Northern Michigan University’s Dylan Kuehl gets his fifth and final dunk of the afternoon during a GLIAC game played against Wisconsin-Parkside on Feb. 28 at Vandament Arena in Marquette. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — In this season of postseason honors, some are unique for Northern Michigan University athletes.

One such award was bestowed on the Wildcats’ Dylan Kuehl, who became the first NMU men’s basketball player to be named the Midwest Region Player of the Year by the Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association.

This group’s top regional award comes after the 6-foot-6 graduate student forward led national No. 20 Northern to 27-6 overall and 16-4 conference records, the 27 wins a program record — and possibly more to come with the NCAA Division II national tournament kicking off for the men today.

The Wildcats won a share of the regular-season title in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, finishing runner-up in its subsequent GLIAC Tournament and earning the No. 5 seed in the Midwest Regional of the NCAA D-II tourney. NMU faces No. 4 Rockhurst at 7:30 p.m. today in North Canton, Ohio.

Kuehl has already been named the GLIAC Player of the Year and GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year, making the league’s First Team and Defensive Team, too. He was named first to the top-25 watch list, then the top-15 list for the Trevor Hudgins Award, given by the Small College Basketball and National Awards Committee.

Wide-ranging top-level statistics show how he’s one of the most complete players in Division II. He averages 21.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, shooting 55.7% from the field. His scoring is in the top 15 nationally.

In league games, he led all players at 23.8 ppg, while his 58.6% shooting from the floor was second, 1.5 blocked shots per game third, and 6.4 rebounds 10th.

He completed the regular season with a dominating pair of games over just a few days, scoring a career-high 36 points in a 100-87 win over Roosevelt on Feb. 26, then resetting his career number with 41 points two days later on Feb. 28 in a 98-75 victory over Wisconsin-Parkside.

The Wildcats had to have both wins to attain a share of the league title with Michigan Tech and No. 1 seed in the league tourney.

In those games, he combined to make 28 of 40 from the field (70%), including 4 of 7 on 3-pointers each game, and 13 of 14 free throws (92.9%), while grabbing 16 rebounds, making nine assists and not committing any turnovers in a combined 64 minutes court time.

He also blocked three shots vs. Parkside, the only player on either team with any that day.

And despite being the league’s top defensive player for the whole season, after that week he was honored on the opposite side of the ball, for the third time this season as GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week.

A four-time All-GLIAC selection, Kuehl is up to 2,147 career points, second on the Wildcat men’s all-time list to No. 1 Bill Harris’ 2,224, or 77 behind this player from the mid-1980s. During the GLIAC Tournament, Kuehl passed late 1990s player Cory Brathol for No. 2, with Brathol at 2,110.

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release reviewing the honor. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.