ST. LOUIS – Four members of the Illinois State men's basketball team: Landon Wolf, Johnny Kinziger, Ty Pence, and Jack Daugherty, have been named as members of the 2026 Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team, announced by the conference on Thursday morning.
With four members selected, the Redbirds had the largest representation of any school in conference. The criteria for the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team voting parallels the CSC (College Sports Communicators) standards for Academic All-America nominations. To be nominated, a student-athlete must have a 3.50 cumulative GPA, both as an underÂgraduate and graduate student, where applicable. If a GPA has not been established as a transfer student, the cumulative GPA from the nominees' previous institution must be used. Student-athletes must be at least a sophomore in academic and athletic standing. Redshirt freshmen are not eligible. Eligible nominees must compete in at least 75 percent of the regular season OR must start in at least 50 percent of the institution's games.
Wolf is a senior from Cedar Falls, Iowa, and has a 3.93 grade point average in risk management and insurance. This season he is averaging 7.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 40.2 percent from long range with 25 steals.
Kinziger, a junior from De Pere, Wisconsin, has a 3.61 grade point average in finance. This year he is second on the Redbirds in scoring, averaging 11.5 points per game while also dishing out 98 assists with a team-high 37 steals.
Pence, a junior from St. Joseph, Illinois, has a 3.74 grade point average in business administration. He is averaging 9.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, while also dishing out 53 assists with 13 steals and 10 blocked shots. He has made 54.2 percent of his field goal attempts from the field, and 34.4 percent from beyond the arc.
Daugherty, a sophomore from Brookfield, Wisconsin, has a 3.79 grade point average in sport communication. He has made 22 three-point field goals this season, and averages 3.1 points per game with 43 rebounds and six steals.
The Redbirds open play in the 2026 MVC Tournament on Friday evening at 8:30 p.m. against Thursday night's winner between Northern Iowa and Evansville.
