KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced its Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week, presented by
Shift Group, for the fourteenth week of the 2023-24 season.
Co-MIAA Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week – Bennett Stirtz, Northwest Missouri
Bennett Stirtz averaged 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 68.4 percent from the field in helping Northwest extend its winning streak to 10 in a row with wins over Rogers State and Northeastern State. Stirtz scored a game-high 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the 84-63 win over Rogers State. He also added five rebounds and three assists against the Hillcats. Stirtz then added 11 points and five rebounds in a 17-point home win over Northeastern State.
Co-MIAA Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week – Jaden Wells, Central Oklahoma
Jaden Wells led Central Oklahoma to a big, late season win over Washburn in the Bronchos only action of the week. Wells put up a game-high 27 points on 9-for-22 shooting (40.9 percent) from the floor, 5-for-9 (55.5 percent) from deep, and 4-for-5 (80.0 percent) from the free-throw line. With his five threes, the fourth-year guard became just the fifth player in MIAA history to make 300 three-pointers. Wells also added two boards, two assists, and two steals against the Ichabods.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Darius Dawson – Missouri Southern
Darrius Dawson led the Lions to a victory in their only contest this week, ending Pittsburg State’s six-game win streak and completing the regular season sweep. He finished with a team-high 18 points, missing just two shots from the field (6-for-8) and only one free throw (6-for-7). Additionally, Dawson grabbed seven rebounds in the win.
Keith Kinner III – Central Missouri
Keith Kiner III helped the Mules to a 1-1 record this past week in a win over Nebraska Kearney (67-58) before falling to No. 18-ranked Fort Hays State (51-47). Against the Lopers, Kiner III had 19 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks while contributing a team-high 17 points and five rebounds against the ranked Tigers.
ALSO NOMINATED
Kaleb Hammeke (Fort Hays State), Owen Long (Emporia State), D’Andre Samuels (Nebraska Kearney), Jeramy Shaw (Pittsburg State), Elijah Farr (Lincoln)
ABOUT SHIFT GROUP
Shift Group is a training and recruiting platform placing talented, retired collegiate and professional athletes in high caliber Software Sales positions. Athletes spend their lives engaging in team-based activities where they are rewarded for performance-based outcomes. Competitive drive, work ethic, and the desire to win are innate qualities of those performing at elite levels. Athletes at this level must have discipline, resilience, and grit. These are the intangible parts of any elite athlete’s identity. When combined with confidence, curiosity, and coachability, these traits separate great athletes – and great salespeople. Salesmanship can be taught. It requires the right attitude, habits, and skills – learned, practiced, and repeated in the right environment in order to be mastered. Once an athlete finishes Shift Group training, they get access to hiring managers at Startups, Fortune 500’s, and other organizations building out sales teams across the globe – with the Shift Group team coaching them through every step of the process.
As part of this exclusive partnership, all MIAA student-athletes are able to sign up and utilize Shift Group's career training. For more information, please sign up at
theMIAA.com/Shift.
2023-24 MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
WEEK ONE: Jaden Wells, Central Oklahoma
WEEK TWO: Wes Dreamer, Northwest Missouri
WEEK THREE: Alijah Comithier, Emporia State
WEEK FOUR: Bennett Stirtz, Northwest Missouri
WEEK FIVE: Max Alexander, Pittsburg State
WEEK SIX: Jeramy Shaw, Pittsburg State
WEEK SEVEN: Darius Yohe, Emporia State
WEEK EIGHT: Jack Bachelor, Washburn
WEEK NINE: Deshaun English II, Pittsburg State
WEEK TEN: JaRon Thames, Missouri Western
WEEK ELEVEN: Bennett Stirtz, Northwest Missouri
WEEK TWELVE: Deshaun English II, Pittsburg State
WEEK THIRTEEN: Darius Dawson, Missouri Southern
WEEK FOURTEEN: Bennett Stirtz, Northwest Missouri and Jaden Wells, Central Oklahoma