Kougars basketball student-athletes celebrate successful seasons

With the men’s and women’s basketball seasons coming to a close, the Kishwaukee College programs have several accomplishments to celebrate this season.

Women’s Basketball Accolades

Two sophomores on the women’s team finished among the best in the national in individual statistics. Emily Gilbert (Genoa-Kingston High School) finished 28^th in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in rebounding with 272 total rebounds. For her career, Gilbert ranks 14^th in program history in total rebounds.

Teammate Kira Klapprodt (DeKalb High School) finished 22^nd in scoring the NJCAA with 509 points, which also ranks 12^th on Kish’s single-season scoring list. For her career, Klapprodt ranks eighth in scoring in program history with 910 points, fifth in single-season scoring average at 20.4 points per game, and 13^th in single-game points with her 32-point performance against Illinois Valley Community College. Klapprodt was selected to the All-Arrowhead Conference Second Team.

“Emily and Kira have represented Kish Athletics and their hometown communities well these past two years in women’s basketball, and I am very happy to see their hard work being recognized,” said Scott Kawall, Kishwaukee College Director Student Involvement, Athletic Director. “They both have been there for their teammates all season, helping motivate and lead by example by playing hard to the very end of the game.”

Men’s Basketball Accolades

Two sophomores on the men’s team also received recognition for their rankings in the NJCAA leaderboards. Jalen Smith (Davenport West High School) finished 61^st in scoring in the NJCAA with 515 points. For his career, he crossed the 1,000-point threshold, and his 1,067 points rank 10^th all-time in program history. Smith was a first-team selection for the NJCAA Region 4 Division II All-Region Team and was named to the All-Arrowhead Conference Team.

Joshua Bocher (Kewaskum High School) was also selected to the All-Arrowhead Conference and NJCAA Region 4 Division II All-Region teams. He was also nominated for the NJCAA All-American Team with five other student-athletes from Region 4. Bocher finished 12^th in the nation in scoring this season with 663 points and eighth in rebounds with 308. His 21.4 points per game ranked 24^th in the NJCAA with efficient shooting numbers from the field (62.8%) and the free-throw line (74.8%). With 1,150 career points, he ranks eighth in Kish’s program history and 10^th all-time in career rebounds with 502.

“It is very rare to have one, let alone two student-athletes, go over 1,000 career points,” Kawall said. “Josh and Jalen put in a lot of extra time on the court and in the classroom to get to where they are today and are good role models to other future student-athletes. We are very proud of the achievements of our student-athletes in the classroom and on the court this year. Congratulations to these four on their history-making careers at Kish.”

To learn more about Kishwaukee College Athletics, visit www.kishkougars.com.