Six players from six different schools and all three divisions of NCAA Basketball have been chosen as January’s Player of the Month award winners for the Colorado Collegiate Chronicles.

Here are updated facts & figures for the 16 4-year and five 2-year schools playing collegiate basketball in the Centennial State.

• Women’s Centennial State Results, Records, Statistics & Schedule – PDF
• Men’s Centennial State Results, Records, Statistics & Schedule – PDF

Men’s Most Outstanding Player

Stewart Erhart, Fort Lewis.  Erhart excelled in all facets of the game in January.  The sophomore guard averaged 19.5 points per game in his eight contests as Fort Lewis finished the month with a perfect 8-0 record.  He also averaged 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 3.9 steals per game.  Erhart leads the nation in steals per game (3.41) this season and has the most career steals of any active sophomore across all divisions of the NCAA.

Others nominated include:

• Aidan McDowell, Western Colorado – 9 games, 249 points (27.8), 47 rebounds (5.2), 28 3pt-FGM
• Alex Romack, Colorado Mines – 9 games, 127 points (14.1), 94 rebounds (10.4), 8 double-doubles, 63% FG

Men’s Top Freshman

Isaiah Johnson, Colorado.  Johnson has been a spark for CU off the bench this season, but earned his first four starts in January.  In eight games during the month, Johnson averaged 18.1 points per game and is on track to break the Buffs’ all-time freshman scoring record (currently held by Alec Burks with 512).  Johnson shot 41% from behind the arc in January, making 16, and connected on 45 of 50 free throws.  He also averaged 2.4 assists and 1.0 steals in the month, which featured three games against teams ranked in the top 15.

Other nominees include:

• Luke Soden, Regis – 9 games, 143 points (17.1), 47 rebounds (5.2)

Men’s Top Colorado prep product

Brock Wisne (Thornton Horizon/Colorado Prep), Northern Colorado.  Wisne, a senior who has shot over 60% from the field in his career, averaged 15.4 points per game in 10 January games.  He leads the conference in field goal percentage, and in January, he also shot 35% from three-point range.  Wisne collected 5.9 rebounds per game in the month and is tied for the team lead in that category.

Others nominated include:

• Asher Nofziger (Denver Cherry Creek), Colorado College – 9 games, 127 points (14.1), 79 rebounds (8.8), 3 double-doubles
• Kasen Lehman (Castle Rock Rock Canyon), Colorado Mines – 8 games, 87 points (10.9), 49% FG, 40% 3pt-FG

Women’s Most Outstanding Player

Olivia Reed Thyne, Colorado Mesa.  Reed Thyne is a big reason for Mesa’s 22-1 record and a national ranking of seventh.  In her nine January games, all wins for Mesa, she averaged 21.3 points and 10.0 rebounds despite playing 28 minutes or fewer in four contests.  Reed Thyne shot 64% FG in the month, making at least 50% in each game, and currently ranks eighth in the country in that category to go with the 11th highest scoring average in DII.  In January, Reed Thyne also averaged 2.9 assists, 1.6 blocks, and 1.2 steals and had three 20-point double-doubles.

Others nominated include:

• Coryn Watts, DU – 8 games, 160 points (20.0), 25 assists (3.1), 8 steals (1.0), 25 3pt-FGM
• Ivey Schmidt, Western Colorado – 8 games, 160 points (20.0), 48 rebounds (6.0), 48% FG, 18 3pt-FGM
• Sofia Baldessari, Colorado Mines – 10 games, 255 points (25.5), 84 rebounds (8.4), 48% FG, 28 3pt-FGM

Women’s Top Freshman

Rayna Welsch, Colorado College.  Welsch’s play in January ensured that Colorado College completed the month with an undefeated 8-0 mark.  She averaged 14.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while averaging just over 21 minutes per game.  Welsch shot 56% FG in January and is 12th in the country in accuracy at 57.8% for the year.  No other Division III freshman is shooting 55% in the country.

Women’s Top Colorado prep product

Sofia Baldessari (Englewood Douglas County), Colorado Mines.  Baldessari began the month with one of the top-scoring performances in Colorado women’s basketball history by scoring 45 points on January 2.  She added three more games with 30+ points in the month, finishing with an average of 25.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in the 10 games.  Baldessari’s 19.4 points-per-game average is the fourth-highest in the country among underclassmen.  The sophomore made 28 three-point field goals in the month.

Others nominated include:

• Coryn Watts (Aurora Regis Jesuit), DU – 8 games, 160 points (20.0), 25 assists (3.1), 8 steals (1.0), 25 3pt-FGM
• Olivia Reed Thyne (Windsor), Colorado Mesa – 9 games, 192 points (21.3), 90 rebounds (10.0), 25 assists (2.9), 11 steals (1.2), 14 blocks (1.6), 64% FG, 3 20-point double-doubles