University of St. Thomas Athletics
Janowski named Summit League Freshman of the Year to headline awards
3/3/2026 1:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Janowski, Minessale and Bjerke among Summit League award honorees
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The Summit League announced its annual all-league awards Tuesday afternoon, which included St. Thomas men's basketball's Nick Janowski as Freshman of the Year, Janowski and Nolan Minessale as First Team All-League selections, Carter Bjerke as an Honorable Mention All-League selection, and Minessale to the All-Defensive Team.
Janowski is the second Tommie ever selected as Freshman of the Year, joining Andrew Rohde ('22-23), while he is the fourth straight for the program named to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team.
This is the first time St. Thomas has featured two First Team All-Summit League members in Janowski and Minessale while Bjerke is the first selection to the honorable mention team. Minessale joins Drake Dobbs ('24-25) as the program's only selections to the Summit League All-Defensive Team.
All award voting was based on Summit League game stats only.
Janowski, a redshirt-freshman from Pewaukee, Wis., ranked second in the Summit League with 19.1 points per game, third shooting 53.5 percent from the field, ninth averaging 33.0 minutes per game, 11th with 5.4 rebounds per game and 12th averaging 2.1 three-pointers per game. He recorded the second-most field goals made in a league game this season (12) and the sixth-most points (31) in a Jan. 4 win over Denver, earning him the Summit League Peak Performer of the Year. Janowski tied the St. Thomas Division I single-game record with 32 points at North Dakota - the fourth-most in a Summit League game this season - behind seven three-pointers, tied for the third-most in a league game this year. He accounted for two of the league's 10 30-point performances and is one of only two players with multiple 30-point games. Janowski totaled eight 20-point performances, the second-most in the league this season, and reached double figures in scoring and grabbed at least five rebounds in all but three games.
Minessale, a sophomore and native of Brookfield, Wis., ranked second in the Summit League with 4.6 assists per game and 1.9 steals per game, eighth with 17.4 points per game, shooting .450 from the field and a 1.83 assist-to-turnover ratio, and 10th shooting 72.8 percent from the free-throw. He set a Summit League season-high 12 assists - one of just five 10+ assist performances in the league this season - while also recording the league's third-highest single-game steal total (6) and adding 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting in a Jan. 7 win over South Dakota. Minessale produced seven 20-point performances, tied for the fourth-most in the league this season. He added seven games with 5+ assists and three games with 4+ steals as a key contributor in anchoring the league's second-ranked scoring defense.
Bjerke, a redshirt-junior from Plymouth, Minn., finished as the Summit League leader in 3-point percentage shooting .530 from behind the arc during league games, the only league player shooting above .500. He ranks sixth in the Summit League with 34 total three-pointers made and seventh averaging 2.4 three-pointers per game. Bjerke set the Summit League single-game season high with 10 made three-pointers - tied for the fourth-most in league history - in a Feb. 1 win over Kansas City, one of the league's 11 30-point performances this season in that outing. He added 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, with four rebounds in a win over South Dakota State.
St. Thomas enters the postseason with its third straight 20-win season, going 23-8 overall and 12-4 in the Summit League to earn the No. 2 seed in the league's tournament. The Tommies' postseason run begins Thursday, March 5 at about 8:30 p.m. as it takes on South Dakota State from the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.
2025-26 #SUMMITMBB All-League Awards
Player of the Year: Carson Johnson, Denver
Defensive Player of the Year: Eli King, North Dakota
Newcomer of the Year: Carson Johnson, Denver
Freshman of the Year: Nick Janowski, St. Thomas
Sixth Man of the Year: Noah Feddersen, North Dakota State
Coach of the Year: Dave Richman, North Dakota State
First Team All-Summit League
Trevian Carson, North Dakota State
Paul Djobet, Omaha
Cameron Fens, South Dakota
Nick Janowski, St. Thomas
Carson Johnson, Denver
Nolan Minessale, St. Thomas
Second Team All-League
Jordan Crawford, South Dakota
Eli King, North Dakota
Ty Harper, Oral Roberts
Greyson Uelmen, North Dakota
Damari Wheeler-Thomas, North Dakota State
Honorable Mention All-League
Carter Bjerke, St. Thomas
Jeremiah Burke, Denver
Joe Sayler, South Dakota State
Andy Stefonowicz, North Dakota State
Damon Wilkinson, South Dakota State
All-Defensive Team
Trevian Carson, North Dakota State
Cameron Fens, South Dakota
Ja'Sean Glover, Omaha
Eli King, North Dakota
Nolan Minessale, St. Thomas
All-Newcomer Team
Trevian Carson, North Dakota State
Paul Djobet, Omaha
Nick Janowski, St. Thomas
Carson Johnson, Denver
Greyson Uelmen, North Dakota
Follow Along
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on X at @TommieMBBall and Instagram at @tommiehoops.
