Contact: Brock Reisler, Assistant Executive Director, breisler@midwestconference.org
OSHKOSH, Wisconsin – The Midwest Conference (MWC) announced its Performers of the Week award recipients for games played February 16-22, 2026, on Monday.
MWC sports information directors nominate student-athletes for the Performer of the Week honor by sport and vote as a committee to select the winners.
For the winter and spring seasons, Performers of the Week will be recognized every week on Monday (basketball, baseball, softball) and Tuesday (swimming and diving, indoor track and field, men’s tennis, outdoor track and field) once their seasons have been triggered (three MWC institutions competing) and will conclude the week prior to the sport-specific Conference tournament/championship.
The Performer of the Week award winners are as follows:
Men’s Basketball Performer of the Week
Zach Rosen, Grinnell College
Rosen propelled Grinnell to its first MWC championship in 17 years with an amazing two-game stretch in which he averaged 17.5 points, 4.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game. He was a combined 13-of-23 from the floor and 7-of-14 from 3-point line as the Pioneers tied their school records for overall and conference wins in a season with 20 and 15, respectively. He was especially amazing in the title-clinching victory at Cornell College, scoring 26 points on 6-of-10 shooting from 3-point range.
Women’s Basketball Performer of the Week
Laney Havlovitz, Ripon College
Havlovitz had another big week for the Red Hawks, helping Ripon secure the first undefeated MWC regular season in program history. Havlovitz scored 20 points in Saturday's win over Beloit, adding in 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 5 steals, and now stands as the outright steals leader for the Midwest Conference this season. Havlovitz also is the sixth-leading scorer in the MWC, while recording the fourth-most assists.
Baseball Pitcher of the Week
Connor Akstulewicz, Illinois College
Akstulewicz worked 2.0 innings and struck out five of the batters he faced, allowing just three hits and one run against St. Scholastica on Friday. He attacked the zone and generated swings and misses, averaging more than two strikeouts per inning in his outing.
Baseball Positional Performer of the Week
Nikolas Ruden, Grinnell College
Ruden had a huge opening weekend in the Pioneers' games against Augustana College and Central College, which resulted in him being named to the D3baseball.com Team of the Week. He hit .667 with four hits in six at bats, including two doubles and a homer. He posted a 1.500 slugging percentage and was perfect in the field with three putouts and two assists in five chances.