MIDDLETOWN, Ohio - The River States Conference is pleased to announce the Player of the Week honorees for the past week.
All awards represent contests played from Monday, January 13 through Sunday, January 19.
Men's Basketball Players of the Week
Defensive Player of the Week
Camden Pfeister, IU Southeast | Jr. - Guard - Louisville, Kentucky
Pfeister was a menace defensively last week, averaging 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks in three wins for IU Southeast. Pfeister had his best game of the week in a 71-64 win over WVU Tech on Saturday. The junior from Louisville scored 13 points and had six rebounds, five steals and a block as well as numerous deflections on the defensive end, leading the Grenadiers to a key conference victory over the Golden Bears.
Offensive Player of the Week
Lane Lauderbaugh, IU Southeast | Jr. - Forward - Greensburg, Indiana
Lauderbaugh continued torching defenses this past week, averaging 23.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in three IU Southeast wins over IU Columbus, Miami Middletown, and WVU Tech. Lauderbaugh had his best game against IU Columbus, scoring a career-high 36 points while pulling in 9 rebounds. The Grenadiers needed nearly every point of Lauderbaugh's, as IU Southeast picked up a much-needed 100-96 victory over the Crimson Pride.
Women's Basketball Players of the Week
Defensive Player of the Week
Grace Stapleton, IU Southeast | So. - Guard - Shirley, Indiana
Stapleton made her presence known on the defensive end of the court in three victories for IU Southeast. From the guard position, the 5-6 Stapleton had ten steals, nine rebounds, and a block for the Grenadiers. Stapleton had ten points, ten assists, and five steals against IU Columbus, and 17 points and three steals against WVU Tech, all of which were blowout victories for the Grenadiers.
Offensive Player of the Week
Kaylee Darnell, Rio Grande | Sr. - Guard - Wheelersburg, Ohio
Darnell had a historic week for the RedStorm, leading the way in victories over IU East and Brescia. The senior guard had a career-high 36 points, including 26 in the second half and 18 in the fourth quarter, in the win at IU East. The Wheelersburg, Ohio native added 24 more in win at Brescia, becoming just the third 2,000-point scorer in Rio history. The senior averaged 30 points per game on the week, shooting 50 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from three-point territory.
Indoor Track Athletes of the Week
Male Track Athlete of the Week
Troy Mason, Rio Grande | So. - Grenville, Grenada
Mason won the 60-meter dash, erasing the school record he just set the week before with a time of 6.72. The time, which was the fifth-fastest in the NAIA this season, met the "A" qualifying standard for the NAIA national championship and missed setting a new facility record by just .02. Mason also erased his week-old school record in the 200-meter dash and recorded a time faster than the school's outdoor record, finishing in 21.19. It was the fourth-fastest time in the NAIA this season, while also hitting the "A" qualifying standard.
Male Field Athlete of the Week
Luke Rader, Shawnee State | So. - Minford, Ohio
Rader scored a team-high 28 points in individual events and contributed to a team-best 34 points overall to help Shawnee State win the 11-team Lions Invitational Saturday in Cincinnati. Rader set personal bests and school records in both the 60 meter hurdles and the triple jump en route to winning both events, finished second in the long jump and contributed to SSU's fourth-place finish in the 4-by-200 meter relay.
Female Track Athlete of the Week
Laura Hamm, Rio Grande | Fr. - South Point, Ohio
Hamm's time in the 800 meter run at the YSU Collegiate Invitational topped the previous school-record of 2:20.64 set by Anne Marie Hynes, while also serving as the ninth-best time in the NAIA this season. Rio's 4x400 relay team time of 4:04.68, topped the previous school record by nearly five full seconds, and earned a bronze medal at Youngstown State.
Female Field Athlete of the Week
Sydney Duncan, IU Kokomo | So. - Anderson, Indiana
Duncan continued her strong start to her sophomore season in the first meet of 2025, tossing another NAIA "A" standard in Shot Put while winning the Weight Throw. Already leading the NAIA in Shot Put this year, Duncan tossed a mark of 15.64 metes that is also better than every other NAIA female student-athlete. Having already punched her ticket to NAIA Indoor Nationals in the Shot Put, Sydney has turned some attention to the Weight Throw with the hopes of meeting a standard. She won the Weight Throw by more than a meter, but came up short of a qualifying standard by just .14 meters. Sydney is ranked #1 in the RSC in the Weight Throw as well.