Valparaiso University men’s basketball sophomore Sheldon Edwards (West Palm Beach, Fla. / Palm Beach Lakes [TLAP Sports Academy]) received recognition for his success coming off the bench and his improvement from last season as the Missouri Valley Conference released its latest batch of awards on Wednesday.

Edwards was named the team captain of the five-player All-Bench Team while also earning MVC Most-Improved Team status.

Edwards boosted his scoring average from 8.1 points per game as a freshman to 11.3 points per game this season. He has blocked 25 shots this season after finishing with seven blocks in 25 games a year ago. He also saw an uptick in his rebounds per game, going from 2.9 to 3.9. He has 34 steals this season after finishing with 24 a year ago. Edwards has bettered his field-goal percentage (.383 to .412), 3-point percentage (.300 to .355) and free-throw percentage (.735 to .773) as well. He has scored in double figures 18 times this season after doing so nine times a year ago.

Entering Arch Madness, Edwards is one of three players in the conference with 30 or more steals and 20 or more blocked shots. He is one of two with 30+ steals and 25+ blocked shots. The Florida native has a chance to become the first Valpo player to finish a season as the team leader in both steals and blocked shots since Raitis Grafs had 45 steals and 38 blocks during the 1999-2000 season.

Edwards is one of six players in the nation with at least 25 blocks, 30 steals, 35 assists and 60 made 3s. He is just the third different Valpo player to notch 20 blocks, 30 steals, 30 assists and 60 made 3s in a season, joining Ryan Broekhoff (three times) and Lubos Barton (twice).

Edwards ranks 10^th in the MVC in conference-only free-throw percentage (.829), tied for 10^th in conference-only steals per game (1.2) and 10^th in overall blocked shots per game (0.8). He came off the bench in 14 of his 18 appearances in league play.

This marks the fourth straight season Valpo has boasted at least one member of the Most-Improved Team. This is the team’s fifth Most-Improved Team honoree in a four-year span. Edwards becomes the third Valpo player to garner All-Bench Team status, joining Markus Golder (2017-2018) and John Kiser (2019-2020). Edwards becomes the first Valpo player named the team captain of the All-Bench squad.

These honors were voted on exclusively by the conference’s beat writers. All-conference teams were announced on Tuesday, while the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team will be released on Thursday.

2022 MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE ALL-BENCH TEAM
Student-Athlete, School Yr. Pos. Ht. Hometown (Last School)
*Sheldon Edwards, Valparaiso So. G 6-4 W. Palm Beach (Fla.) Palm Beach Lakes [TLAP Sports Academy]
Xavier Bledson, Indiana State So. G 6-6 Gainesville (Ga.) High / Lincoln Memorial
Bowen Born, UNI 2nd Yr. G 5-11 Norwalk (Iowa) Norwalk
Jaylen Minnett, Missouri State Sr. G 6-1 Terre Haute (Ind.) Terre Haute South Vigo High / IUPUI
Ryan Schwieger, Loyola Sr. F 6-7 Matthews (N.C.) Weddington / Princeton

2022 MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE MOST-IMPROVED TEAM
Student-Athlete, School Yr. Pos. Ht. Hometown (Last School)
*Antonio Reeves, Illinois State Jr. G 6-6 Chicago (Ill.) Simeon High
Sheldon Edwards, Valparaiso So. G 6-4 W. Palm Beach (Fla.) Palm Beach Lakes [TLAP Sports Academy]
Rienk Mast, Bradley So. F 6-9 Groningen (Netherlands) Donar Groningen
Cooper Neese, Indiana State Jr. G 6-4 Cloverdale (Ind.) High
Garrett Sturtz, Drake Sr. G 6-3 Newton (Iowa) Newton High
*--indicates team captain