Valparaiso University men’s basketball senior Ben Krikke (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada / Jasper Place) added to his long list of achievements with his highest honor yet on Wednesday night at the Missouri Valley Conference Awards Banquet in St. Louis.

On the eve of Arch Madness, Krikke was named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team after leading the league in scoring both overall (19.6 ppg) and in league play (21.0) during the regular season.

Krikke ranks among the league leaders in the following categories as well – rebounds per game (5.9, t-11th), field goal percentage (55.3, second), free-throw percentage (78.7, ninth) and blocked shots per game (0.9, ninth).

The 6-foot-9 forward was also named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team on Monday and to the MVC Most-Improved Team on Tuesday. He was the only player in the league to earn all of the following honors this season – All-MVC First Team, MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team and MVC Most-Improved Team. He also became a three-time all-league choice on Wednesday night after being selected for the third team each of the last two seasons.

Krikke ranks eighth on the program’s all-time scoring list and also sits in eighth place on the program’s single-season scoring list. Twice this season he earned MVC Player of the Week accolades. He is set to become just the third MVC player since 2005 to average at least 17 points and five boards while shooting better than 75 percent from the line and 50 percent from the floor, joining Missouri State’s Isiaih Mosley and Creighton’s Doug McDermott.

Krikke has reached double figures in 29 of his 31 games this season including 13 outputs of 20 points or more. He has scored 15+ points in 26 out of 31 contests. He enters Arch Madness with a streak of 19 consecutive double-figure scoring outputs and was in double figures in all 20 league games this season.

Krikke becomes Valpo’s second First Team All-MVC selection during its tenure in the league, joining Javon Freeman-Liberty (2019-2020). Alec Peters (x3), Lavonte Dority, Ryan Broekhoff (twice), Kevin Van Wijk and Brandon Wood were Valpo’s first team all-league picks during its decade in the Horizon League.

The Beacons will begin the conference tournament on Thursday night at 6 p.m. vs. Murray State.

First Team Yr. Pos. Ht. Hometown

Tucker DeVries, Drake So. G/F 6-7 Waukee, Iowa (Waukee High)

Marcus Domask, S. Illinois Sr. F 6-6 Waupun, Wis. (Waupun High)

Ben Krikke, Valparaiso Sr. F 6-9 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (Jasper Place)

Rienk Mast, Bradley Jr. F 6-9 Groningen, Netherlands (Donar Groningen)

Roman Penn, Drake Gr. G 6-0 Calumet City, Ill. (Bishop Noll)/Siena

Ben Sheppard, Belmont Sr. G 6-6 Atlanta, Ga. (Greater Atlanta Christian)

Second Team

Bowen Born, UNI So. G 5-11 Norwalk, Iowa (Norwalk High)

Jace Carter, UIC So. G 6-5 Titusville, Fla. (Astronaut High)

Donovan Clay, Missouri St. Sr. G/F 6-8 Alton, Ill. (Alton High)/Valparaiso

Malevy Leons, Bradley Sr. F 6-9 IJmuiden, Netherlands (Mineral Area College)

Courvoisier McCauley, IndSt. Gr. G 6-5 Indianapolis, Ind. (Manual High)/DePaul

Third Team

Cameron Henry, IndSt. Sr. G 6-6 Chesterfield, Va. (Lloyd C. Bird)/Lincoln Memorial

Lance Jones, S. Illinois Sr. G 6-1 Evanston, Ill. (Evanston Township)

Rob Perry, Murray State Jr. G 6-4 Orlando, Fla. (Oak Ridge High)/Stetson

Kenny Strawbridge, UE Sr. G 6-6 Rockford, Ill. (Rockford Lutheran)/Alabama St.

Garrett Sturtz, Drake Gr. G 6-3 Newton, Iowa (Newton)

All-Newcomer Team

Duke Deen, Bradley Jr. G 5-8 Shreveport, La. (Troy)

Drew Friberg, Belmont Gr. F 6-7 State College, Pa. (State College)/Princeton

Courvoisier McCauley, IndSt. Gr. G 6-5 Indianapolis, Ind. (Manual High)/DePaul

Rob Perry, Murray State Jr. G 6-4 Orlando, Fla. (Oak Ridge High)/Stetson

Cade Tyson, Belmont Fr. F 6-7 Monroe, N.C. (Carmel Christian High)

All-Freshman Team

Robbie Avila, Indiana St. C 6-10 Oak Forest, Ill. (Oak Forest High)

Michael Duax, UNI G/F 6-6 Dubuque, Iowa (Dubuque Hempstead)

Conor Enright, Drake G 6-0 Mundelein, Ill. (Mundelein High)

Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Belmont G 6-0 Greeneville, Tenn. (Greeneville High)

Cade Tyson, Belmont F 6-7 Monroe, N.C. (Carmel Christian High)

All-Defensive Team

Donovan Clay, Missouri St. Sr. G/F 6-8 Alton, Ill. (Alton High)/Valparaiso

Xavier Johnson, S. Illinois Sr. G 6-1 Germantown, Md. (Episcopal)/George Mason

Lance Jones, S. Illinois Sr. G 6-1 Evanston, Ill. (Evanston Township)

Julian Larry, Indiana State So. G 6-3 Frisco, Texas (iSchool Entrepreneurial Academy)

Malevy Leons, Bradley Sr. F 6-9 IJmuiden, Netherlands (Mineral Area College)

Ben Sheppard, Belmont Sr. G 6-6 Atlanta, Ga. (Greater Atlanta Christian)

All-Bench Team (selected by beat writers & panel)

*Ja'Shon Henry, Bradley Gr. F 6-6 Saskatoon (Athol Murray College of Notre Dame)

Sardaar Calhoun, Drake Sr. G/F 6-6 Tappahannock, Va. (Blue Ridge)/Texas Tech/

Florida State/Missouri-West Plains

Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Belmont Fr. G 6-0 Greeneville, Tenn. (Greeneville High)

Chance Moore, Missouri St. So. G 6-6 Brookhaven, Ga. (McEachern High)/Arkansas

Landon Wolf, UNI Fr. G 6-5 Cedar Falls, Iowa (Cedar Falls High)

Most-Improved Team (selected by beat writers & panel)

*Tytan Anderson, UNI So. G/F 6-6 Eldridge, Iowa (North Scott High)

Darnell Brodie, Drake Sr. F 6-10 Newark, N.J. (Newark East Side)/Seton Hall

Ben Krikke, Valparaiso Sr. F 6-9 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (Jasper Place)

Malevy Leons, Bradley Sr. F 6-9 IJmuiden, Netherlands (Mineral Area College)

Zek Montgomery, Bradley So. G 6-6 Louisville, Ky. (St. Louis Christian Academy)

*denotes team "captain" as designated by the league's beat writers and media panel