Loyola’s Wrightsil, Hollowell named NAIA player, coach of the year

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The awards keep coming for the 2022 Men’s Basketball National Champion Loyola Wolf Pack, and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) handed out its annual awards Monday with two representing Loyola.

Not only was senior Zach Wrightsil named to the NCBA All-America team earlier on Monday, but he was also picked as the NCBA National Player of the Year to go along with Stacy Hollowell’s NCBA NAIA Coach of the Year award.

Monday’s award adds to a long list of awards Wrightsil has earned so far. After winning six Southern States Athletic Conference Player of the Week awards, he was chosen as the league’s Player of the Year prior to the conference tournament. After helping Loyola to its first national championship in 77 years, the Prosper, Texas, native was picked as the NAIA National Player of the Year and to the All-America First Team.

Hollowell was picked as the SSAC Coach of the Year after the historic regular season, then he was named the NAIA National Coach of the Year moments after the team captured the national championship title.

Wrightsil has averaged 18.7 points and 8.8 rebounds this season, collecting 11 doubles in 38 games played. He also averaged 3.6 assists and two steals per outing to contribute to his all-around game. He broke the Loyola single-season records for both points (709) and rebounds (334), as well as ending his career with the program’s all-time program records for points (2,104), rebounds (1,065) and assists (480). He led the SSAC in both points per game and field goal percentage (62.2%), and he ranks second in steals per game (2.2), while rankings third nationally in total offensive rebounds (126), fifth in total steals (80) and eighth in total points.

Hollowell and Wrightsil led the Pack to a 37-1 overall this season with SSAC regular-season and tournament titles before the school’s first NAIA National Championship since the 1944-45 season. The team’s 37 wins easily broke the previous-best of 25 wins in a season, and it was the first-ever season with at least 30 wins for the Wolf Pack men’s basketball program.

NABC ALL-AMERICA TEAM
Ryan Battle, Thomas More

Kevion Blaylock, William Penn

Alex Gross, Olivet Nazarene

Cameron Hines, Science & Arts

Seth Maxwell, Indiana Wesleyan

Riley Minix, Southeastern

Jaylon Scott, Bethel

Matt Simpson, Florida

Jovan Sljivancanin, Carroll

Mason Walters, Jamestown

Zach Wrightsil, Loyola

Cash Williams, William Jessup

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