The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) has announced its women’s basketball awards for the 2026 season, based on voting by the conference coaches.
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s Paige Seckar received Player of the Year recognition, while UW-Stout’s Addy Verhagen was tabbed the Newcomer of the Year. UW-Oshkosh’s Brad Fischer collected Coach of the Year accolades.
Seckar was the WIAC Newcomer of the Year in 2025, and is the fifth Titan to claim the Player of the Year award, joining Wendy Wangerin (1996), Holly Spoo (1998), Taylor Schmidt (2017) and Leah Porath (2020 and 2021). This season, she leads the conference with 35 blocked shots, while ranking fourth with 7.2 rebounds per contest, fifth with 13.6 points per game and .750 free throw percentage, and tied for sixth with 44 steals. Seckar has reached double figures in scoring in 22-of-27 contests, including a season-high 24 points at UW-Eau Claire on Feb. 11, and has recorded six double-doubles.
Repeat selections on the first team from a season ago include UW-Oshkosh’s Sammi Beyer and UW-River Falls’ Zoey Buchan. UW-Platteville’s Ella Mackiewicz received first team distinction in 2024 and was the Newcomer of the Year in 2023.
Verhagen is the third Blue Devil to receive the newcomer honor, joining Anna Mutch (2021) and Raegan Sorensen (2021). Verhagen leads the WIAC with 102 assists, while ranking sixth with a .744 free throw percentage and eighth with 11.8 points per contest. A newcomer is defined as a student-athlete who used her first season of participation in women's basketball this season. Transfers are not eligible unless they didn’t participate in women’s basketball at their previous institution.
Fischer secured the coaching award for the third straight season and sixth time in his career. He is the first coach in the WIAC history to receive the honor three consecutive years. Fischer has directed UW-Oshkosh to a 24-3 record and its third straight outright regular-season championship. The Titans have secured a spot in the NCAA tournament for the 21st time in program history.
UW-Oshkosh’s Sarah Hardwick earned a spot on the all-defensive team for the third consecutive year.
An All-Sportsmanship Team was announced for individuals that displayed exemplary sportsmanship throughout the season. It included one member from each team as selected by that team.
2026 All-WIAC Women’s Basketball Team
Name, School, Year, Position, Hometown (High School)
Sammi Beyer, Oshkosh, Junior, Guard, Appleton, Wis. (Appleton East)
Zoey Buchan, River Falls, Senior, Guard, Johnston, Iowa (Johnston)
Mia Gillis, Whitewater, Junior, Forward, Mundelein, Ill. (Carmel Catholic)
Sarah Hardwick, Oshkosh, Senior, Forward, Green Bay, Wis. (Green Bay Notre Dame Academy)
Molly Janke, La Crosse, Sophomore, Guard, Ellsworth, Wis. (Ellsworth)
Ella Mackiewicz, Platteville, Senior, Guard, Shawnee, Kan. (Shawnee Mission Northwest)
Malia Nelson, La Crosse, Senior, Guard, Dover, Minn. (Dover-Eyota)
Maija Rice, Stevens Point, Senior, Guard, L’Anse, Mich (L’Anse)
Paige Seckar, Oshkosh, Sophomore, Forward, Oshkosh, Wis. (Oshkosh West)
Addy Verhagen, Stout, Freshman, Guard, Sheboygan, Wis. (Sheboygan Lutheran)
Honorable Mention
Emily Anderson, River Falls, Freshman, Forward, Sherburn, Minn. (Martin County West)
Mary Berg, Stout, Sophomore, Guard, Menomonie, Wis. (Menomonie)
Reanna Hutchinson, Eau Claire, Senior, Guard, Eau Claire, Wis. (Eau Claire North)
Grace Knupp, La Crosse, Junior, Guard, Woodbury, Minn. (East Ridge)
Bri McCurdy, Whitewater, Junior, Guard, St. Croix Falls, Wis. (St. Croix Falls)
Camryn Nies, Whitewater, Junior, Guard, Platteville, Wis. (Platteville)
Kyla Overskei, Eau Claire, Senior, Guard, Maple Grove, Minn. (Maple Grove)
Avery Poole, Oshkosh, Sophomore, Guard, Cottage Grove, Wis. (Monona Grove)
Madalyn Reichmann, Platteville, Senior, Guard, Wauzeka, Wis. (Wauzeka-Steuben)
Karissa Smith, Stevens Point, Junior, Guard, Freedom, Wis. (Appleton North)
Ashley Weir, Platteville, Senior, Guard, Grafton, Wis. (Grafton)
All-Defensive Team
Sarah Hardwick, Oshkosh, Senior, Forward, Green Bay, Wis. (Green Bay Notre Dame Academy)
Ella Mackiewicz, Platteville, Senior, Guard, Shawnee, Kan. (Shawnee Mission Northwest)
