Friday, September 25, 2015
by Western Oregon Univ. Athletic Communications

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Western Oregon senior Andy Avgi has secured Sporting News Preseason All-America Team accolades while the Wolves have been named as one of the Division II programs capable of a possible breakthrough.
 
Avgi, the 6-foot-6 forward from Woodburn, Ore., is among five players to be recognized nationally as Preseason First Team All-Americans. He averaged 18.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game as a junior at WOU in 2014-15, helping the program win the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) regular-season title and reach its first appearance in the NCAA West Regional. Avgi was the GNAC Player of the Year, an All-GNAC First Team selection, All-West honoree by Daktronics and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), and the first Western Oregon player to earn an NCAA All-American nod (Division II Bulletin).
 
WOU's leading scorer in 2014-15, Avgi ranked in the GNAC top-10 in scoring (3rd), field goal percentage (3rd, .612), free throw percentage (9th, .808), steals (10th) and rebounding (10th).
 
Joining Avgi as Sporting News Preseason First Team honorees were Seger Bonifant of West Liberty (W.Va.), Daniel Jansen of Augustana (S.D.), Ryan Stephan of Colorado Mesa and Deonta Stocks of West Georgia.
 
In Sporting News' Division II Pre-Season rankings, the Wolves did not crack the top 10. Nonetheless, Western Oregon was listed among 20 schools in the "Possible Breakthroughs" category. Topping the Top 10 list was Tarleton State, a national semifinalist in 2015. Coming in at No. 10 was the only school out of the West Region, the Lancers of California Baptist.
 
Western Oregon will hit the road for an exhibition contest at Oregon State on Thursday, Nov. 5 in Corvallis. The Wolves open their regular season playing in the GNAC/PacWest Challenge, hosted by Saint Martin's, on Friday, Nov. 13 against Point Loma and Saturday, Nov. 14 against Fresno Pacific. WOU plays at home the following weekend hosting the Doubletree D2 Shootout with games against Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday, Nov. 20 and Warner Pacific on Saturday, Nov. 21.
 
2015-16 Sporting News Top 10
1. Tarleton State
2. Augustana (SD)
3. West Liberty
4. Lincoln Memorial
5. Missouri Southern
6. Bellarmine
7. Midwestern State
8. St. Cloud State
9. Montevallo
10. California Baptist
 
Possible Breakthroughs: Alabama-Huntsville, Arkansas-Fort Smith, Barry, Bowie State, BYU-Hawaii, Carson-Newman, Central Missouri, UC-Colorado Springs, Fairmont State, Glenville State, Indiana (Pa.), Indianapolis, Kentucky Wesleyan, Merrimack, Minnesota-Moorhead, Mount Olive,  Queens (NC), St. Edward's, Union (Tenn.), Western Oregon.
 
Division II Preseason All-Americans
First Team
Andy Avgi, Western Oregon
Seger Bonifant, West Liberty
Daniel Jansen, Augustana (SD)
Ryan Stephen, Colorado-Mesa
Deonta Stocks, West Georgia
 
Second Team
Yunio Barrueta, Barry
Dontrell Brite, Mount Olive
Casey Schilling, Augustana (SD)
Devin Schmidt, Delta State
Gelvis Solano, Merrimack
 
Honorable Mention
Connor Beranek, Nebraska-Kearney
Ryan Berg, California Baptist
Ethan Brozek, Nebraska-Kearney
Kameron Bundy, Drury
Luquon Choice, Lincoln Memorial
Kyle Cooper, Hillsdale
Wendell Davis, Ashland
Jordan Faison, Cal Poly Pomona
Jon Feiler, New York Tech
Tyree Gaiter, Notre Dame (OH)
Stephen Grosey, Concordia-Irvine (CA)
Ian Harward, BYU-Hawaii
Preston Herring, Alabama-Huntsville
Devin Hoehn, West Liberty
Corbin Jackson, Florida Tech
Andraz Kavas, Harding
Jack Madgen, Delta State
Michael Mallory, Southern Connecticut
Tanner McGrew, West Virginia Wesleyan