Two Valparaiso University men’s basketball standouts were recognized on Wednesday as the Missouri Valley Conference released its annual preseason honors. Ben Krikke (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada / Jasper Place) was named to the Preseason All-MVC First Team, while Kobe King (La Crosse, Wis. / La Crosse Central [Wisconsin]) garnered Preseason All-MVC Third Team recognition.

The league also released its annual preseason poll, and Valpo is projected to finish ninth of 12. Preseason favorite Drake hauled in 52 out of the 54 first-place votes, and the Bulldogs were followed by Bradley and Southern Illinois in the top three.

Krikke received All-MVC First Team status from Blue Ribbon Magazine earlier this month. His resume also includes the following honors – two-time MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team (2020-21, 2021-22), two-time All-MVC Third Team (2020-21, 2021-22), 2020-21 MVC Most-Improved Team and 2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team.

Krikke averaged a team-high 14.2 points per game last season while shooting 53.9 percent from the floor, 84.3 percent from the free-throw line and squeezing 4.5 rebounds per outing. He was one of just three players in the MVC to shoot 50 percent or better from the floor and 80 percent or better from the free-throw line. He finished his junior year with 974 points, 26 away from 1,000. He enters this season with a career field-goal percentage of 53.4, a mark that ranks seventh in the program record book.

King was narrowly behind Krikke in terms of scoring average last season, ranking second on the team by averaging 14 points per game. He scored in double figures in 19 of his 23 contests including 10 instances where he scored 15 points or more. King, who led the team in scoring on seven occasions, was named to the MVC All-Newcomer Team at season’s end.

Krikke becomes the first Valpo player to achieve First Team Preseason All-MVC status since Valpo joined the league. He also becomes the first Valpo player to achieve Preseason All-MVC honors in multiple seasons as he was on the preseason second team a year ago.

Valpo has its top two scorers back for the first time since 2015-16, when the program reached the NIT championship game. The Beacons are one of four teams in the 12-team league with their top two scorers returning from last season. The team will host an exhibition game on Saturday, Oct. 29 at noon against Cedarville before tipping off the regular season on Nov. 7 at Toledo, the home slate on Nov. 13 vs. Western Michigan and eventually the league docket on Dec. 1 at Belmont.

2022-23 MVC Preseason Poll

Place. Team (First Place Votes) ... Points

1. Drake (52) ... 646
2. Bradley (1) ... 542
3. Southern Illinois (1) ... 537
4. Missouri State ... 418
5. UNI ... 416
6. Belmont ... 388
7. Indiana State ... 344
8. Murray State ... 324
9. Valparaiso ... 234
10. Illinois State ... 186
11. UIC ... 109
12. Evansville ... 68

PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR:  Tucker DeVries, Drake

FIRST TEAM

Tucker DeVries, Drake

Marcus Domask, Southern Illinois

Ben Krikke, Valparaiso

Rienk Mast, Bradley

Roman Penn, Drake

Ben Sheppard, Belmont

SECOND TEAM

Bowen Born, UNI

Donovan Clay, Missouri State

Lance Jones, Southern Illinois

Cooper Neese, Indiana State

Garrett Sturtz, Drake

THIRD TEAM

Cameron Henry, Indiana State

Kobe King, Valparaiso

Rob Perry, Murray State

Austin Phyfe, UNI

D.J. Wilkins, Drake

Valpo Preseason All-MVC Selections By Year

2017-18 – Tevonn Walker (Second Team)

2018-19 – None

2019-20 – Javon Freeman-Liberty (Second Team), Ryan Fazekas (Second Team)

2020-21 – Donovan Clay (Second Team)

2021-22 – Ben Krikke (Second Team)

2022-23 – Ben Krikke (First Team), Kobe King (Third Team)