ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Illinois State sophomore forward Chase Walker picked up his second Missouri Valley Conference award over the previous two days, as he earned First Team All-Conference honors, announced by the Conference office on Wednesday morning.
Along with Walker, Johnny Kinziger was named Second Team All-Conference, Jack Daugherty to the All-Freshman Team, and Dalton Banks to the All-Defensive squad.
Walker, who was also named the MVC Most Improved Team Captain, is averaging 15.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game on the season, while his 58.1 percent field goal percentage is second-best in the MVC and 26th-best in the NCAA. This season he has scored in double-figures 22 times, including nine games of 20+ points, and a career-high 31 points at UIC on February 5. He is the first MVC First Team honoree since Phil Fayne earned the award in 2019.
Kinziger, who had been named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team, earns Second Team All-MVC honors, a season after being named to the MVC All-Freshman, and All-Bench Teams a season ago. This season he is averaging 15.0 points per game, while giving out 90 assists and grabbing 30 steals. He averages 2.30 three-pointers per game, sixth-best in the MVC, while his three-point percentage of 38.8 is the ninth-best in the conference.
Daugherty yesterday was named to the MVC All-Bench Team and is the second Redbird in as many seasons to earn All-Freshman Team honors. This season he averages 6.8 points per game, while his 56 three-point baskets are tied for the third-most in a season by a freshman in school history, and his .500 three-point field goal percentage is on pace to be the second-highest percentage in program history – regardless of class.
Banks, who also earned a spot on the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team on Monday, has earned Illinois State's first All-Defensive Team honor since Paris Lee and Tony Wills were named to the team during the 2016-17 season. Banks' 55 steals this season are tied for the eighth-most in a season in program history, as he also averages 9.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, while dishing out a team-leading 114 assists.
The Redbirds (18-13 overall, 10-10 MVC) are back in action on Thursday afternoon, when the squad faces off against the Missouri State Bears in the opening round of the 2025 Missouri Valley Tournament, with tip-off slated for 2:30 p.m.
Previous All-MVC First Team Recipients
1982-83 – Rick Lamb
1983-84 – Hank Cornley
1986-87 – Derrick Sanders
1995-96 – Maurice Trotter
1996-97 – Rico Hill
1997-98 – Rico Hill
1999-00 – Tarise Bryson
2000-01 – Tarise Bryson
2004-05 – Lorenzo Gordon
2007-08 – Osiris Eldridge
2008-09 – Osiris Eldridge
2009-10 – Osiris Eldridge, Dinma Odiakosa
2012-13 – Jackie Carmichael
2016-17 – Paris Lee
2017-18 – Milik Yarbrough
2018-19 – Phil Fayne
Previous All-MVC Second Team Recipients
1981-82 – Rick Lamb
1982-83 – Hank Cornley
1983-84 – Rickie Johnson
1984-85 – Rickie Johnson, Lou Stefanovic
1985-86 – Derrick Sanders
1986-87 – Jeff Harris
1987-88 – Tony Holifield, Jeff Harris
1988-89 – Jarrod Coleman
1989-90 – Rickey Jackson
1990-91 – Reggie Wilson
1991-92 – Scott Fowler, Richard Thomas
1992-93 – Mike VandeGarde, Richard Thomas
1993-94 – Mike VandeGarde
1994-95 – David Cason
1996-97 – Jamar Smiley
1997-98 – Dan Muller
1998-99 – Tarise Bryson
2001-02 – Baboucarr Bojang
2004-05 – Trey Guidry
2008-09 – Chamberlain Oguchi
2011-12 – Jackie Carmichael
2012-13 – Tyler Brown
2014-15 – Daishon Knight, Reggie Lynch
2015-16 – DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell
2016-17 – Deontae Hawkins, MiKyle McIntosh
2017-18 – Phil Fayne
2018-19 – Milik Yarbrough
2020-21 – DJ Horne
2021-22 – Antonio Reeves
Previous MVC All-Freshman Team Recipients
1998-99 – Victor Williams
1999-00 – PJ Smith
2001-02 – Gregg Alexander
2002-03 – Marcus Arnold
2006-07 – Osiris Eldridge
2011-12 – Nic Moore
2013-14 – Reggie Lynch
2019-20 – DJ Horne
2023-24 – Johnny Kinziger
Previous MVC All-Defensive Team Recipients
1988-89 – Randy Blair
1989-90 – Randy Blair
1991-92 – Richard Thomas, Mike VandeGarde
1992-93 – Richard Thomas
1993-94 – Todd Wemhoener
1995-96 – Dan Muller
1996-97 – Dan Muller
1997-98 – Dan Muller
2001-02 – Randy Rice
2007-08 – Boo Richardson, Anthony Slack
2008-09 – Osiris Eldridge, Dinma Odiakosa
2009-10 – Osiris Eldridge, Dinma Odiakosa
2011-12 – Jackie Carmichael
2012-13 – Jackie Carmichael
2014-15 – Paris Lee, Reggie Lynch
2015-16 – Paris Lee
2016-17 – Paris Lee, Tony Wills
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