Crossroads League Announces Athletes of the Week | February 16-22
Crossroads League Athletes-of-the-Week Page
JACKSON, Mich. – The Crossroads League Athletes of the Week were announced on Monday, recognizing the league's top individual performances from February 16 through February 22. Sports Information Directors from the league institutions nominate student-athletes for the awards and vote on each week's winners.
Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Abbey McNally, Marian
McNally continued her torrid stretch of play on both ends of the court, leading No. 4 Marian with 19.0 points, 15.0 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 1.5 steals and 1.5 assists per game in wins over RV IWU and RV Huntington.
Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Abbey McNally, Marian
McNally blocked multiple shots and cleaned the glass in No. 4 Marian's wins over RV IWU and RV Huntington. The All-American had nine rebounds and two blocks against IWU, before going for 21 rebounds, three blocks and two steals against HU.
Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Marr Avance, Saint Francis
Avance lifted USF past No. 19 Huntington with a pair of big scoring outputs. The junior guard shot 51.6 percent, while averaging 22.0 points per game in the two wins and adding 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Tyler Raasch, Grace
Raasch helped No. 2 Grace clinch the outright Crossroads League Championship with 4.5 blocks and 9.5 rebounds per game against No. 11 Bethel and Goshen. The freshman posted 16 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks against BU.
Women's Indoor TF Track Athlete of the Week
Katie Woods, Marian
Woods fueled another team championship for Marian at the league meet with wins in the 800-meters and 4x800-meter relay. Woods helped MU post the fastest time in the NAIA this season in the relay at 9:11.22 and posted the NAIA's second-best time of the year in the 800.
Women's Indoor TF Field Athlete of the Week
Gabrielle Zeilenga, Bethel
Zeilenga turned in NAIA-A standard performances in the long jump and pole vault for Bethel at the CL Championships. The junior won the long jump with a distance of 5.82 meters and took second in the pole vault with a height of 3.75 meters.
Men's Indoor TF Track Athlete of the Week
Braden Sweet, Indiana Wesleyan
Sweet won the 1,000-meters and distance-medley relay at the Crossroads League Championships, hitting NAIA-A standards in each race and setting a new IWU program record with a time of 2:27.88 in the 1,000.
Men's Indoor TF Field Athlete of the Week
Markevious Keys, Marian
Keys scored in two events for Marian during its dominant showing en route to the CL Championship. Keys won the weight throw with a mark of 19.09 meters. and finished fourth in the shot put at 14.05 meters.
Baseball Player of the Week
Luke Sutter, Taylor
Sutter powered No. 9 Taylor to a series win over Madonna by hitting .385 with two home runs and eight runs scored in the three-game set. The junior outfielder slugged .846 in the three games and scored multiple runs in all three contests.
Baseball Pitcher of the Week
Brody Fine, Taylor
Fine continued his dominant start to the 2026 campaign for No. 9 Taylor, whiffing a career-high 10 batters and allowing just one hit and one walk in five innings against Madonna. Fine took the win on the bump, with a 0.00 ERA and 0.40 WHIP in the outing.
Softball Player of the Week
Ava Everman, Taylor
Everman had a breakout weekend in the lineup for Taylor, helping the Trojans to a 3-1 clip. The freshman had a .538 batting average with three doubles, seven runs batted in and a 1.369 OPS over her 14 plate appearances.
Softball Pitcher of the Week
Claire Cullen, Taylor
Cullen won a pair of games in the circle for Taylor, leading the Trojans past Oakland City and Brescia. The sophomore worked 12.1 innings, posting a 1.70 earned-run average and striking out nine batters.
Women's Tennis Player of the Week
Yasmin Imamniyazova, Marian
Imamniyazova helped No. 11 Marian to a team win over No. 23 Cumberland and finished the week 2-1 at No. 1 singles and 2-0 at No. 1 doubles for the Knights.
Men's Tennis Player of the Week
James Ashworth, Marian
Ashworth helped the Knights to a 3-0 week with wins over No. 19 Cumberland and No. 13 Oakland City. The junior went a combined 6-0 at the top of Marian's lineup, winning all three matches at No. 1 singles, as well as at No. 1 doubles.