Join Us
For more information on tickets for the 2026 Summit League Championships, click HERE.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
Janowski is the second Tommie ever selected as Freshman of the Year, joining Andrew Rohde ('22-23), while he is the fourth straight for the program named to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team.
This is the first time St. Thomas has featured two First Team All-Summit League members in Janowski and Minessale while Bjerke is the first selection to the honorable mention team. Minessale joins Drake Dobbs ('24-25) as the program's only selections to the Summit League All-Defensive Team.
All award voting was based on Summit League game stats only.
Janowski, a redshirt-freshman from Pewaukee, Wis., ranked second in the Summit League with 19.1 points per game, third shooting 53.5 percent from the field, ninth averaging 33.0 minutes per game, 11th with 5.4 rebounds per game and 12th averaging 2.1 three-pointers per game. He recorded the second-most field goals made in a league game this season (12) and the sixth-most points (31) in a Jan. 4 win over Denver, earning him the Summit League Peak Performer of the Year. Janowski tied the St. Thomas Division I single-game record with 32 points at North Dakota - the fourth-most in a Summit League game this season - behind seven three-pointers, tied for the third-most in a league game this year. He accounted for two of the league's 10 30-point performances and is one of only two players with multiple 30-point games. Janowski totaled eight 20-point performances, the second-most in the league this season, and reached double figures in scoring and grabbed at least five rebounds in all but three games.
Minessale, a sophomore and native of Brookfield, Wis., ranked second in the Summit League with 4.6 assists per game and 1.9 steals per game, eighth with 17.4 points per game, shooting .450 from the field and a 1.83 assist-to-turnover ratio, and 10th shooting 72.8 percent from the free-throw. He set a Summit League season-high 12 assists - one of just five 10+ assist performances in the league this season - while also recording the league's third-highest single-game steal total (6) and adding 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting in a Jan. 7 win over South Dakota. Minessale produced seven 20-point performances, tied for the fourth-most in the league this season. He added seven games with 5+ assists and three games with 4+ steals as a key contributor in anchoring the league's second-ranked scoring defense.
Bjerke, a redshirt-junior from Plymouth, Minn., finished as the Summit League leader in 3-point percentage shooting .530 from behind the arc during league games, the only league player shooting above .500. He ranks sixth in the Summit League with 34 total three-pointers made and seventh averaging 2.4 three-pointers per game. Bjerke set the Summit League single-game season high with 10 made three-pointers - tied for the fourth-most in league history - in a Feb. 1 win over Kansas City, one of the league's 11 30-point performances this season in that outing. He added 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, with four rebounds in a win over South Dakota State.
St. Thomas enters the postseason with its third straight 20-win season, going 23-8 overall and 12-4 in the Summit League to earn the No. 2 seed in the league's tournament. The Tommies' postseason run begins Thursday, March 5 at about 8:30 p.m. as it takes on South Dakota State from the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.
2025-26 #SUMMITMBB All-League Awards
Player of the Year: Carson Johnson, Denver
Defensive Player of the Year: Eli King, North Dakota
Newcomer of the Year: Carson Johnson, Denver
Freshman of the Year: Nick Janowski, St. Thomas
Sixth Man of the Year: Noah Feddersen, North Dakota State
Coach of the Year: Dave Richman, North Dakota State
First Team All-Summit League
Trevian Carson, North Dakota State
Paul Djobet, Omaha
Cameron Fens, South Dakota
Nick Janowski, St. Thomas
Carson Johnson, Denver
Nolan Minessale, St. Thomas
Second Team All-League
Jordan Crawford, South Dakota
Eli King, North Dakota
Ty Harper, Oral Roberts
Greyson Uelmen, North Dakota
Damari Wheeler-Thomas, North Dakota State
Honorable Mention All-League
Carter Bjerke, St. Thomas
Jeremiah Burke, Denver
Joe Sayler, South Dakota State
Andy Stefonowicz, North Dakota State
Damon Wilkinson, South Dakota State
All-Defensive Team
Trevian Carson, North Dakota State
Cameron Fens, South Dakota
Ja'Sean Glover, Omaha
Eli King, North Dakota
Nolan Minessale, St. Thomas
All-Newcomer Team
Trevian Carson, North Dakota State
Paul Djobet, Omaha
Nick Janowski, St. Thomas
Carson Johnson, Denver
Greyson Uelmen, North Dakota
Follow Along
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on X at @TommieMBBall and Instagram at @tommiehoops.
Join Us
For more information on tickets for the 2026 Summit League Championships, click HERE.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
Players Mentioned
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