Rockford University

The following students in the Degree Completion program at Rockford University were named Distinguished Scholars for the spring 2022 semester, earning at least a 3.75 with no grades below "C" and having completed all requirements for the semester.

The following students in the Degree Completion program at Rockford University were named to the Dean's List for the Spring 2022 semester, earning at least a 3.5 GPA with no grades below "C" and having completed all requirements for the semester.

The following full-time (12 or more credits) students attending Rockford University were named Distinguished Scholars for the spring 2022 semester, earning at least a 3.75 with no grades below "C" and having completed all requirements for the semester.

The following full-time (12 or more credits) students attending Rockford University were named to the Dean's List for the Spring 2022 semester, earning at least a 3.5 GPA with no grades below "C" and having completed all requirements for the semester.

Rockford University senior outfielder Neil Freeman garnered two additional postseason awards on Tuesday, when both the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and D3baseball.com released their 2022 all-region teams. Freeman was named Second Team All-Region by the ABCA and Third Team All-Region by D3baseball.com. Freeman becomes just the fourth RU outfielder to receive all-region honors since Rockford joined the NACC and the first since 2010 (Eric Nicholson). He is also the first Regent baseball player to earn all-region status since the 2019 season. Senior outfielder Neil Freeman capped off his RU career with both a Second Team and a Third Team All-Region selection. This marks the second and third postseason awards for Freeman, as he was also voted First Team All-NACC a few weeks ago. Freeman led Rockford's offensive attack and ranked in the top twenty-five in the NACC in six different statistical categories. He finished third in the NACC in home runs (10), seventh in slugging percentage (.628), fourteenth in doubles (13) and runs batted in (39), twenty-third in hits (50) and twenty-fourth in batting average (.338). Additionally, he was one of only nine players in the conference to have at least a .300 batting average, a .400 on-base percentage and a .600 slugging percentage (.338/.407/.628). Freeman also led Rockford in OPS (1.035) and total bases (93), tied the RU and NACC single-game home run record (3) and was the first Regent to hit at least ten home runs in a season since 2007 (Tim Rowe, 11).

The Rockford University baseball team had two players honored by the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference on Thursday morning when it released its 2022 postseason awards. Senior outfielder Neil Freeman was voted First Team All-NACC and starting pitcher Jared Herzog was voted Second Team All-NACC by the conference's thirteen head coaches. Starting pitcher Jared Herzog was selected Second Team All-NACC. This was the second consecutive season that Herzog received postseason recognition from the conference, after being voted the NACC South Division Freshman of the Year in 2021. Herzog did an outstanding job this year in his first full season as Rockford's ace. He led the NACC in strikeouts (87), finished second in starts (10), third in strikeouts per nine innings (12.77), sixth in innings pitched (61.1) and tenth in earned run average (3.52) among pitchers who threw at least 50 innings. Additionally, he is currently ranked twenty-sixth in the country in strikeouts and thirty-first in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings. Herzog was also the NACC Pitcher of the Week earlier in the year and led the Regents with three wins and one complete game.

The Rockford University softball team had a pair of players recognized on Monday morning when the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference released its 2022 postseason awards. Senior designated player Emily Cox and junior catcher Candace Kipp were both voted Second Team All-NACC by the conference's thirteen coaches. Both players have now received postseason recognition from the NACC multiple times. Junior catcher Candace Kipp was selected Second Team All-NACC for the 2022 season, one year after being named NACC Honorable Mention. This marks the second time this season that Kipp has received recognition from the conference, following her NACC Position Player of the Week award earlier in the year. Kipp burst onto the scene in 2022 for the Regents, finishing in the top 25 in the NACC in six different categories. She led the conference in doubles (17), was twelfth in slugging percentage (.619), fifteenth in home runs (4), twenty-first in hits (44), twenty-third in on-base percentage (.444) and twenty-fifth in runs batted in (26). She also currently ranks twelfth in the country in doubles and twenty-ninth in doubles per game. Additionally, Kipp tied a pair of Rockford University records this season. She tied the RU single-season doubles record (17) and tied the school's single-game home run record (2).

The Rockford University baseball team had two players honored by the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference on Thursday morning when it released its 2022 postseason awards. Senior outfielder Neil Freeman was voted First Team All-NACC and starting pitcher Jared Herzog was voted Second Team All-NACC by the conference's thirteen head coaches. Senior outfielder Neil Freeman earned First Team All-NACC status in his first season as a Regent. Freeman led Rockford's offensive attack and ranked in the top twenty in the NACC in six different statistical categories. He finished second in the NACC in home runs (10), eighth in slugging percentage (.628), ninth in doubles (13), tenth in runs batted in (39) and nineteenth in hits (50) and at bats (148). Additionally, he was one of only nine players in the conference to have at least a .300 batting average, a .400 on-base percentage and a .600 slugging percentage (.338/.407/.628). Freeman also led Rockford in OPS (1.035) and total bases (93), tied the RU and NACC single-game home run record (3) and was the first Regent to hit at least ten home runs in a season since 2007 (Tim Rowe, 11).

