Monday, March 20, 2017

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A quartet of GNAC men’s basketball standouts, led by Western Washington guard Taylor Stafford and Alaska Anchorage guard Suki Wiggs, have earned selection to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II All-West Region Team.

Stafford and Wiggs earned first team selections, marking the second time this season that the duo has been named to an all-region team. Western Oregon forward Tanner Omlid and Western Washington guard Jeffrey Parker were both named to the All-West Region Second Team. It is the the second all-region selection this season for Omlid while Parker earns honors for the first time.

Stafford, a senior transfer from the University of Evansville who was named both the GNAC Player and Newcomer of the Year, piloted the Vikings to the GNAC regular season and tournament titles. He ranked third in the GNAC and 15th in Division II with an average of 22.7 points per game. He scored double digits in all but one of the Vikings’ 31 games this season, which included a 44-point performance at UC San Diego on Dec. 12.

Wiggs led the GNAC in scoring for the second straight year, averaging 24.4 points per game to rank No. 5 in the NCAA. A year after breaking the GNAC single-season scoring record with 770 points in 2015-16, Wiggs finished his career with 1,477 points in just two seasons with the Seawolves.

Omlid was the only returning starter from Western Oregon’s 2016 Final Four squad and led the Wolves back to the GNAC Championships final, where they lost to Western Washington. The GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, Omlid was the only GNAC player to rank in the top-12 in all five major statistical categories as he averaged 15.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 3.1 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. Omlid set a GNAC record with 11 steals against Seattle Pacific on Feb. 4.

Parker ended his college career as Western Washington’s all-time career scoring leader and is ranked seventh in GNAC history with 1,867 points. A two-time First Team All-GNAC selection, Parker averaged 15.9 points per game while helping lead the Vikings to the NCAA Division II West Regional. He had 10 games with 20 or more points scored, led by 32-point performances against Cal State East Bay on Nov. 12 and Northwest nazarene on Jan. 19.