Men's Basketball: Frank Kaminsky
Frank Kaminsky wasn’t just the best player on the Wisconsin men’s basketball team this past season; he was the best player in the entire country.
Thanks to his ability to score from seemingly anywhere on the floor, Kaminsky was one of college basketball’s most dynamic big men in recent memory.
During his senior season, he averaged 18.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 blocks per game while also shooting 54.7 percent from the floor and 41.6 percent from 3-point range. He led UW in each of the aforementioned statistical categories.
Kaminsky also led the country in both player efficiency rating and win shares, so it should come as no surprise that he garnered so many accolades at the end of the season.
In addition to being a consensus first-team All-American, Kaminsky won every major player of the year award. This included the Wooden Award, college basketball’s most prestigious individual accolade, making him the first Badger to receive that honor.
To put it more simply, Kaminsky was the driving force on a Wisconsin team that won a school-record 36 games, knocked off undefeated Kentucky in the Final Four and advanced to the national championship game for the first time since 1941.
As a result, he’ll go down in history as one of the best to ever put on a Wisconsin uniform, and his No. 44 jersey may even one day hang in the rafters of the Kohl Center.
Not bad for a guy who averaged only 4.2 points per game off the bench as a sophomore.
—Zach Rastall
Women's Hockey: Annie Pankowski
Freshman phenom Annie Pankowski led the potent Badger offense to a WCHA Tournament title and a berth in the Frozen Four. In just her first year on the collegiate level, she notched a whopping 20 goals in 38 games.
And Pankowski is much more than a goal scorer. Her excellent vision and passing ability allowed her to compile 22 assists on the campaign. These two staggering numbers gave her 42 total points, which was good for the highest mark on the team.
Her numbers are even more impressive when stacked up against the rest of the Badger squad. Wisconsin had a talented contingent of seniors that helped the Badgers to their successful season and Pankowski finished right there with them.
Her 22 assists were just three behind senior Karley Sylvester. Her plus/minus rating of +31 was higher than every upperclassman besides Sylvester, who posted a +34 mark.
For her stellar play, Pankowski was awarded the WCHA Rookie of the Year, the National Rookie of the Year by the Women’s Hockey Commissioners Association, and the U.S. College Hockey Online Rookie of the Year. All of this spells good news for the Badgers’ future, as they will turn to her to pace the team offensively in their pursuit of a national title.
—Bobby Ehrlich
Men's Hockey: Joel Rumpel
The last season was not kind to the Badger hockey team and its fans. The record was the worst in team history, and when compared to the recent success the team has seen, it felt even worse than it was. However, the saddest part of the season might be the departure of goalie Joel Rumpel.
Rumpel has been a fan favorite over the course of his four-year career, but he has impressed more than just the Wisconsin faithful. He was a finalist for both the Hobey Baker and Mike Richter Awards during his junior season, and his senior year he was a nominee for the Hockey Humanitarian Award for his off-ice contributions to the Madison community.
While this season was by far the worst in his career (he allowed nearly double the amount of goals than the previous year), it was due to a significantly worse surrounding cast. There were many games where it seemed like he was the only reason UW lost 3-0 and not 6-0.
With his career now over, Rumpel ranks in the top six in Wisconsin history in every major goaltending category. His absence will be felt on ice as the Badgers have a new regular starting goalie for the first time in four years, and the Crease Creatures will certainly miss the player they always cheered for the loudest.
—Andrew Tucker
Women's Basketball: Nicole Bauman
The Badgers’ fourth straight losing season was devastating to players and fans alike, but junior guard Nicole Bauman provided a beacon of hope in these trying times for the program.
Bauman led the team in points and assists per game and was second on the team in steals per game this past season. She’s an established sharpshooter, and kept pace with Connecticut’s Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis for the national lead in 3-point percentage.
Heading into a game against Ohio State as a huge underdog, Bauman lit up the Buckeyes for a career-high 31 points, including eight 3-pointers. She didn’t leave the court that night.
With 413 points this year—40 more than she’d scored in the previous two seasons combined—Bauman became the top active scorer for the Badgers.
She needs just 214 points in her senior season to become the 22nd Wisconsin player with 1,000 career points.
Though the Badgers stumbled to the finish line (1-7 in their final eight games) and lost in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, Bauman gave fans a glimpse of things to come. She closed out the year in tremendous fashion, averaging 20.8 points over the final seven games of the year. Over the course of a full season, that would have been the 18th most points per game in the country.
Bauman’s phenomenal play earned her an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection, to go with Academic All-Big Ten honors. If her late-season outburst is any indication, good things are on the horizon.
—Thomas Valtin-Erwin
Softball: Maria Van Abel
Wisconsin softball has had a disappointing season after making the NCAA tournament the past two years, but a player who is performing at a high level despite the team struggles was senior outfielder Maria Van Abel.
In her last season as a Badger, Van Abel currently leads the team in most of the major offensive categories—batting average, hits, runs and stolen bases. For most of these categories, she is leading by a large margin over her teammates.
While it has been a down year for the team, Van Abel has had the best year of her career. She is currently batting a career-high .384, giving her the second-best batting average in school history. Van Abel also sits in second place in UW ranks for hits and stolen bases after notching a career-high 66 hits and swiping 30 bases.
The senior leader has been a big part of Wisconsin softball’s recent success during the past four years, being part of the second-winningest class in school history. Van Abel has had a great career and has only added to that this season. She will go down as one of the best players in the school’s history.
—Jacob Hams
