Junior forward Caleb Van De Griend helped lead the way on a season to remember for the Minot State men’s basketball team, and the honors for his play continue to roll in.

Already named 1st Team All-NSIC, the 6-foot-8 forward from Bridgetown, Australia was named to the D2CCA Central Region All-Region 1st Team today for the first time in his collegiate career. Van De Griend now becomes eligible for D2CCA All-American honors.

Van De Griend set single-season school records for points with 724 (and counting) and rebounds with 458 (and counting) this season as he helped lead Minot State University (MSU) to a program-record 26 wins, and counting, and helped lead the Beavers to a first-ever NCAA National Tournament berth.

A four-time Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Player of the Week, he also set a single-game record with 22 rebounds against Winona State on January 3, and he leads the nation in rebounds per game (13.1 rpg) and is 4th in field-goal percentage (70.53), and was 2nd in the NSIC in points per game (20.7).

Van De Griend and the rest of the MSU men’s basketball team (26-9) open their first-ever national tournament run Saturday night against NSIC foe Concordia, St. Paul at 8 p.m. at Lee Arena on the Washburn University campus in Topeka, Kansas.