GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – After a conference co-championship and securing a tournament No. 1 seed, the Colorado Mesa Mavericks were well represented in the RMAC's yearly awards, led by Mac Riniker being honored as the conference's Defensive Player of the Year and Head Coach Mike DeGeorge picking up his second RMAC Coach of the Year award.

In addition to the special awards, Trevor Baskin and Blaise Threatt were selected as First Team All-Conference, the second consecutive first-team honor for Baskin and the first for Threatt. Colorado Mesa was one of three RMAC schools to place multiple players on the 10-player first team. Riniker earned a spot on the second team in addition to his DPOY award while Isaac Jessup garnered an honorable mention nod.

Riniker averaged 7.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while leading the conference with 51 steals (1.8 per game) and also averaging a block per game (ranking sixth in the RMAC with 29). Riniker's defensive impact went beyond the box score as a player who guarded every position on the court, often being matched with the opposition's best player regardless of whether it was a guard or a big. He also serves as a sparkplug for the team with his high-effort plays, often diving to the floor to corral a loose ball or standing tall in the paint to take a charge.

The redshirt sophomore from Steamboat Springs, Colorado put together several noteworthy performances, including five steals and two blocks against St. Edward's on the season's opening weekend, nine rebounds with five assists and a block against Chadron State on January 6 and blocking Westminster's First Team All-Conference forward Trey Farrer four times during the recent game on February 22.

While Riniker is most known for his defense, he also carried the load offensively at times, going a perfect 8-for-8 from the field to score a career-high 21 points against UCCS on December 9 and scoring 18 points on 9 of 11 shooting in the road upset of then-No. 3 Black Hills State. Riniker sports a .586 field-goal percentage this season, neck-and-neck with Trevor Baskin for the team lead and a rate that would be fourth in the RMAC if Riniker had enough attempts to officially qualify for the stat. Riniker earns his second consecutive Second Team All-Conference honor with this year's selection.

Mike DeGeorge was honored by his peers as the RMAC Coach of the Year after previously winning the award in 2021. DeGeorge led the Mavericks to the top seed in the RMAC Tournament despite losing former All-American Ethan Menzies for the year after a preseason injury and starting the conference season 0-2 with two home losses.

Since the opening weekend of conference play, Colorado Mesa has won 20 of its past 21 games. Under DeGeorge, the Mavericks boast the conference's best scoring defense at 65.6 points per game. CMU is currently allowing over two points per game less than any other RMAC school. DeGeorge's offensive system has helped an efficient Mavericks squad rank second in the RMAC in both team field goal percentage and team three-point percentage.

The team has stepped up big against tough competition, with three road wins this season over teams that were ranked in the top 15 at the time of the game. As a team, the Mavericks are currently ranked No. 14 nationally in the latest NABC Coaches Poll.

Baskin earns his second straight first-team selection after averaging 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He ranks sixth in the conference in rebounding and third in the RMAC with 34 blocked shots. Baskin also has the third-highest field-goal percentage in the league, making 59 percent of his attempts from the floor.

During Tuesday's tournament quarterfinal against MSU Denver, Baskin passed the 1,000-point milestone for his career and currently has 1,017 career points. Baskin has four double-doubles this season, including a 17-point, 15-rebound game in a road win over RMAC co-champion Fort Lewis. Baskin has also been honored academically this season, making the RMAC All-Academic First Team and CSC Academic All-District.

Blaise Threatt continued his exponential rise into one of the top scorers in the league, if not the country. Threatt is averaging 19 points per game to lead the Mavericks and rank fifth in the conference, growing from 8.9 points per game as a freshman and 13.8 as a sophomore. Threatt has double figures in all but one game this season and has topped 20 points in 13 games, including CMU's past four. He scored a career-high 30 points on 11 of 14 shooting against Regis on February 3.

Additionally, Threatt averages 5.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game and ranks second behind Riniker in total steals with 47. Threatt's two-way prowess was demonstrated in the weekly awards, as he won the Offensive Player of the Week award twice and the Defensive Player of the Week award once, becoming one of only two players in the conference to win both awards this season. Threatt was named on a 50-player watchlist for the Bevo Francis Award, given to the best non-Division I player in college basketball. That 50-person list will be narrowed to 25 on March 15.

Isaac Jessup earned an honorable mention and blossomed into a two-way wing in his second season on the court for the Mavs. Jessup shot 50 percent from the floor and 48 percent from three while also averaging 1.2 steals per game as a primary perimeter on-ball defender for CMU. Likely out for the remainder of the season due to injury, Jessup finishes 2022-23 averaging 7.1 points and 1.7 assists per game.

Black Hills State's Joel Scott was named the RMAC Player of the Year. Joining Scott, Baskin and Threatt on the first team were Chadron State's Josh Robinson, Colorado School of Mines's Brendan Sullivan and Adam Thistlewood, Fort Lewis's Akuel Kot and JaQuaylon Mays, New Mexico Highlands's Dante Moses and Westminster's Trey Farrer. Seven of the 10 members of the first team will compete in the RMAC Tournament semifinals held at Brownson Arena on Friday.