for fourth in the conference. Additionally, he sat second on the team in assists with 112, while blocking a team-high 19 shots.
For the second straight season, the Orange City native is garnering All-American accolades for the Raiders. His Second Team honors this season improves upon his Third Team honors last season.
The 2021-22 season marks the sixth straight season that head coach Kris Korver has produced an NAIA All-American performer. In his career at Northwestern, the two honorees bring Korver’s total to 30 All-Americans he has coached.
