Year in Review: Men's Basketball

The men's basketball 2022-23 season was a testament to the team's resilience. After a rocky 1-15 start with several close calls not going their way, the Eagles roared to life with a five-game winning streak that put them squarely in contention for a postseason bid. They were just shy of the postseason on the final day of play, falling to eventual NACC Tournament champion St. Norbert. They finished the season 7-18 overall and 7-10 in NACC play.

Jake Schroeckenthaler continued his strong career with Edgewood College, netting two NACC weekly accolades and a D3hoops.com weekly award as well as Academic All-District, NACC First Team, as well as NABC & D3hoops.com All-Region selections. He led the NACC in scoring with 21.8 points per game and was second in rebounds with 10.7 per game. Caden Nelson finished second in assists per game with 5.5 and fifth with 1.9 steals per game, while Schroeckenthaler finished fifth with 1.4 blocks per game.

The Eagles earned several accolades throughout the year. Adam Baierl, Payton Bowser, Austin Carlson, Trent Casper, Luke Cervelli, Dillon Garthwaite, Dawson Hughes, Trae Kreibich, Josh Labarbera, Danny Mulcare, Drew Meyers, Nelson, Schroeckenthaler, Colin Terpstra, Daniel Toennies and Trey Traeder were all named NACC Scholar Athletes.

The team was recognized by more than the conference for their academic prowess. Seven earned NABC Honors Court accolades, while the team received the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award for the fifth straight season for a team GPA of 3.0 or better. The seven Eagles that earned the academic honor were Baierl, Carlson, Nelson, Toennies, Hughes, Schroeckenthaler, and Casper.

Record-Breaking Sharpshooting

While the Eagles had a tough start to the season dealing with several close spots, a bright spot came at Wisconsin Lutheran on December 3. Multiple players had strong performances at the eventual NACC runner ups. Trey Traeder's eight made three pointers broke the program's single game record, while his 29 points were a career best. Caden Nelson swiped six steals, good for second on the single-game record books. Jake Schroeckenthaler had a strong performance with 15 points as well as Edgewood College took down the Warriors in 80-72 fashion

Flipping the Script

After a rocky first half of the season, the Eagles had a stretch with five of six games at home after the new year. While they started the homestand with a tough luck 72-71 loss versus Aurora, Edgewood College was not deterred. They peeled off five-straight wins in a row, launching themselves from the bottom of the conference straight into contending for a postseason berth.

A 30-point, 17-rebound double-double from Schroeckenthaler propelled them to a home victory over Lakeland on January 21. Cade Ellingson stepped into the starting lineup against Illinois Tech (January 24), tallying 18 points and three steals while going +11 in a 80-72 win. Ellingson's strong play continued into a 75-68 victory over MSOE (January 28) with back to back threes in the start of the second half setting the Raiders behind for good.

After grinding out a 78-73 road victory at Dominican, the Eagles returned home on February 4 and put together a statement win over another playoff contender in Marian. In the 88-69 win, Schroeckenthaler played arguably his best game of the season, posting 32 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals in an impressive performance. He also finished 6-of-6 from the free throw line and 13-of-15 from the field. As a squad, the Eagles' 61.4 (35-of-57) percent shooting from the floor was one of their best performances on the season and 88 points as a season high offensively.