Delaney Nyenhuis, Eau Claire, Sophomore, Forward, Fitchburg, Wis. (Oregon)
Avery Poole, Oshkosh, Sophomore, Guard, Cottage Grove, Wis. (Monona Grove)
Renee Rittmeyer, Whitewater, Senior, Guard, Winnebago, Ill. (Winnebago)
All-Sportsmanship Team
Karleigh Creasey, River Falls, Senior, Guard, Normal, Ill. (Normal)
Ella Jordan, La Crosse, Senior, Guard, West Salem, Wis. (West Salem)
Paige Keller, Eau Claire, Senior, Guard, Crystal Lake, Ill. (Crystal Lake Central)
Ava Loftus, Stevens Point, Senior, Guard, Stoughton, Wis. (Stoughton)
Logan Lowry, Whitewater, Senior, Forward, Appleton, Wis. (Appleton East)
Lizzie Poller, Platteville, Junior, Guard, Platteville, Wis. (Platteville)
Mahra Wieman, Oshkosh, Senior, Forward, Sparta, Wis. (Reedsburg)
Rosella Wille, Stout, Senior, Forward, Cannon Falls, Minn. (Farmington)
Player of the Year: Paige Seckar - Oshkosh
Newcomer of the Year: Addy Verhagen - Stout
Coach of the Year: Brad Fischer - Oshkosh
Judy Kruckman Scholar Athlete: Kyla Overskei - Eau Claire
UW-Eau Claire’s Overskei Named Women’s Basketball Judy Kruckman Scholar Athlete
MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Kyla Overskei has been named the recipient of the 2026 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women’s Basketball Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete Award.
A senior from Maple Grove, Minn. (Maple Grove), Overskei sustains a 3.93 grade point average and is majoring in marketing with a minor in management. She secured a spot on the 2024 and 2025 NCAA Division III Academic All-District® Women’s Basketball First Team, selected by the College Sports Communicators. Overskei is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and three-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll. She has been recognized on UW-Eau Claire’s Dean’s List numerous semesters and received multiple academic scholarships.
Overskei has received All-WIAC honorable mention recognition the past two years and led her team in scoring both seasons. A team captain this year, she led the conference with an .854 free throw percentage and tied for the lead in three-point field goals made per game. Overskei has started 73-of-75 games in the last three years and finished her career with 1,059 points and a .784 free throw percentage (182-of-232).
Overskei is a member of UW-Eau Claire’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She has volunteered as a coach and lead trainer for youth basketball camps and served as a mentor at a local elementary school. Overskei has worked as a ticket sales and service intern with the Minnesota Twins, as well as sales and management intern with Enterprise Mobility. While with Enterprise, she was an Enterprise Elite Club selection.
Also nominated for this year’s scholar-athlete award were: UW-La Crosse’s Annika Gustafson (Sr., Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township); UW-Oshkosh’s Avery Poole (Sr., Cottage Grove, Wis./Monona Grove); UW-Platteville’s Ella Mackiewicz (Sr., Shawnee, Kan./Shawnee Mission Northwest); UW-River Falls’ Zoey Buchan (Sr., Johnston, Iowa/Johnston); UW-Stevens Point’s Maija Rice (L'Anse, Mich./L'Anse) and UW-Whitewater’s Renee Rittmeyer (Sr., Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago).
The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is named after Judy Kruckman who served as Assistant Commissioner for the WIAC from 1996-98. Prior to this appointment, she was Commissioner of the Wisconsin Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WWIAC) from October, 1984 - September, 1996. Kruckman was the women's athletics director at UW-Eau Claire from 1974-84, and one of the original representatives to the WWIAC when it formed in 1971. She was inducted into the WIAC Hall of Fame in 2012.
In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.50 grade point average. In addition, she must be in her last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years. The award is based on academic achievements, athletics accomplishments and involvement in other campus activities, organizations and community service projects.
Travis Wilson serves as the Bound Wisconsin Manager. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisBound or reach him at [email protected].