Top Athletes of the 2022-23 Season

Men’s Teams

Football – Caleb Murphy

Murphy was amazing for the Bulldogs this year and was a huge part of the Bulldog’s second national championship. Murphy was a finalist for the Harlon Hill trophy this year, which is awarded to the nation’s top DII player. In his 15 games played, he racked up 93 tackles, 39 tackles for loss and an astounding NCAA record-breaking 25.5 sacks on the season.

Basketball – Solomon Oraegbu

Oraegbu had a great year for the Bulldogs, leading them to the GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinals. The 6’3, redshirt sophomore shooting guard scored major points, with multiple 30+ point games during the season. In 32 games, Oraegbu averaged 18.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, while shooting 51.3% from the field, 41.7% from the three-point line, and 81.6 from the free-throw line.

Hockey – Jason Brancheau

Brancheau was a offensive high point for the Bulldogs, which the team struggled with consistent scoring this season. In the 36 games played, he had 21 points, 13 goals, eight assists, while limiting himself to 14 penalty minutes. In his 13 goals, three of those were power-play goals and one game winning goal.

Tennis – Erik Kovacs

Kovacs had a wonderful season for the Bulldogs. The freshman earned Freshman of the Year in the GLIAC, proving to be a big addition. Kovacs has a 13 – 9 singles record and a 15 – 6 doubles record. He finished the season undefeated in conference doubles play at 6 – 0. Kovacs was a big part of the success of the Bulldogs this season, as they won the league’s conference championship this year.

Golf – Caleb Bond

It has been quite the freshman year for Bond, as he was just named the GLIAC Freshman of the Year. Alongside this, he has been honored with All-GLIAC First Team accolades. Bond totaled six top-10 tournament finishes, including helping the Bulldogs to their 18th NCAA Division II Tournament birth in the last 20 years. The Bulldogs have since moved on to the GLIAC Semifinals, where they will compete this weekend.

Track and Field – Andrew Shafley

Shafley had a solid 2022-23 season this year, as he shined in the 800 meter relay. As the season just ended, Shafley officially ended with five top 10 finishes in the 800 meter event. His best performance on the season was at the Bob Eubanks Open, where he won with a time just under 2 minutes at 1:59.44.

Cross Country – Donis Harris

Harris continued to build upon his strong season last year with his performances this year. He placed 40th at the Greater Louisville Classic, and 25th in the Warrior Challenge. Harris finished the season strong, as he placed 28th at the GLIAC Championship, and 58th at the NCAA Midwest Regional Finals.

Women’s Teams

Basketball – Chloe Idoni

It was quite an impressive season for Idoni, as she helped the Bulldog women’s team to making it to the GLIAC Semifinals. Idoni did it all for the Bulldogs, as she was named to the All-GLIAC first team. Idoni played in 29 games, where she averaged 19.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. Her shooting was impressive too, shooting 48.8% from the field, 30% from the three-point line, and 82.4% from the free-throw line. On top of this, Idoni scored her 1,000th point with the Bulldogs.

Volleyball – Kaylee Maat

Maat had a historic season for the Bulldogs while helping them to win the GLIAC conference this year and making it to the midwest regional final. After this season for Maat, she will go down as third all time in assists for Ferris State Volleyball, amassing a whopping 1,490 assists, topping Lisa Chard’s 1998 season. In 36 matches played this year, Maat had a team leading 77 Service Aces, was fifth in digs, at 371, and averaged almost 11 assists per match.

Soccer – Isabella Zamborini

Zamborini was the key for the Bulldogs this past year, as she was a huge part of the Bulldogs’ run into the NCAA Division II National Semifinals. Her amazing year was honored with All-GLIAC First Team honors as a forward. In 24 games, she amassed 13 goals, six assists and 32 points. Zamborini also provided the Bulldogs with five game winning goals, proving how valuable she was on the team’s run to their third-ever national tournament appearance.

Tennis – Sofie Daavettila

Daavettila proved that she is a proud part of this Bulldogs team, as she continued to both improve her singles and doubles skills. She finished with a total of eight singles wins and six doubles wins, earning her All-GLIAC First Team honors.

Softball – Kaitlyn Orme

Orme had an impressive offensive season for the Bulldogs. She led the team this year in slugging percentage at a .437 clip. Orme also led the team in triples with 7, ranking fourth in the conference. With 53 games played, she had a batting average of .310, one home run, 18 runs batted in and 16 stolen bases.

Golf – Alayna Eldred

Eldred is continuing to improve on her game from 2022, as she has had another strong start to the 2023 golf season. With the play from Eldred, the Bulldogs won their first GLIAC championship since 2007 this season, and are currently playing in the NCAA East Regionals. Eldred hopes to continue her impressive play, as she placed sixth overall  in the UMSL Spring Invite just last month.

Track and Field – Danae Feldpausch

Feldpausch was one of the top runners for the Bulldogs this year, especially in the 800-meter events. She placed within the top 10 in the event a total of 5 different times, including winning it at all at the SVSU Tune-Up Meet and the Hilltopper Relays.

Cross Country – Hanna Brock

Brock had a solid season for the Bulldog’s cross-country team. Her top performance of the year was at the Ray Helsing Bulldog Invitational, where she finished at a time just past 19 minutes. Brock also had a strong showing at the GLIAC championship and regionals, finishing 22nd and 42nd respectively. With her performance this year, she was honored by being on the All-GLIAC 2nd team.