WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary men's basketball handed out its end of the year awards, and senior guard
Luke Loewe highlighted the honorees taking home both the team MVP and defensive MVP awards. Dr. Virginia Wells (Sixth Man Award),
Miodrag Dronjak (Arete Award),
Connor Kochera (Mark Batzel Award),
Austin Washburn (Kraze Aware) and
Mehkel Harvey (Most Improved Player) were also recognized. View the
full 2021 men's basketball banquet on YouTube.com, including senior speeches from
Luke Loewe and
Miodrag Dronjak.
Sixth Man Award – Dr. Virginia Wells
Dr. Virginia Wells, the Tribe's Chief Medical Officer, had a major impact on the men's basketball program and W&M Athletics, developing and executing a plan to allow all W&M programs to return to action during the 2020-21 academic year. For her efforts, she was recognized as the program's Sixth Man Award winner.
Arete Award – Miodrag Dronjak
The Arete Award goes to the senior student-athlete with the best grade point average. Arete is a Greek term that refers to excellence of any kind and is explicitly linked with human knowledge. Dronjak was twice named to the CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll and earned his degree from W&M in May in computer science.
Mark Batzel Award – Connor Kochera
In his rookie season, Kochera established himself as one of the Tribe's leaders and was selected as the Mark Batzel Award winner, given to the player that displays leadership, determination, mental toughness and heart, while having the ability to instill those qualities in his teammates. Kochera earned both CAA and VaSID State Rookie of the Year honors, becoming the fourth and second Tribe player, respectively, to earn the awards. He ranked 19th nationally among freshmen in scoring at 13.4 points per game. In CAA play, Kochera averaged 15.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game becoming just the second CAA freshman since 1992-93 to average at last 15 points and five rebounds per game in CAA games. He posted a career-high 30 points and 12 rebounds in a win at Towson (Jan. 31) on his way to earning CBS Sports/ United States Basketball Writers Association National Rookie of the Week honors and the CAA Player of the Week accolade.
Most Improved Player – Mehkel Harvey
Harvey earned most improved player award after becoming a key piece of the Tribe rotation at the forward position. He averaged 21.2 minutes per game, appearing in all 17 and starting four. Harvey averaged a career-high 4.5 points and six rebounds per game. He led the CAA and ranked 20th nationally at 2.4 blocked shots per game. His blocked shot average was the fourth best on the Tribe's single-season list. Harvey not only led the Tribe in rebounding, but also ranked 10th in the league. For his efforts, he was named to the CAA All-Defensive Team.
Kraze Award – Austin Washburn
Washburn was honored as the winner of the Kraze Award, which is given for a player's ability to inspire his teammates. It is named in honor of former Tribe team captain John Kratzer, who received the inaugural United States Basketball Writers Association Most Courageous Athlete award. Kratzer lettered two years with the Tribe, before being diagnosed with cancer and battled the disease for three more years. Throughout the ordeal, he continued to provide an inspiration to the Tribe and provided the major emotional lift that allowed the College to upset No. 2 North Carolina, 78-75, on Dec. 7, 1977. The consummate teammates, Washburn is a three-time CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll selection. He has appeared in four games each of the last three seasons. In 2021, he tallied a point and pulled down a rebound in the regular season finale at Elon.
Defensive MVP – Luke Loewe
Loewe was voted the team's Defensive MVP for the second-straight year. He garnered the reputation as one of the top defenders in the CAA over his career, always drawing the team's top perimeter player. Loewe earned CAA All-Defensive Team honor for the second time in his career becoming the sixth W&M player to earn multiple awards. He ranked sixth in the CAA in steals at 1.4 per game.
MVP – Luke Loewe
Loewe earned team MVP honors by vote of his teammates after lead the Tribe with 16.2 points per game on his way to NABC All-District, All-CAA and VaSID All-State Second Team honors. A model of consistency, tallied 15 or more points in 10 of the final 12 contests, including both games of the conference tournament. Earlier in the year, he scored a career-high tying 27 points at Hofstra in January. In the Tribe's thrilling overtime win at George Washington on Dec. 14, Loewe tallied 17 of his game-high 24 points in the second half and overtime, including the game-winning lay-up with 12.3 seconds left to lead the Tribe to a 19-point comeback. He topped the CAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2), while ranking third in the league in minutes played (35.9), fourth in free throw % (85.7) and eighth in assists (3.2). Loewe was 50th nationally in free throw % and 58th in assist-to-turnover ratio.