The Rockford University softball team had a pair of players recognized on Monday morning when the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference released its 2022 postseason awards. Senior designated player Emily Cox and junior catcher Candace Kipp were both voted Second Team All-NACC by the conference's thirteen coaches. Both players have now received postseason recognition from the NACC multiple times. Senior designated player Emily Cox earned the third postseason honor of her career from the conference, following a Second Team All-NACC selection this season. She was also named Second Team All-NACC in 2019 and NACC Honorable Mention in 2021. Cox had yet another outstanding year to conclude an amazing career in a Regent uniform. She hit .403 with a .507 on-base percentage and a .723 slugging percentage, to become one of just four players in the NACC to reach .400/.500/.700 at the plate this year. Cox finished in the top 20 in the conference in ten different categories, including five top ten rankings. She was second in the NACC in doubles (16) and walks (21), fourth in on-base percentage (.507), fifth in slugging percentage (.723), seventh in home runs (6), thirteenth in batting average (.403), fourteenth in hits (48), seventeenth in runs batted in (30) and triples (2) and eighteenth in runs scored (28). She also currently ranks 22nd in the country in doubles and 45th in doubles per game. Additionally, Cox broke or tied four school records this year. She became Rockford's all-time leader in home runs (18), tied the career doubles record (37), broke the school's single-season walks record (21) and tied the single-game doubles record (3).

Rockford University shortstop Jake Bilotta earned his first award this season on Wednesday morning when he was named the shortstop on the D3baseball.com Team of the Week. Bilotta becomes the first RU baseball player to be selected to the D3baseball.com Team of the Week this season, and it was also the first time in his career that he has received this honor. Jake Bilotta had multiple hits in four of Rockford's five games this past week. His two best performances came in a pair of NACC wins for the Regents. Bilotta was responsible for the first five runs in Rockford's 6-4 road win at Lakeland. He went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double, drove in four runs and scored two runs. He also went 3-for-5 with a double, a triple and scored four runs in Rockford's 10-7 comeback win over Dominican. For the week, he posed a .450 batting average, a .538 on-base percentage and a .900 slugging percentage. Bilotta tallied nine hits, including four doubles, a triple and a home run, and scored eleven runs, while driving in five more. He also had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage on twenty total chances at shortstop. The RU baseball team is back at home Wednesday afternoon for a NACC doubleheader against St. Norbert College. First pitch is set for 1 PM at Rivets Stadium. D3baseball.com Team of the Week - Week 11

The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference announced Tuesday morning that starting pitcher Jared Herzog has been named the NACC Baseball Pitcher of the Week. This marks the second time over the past two seasons that Herzog has been named the conference's pitcher of the week. He also becomes the first Regent baseball player this year to be selected the NACC Player of the Week. Jared Herzog threw a complete game in Rockford's 5-2 win at Edgewood on Sunday to open NACC play. He began the game by retiring the first eleven batters he faced and held the Eagles scoreless over the first five innings. Herzog allowed just three hits and two runs over his nine innings of work, while striking out a season-high eleven batters, including at least one in each inning. He also went 4-for-8 at the plate with a walk and a run batted in. The RU baseball team returns to the field on Tuesday, April 5 at MSOE. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for noon.

Rockford University's Anaya Davis garnered two more awards on Tuesday morning when D3hoops.com released its 2021-22 All-Region teams. Davis was selected as both the Region 8 Rookie of the Year and Third Team All-Region. She becomes just the fourth RU women's basketball player to earn D3hoops.com All-Region status and the first since the 2007-08 season (Angie Butler - 3rd Team). Davis also becomes the first Regent women's basketball player to be selected as the D3hoops.com Region Rookie of the Year.

The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference announced Tuesday morning that Rockford University junior catcher Candace Kipp has been named the NACC Softball Position Player of the Week. This marks the first time in her career that Kipp has been named the NACC Position Player of the Week. She also becomes the first RU softball player to receive the award this year. Candace Kipp had four multi-hit games, including a trio of three-hit performances, to help lead Rockford to a 6-2 record on its spring trip. She began her career as a Regent with two 3-for-4 efforts that included a total of five runs batted in and four doubles, in a pair of Rockford wins. Her other three-hit game came on the final day of the trip, when she went a perfect 3-for-3, with a double and an RBI. For the week, Kipp had a .650 batting average, a .680 on-base percentage and a 1.000 slugging percentage. She also tallied 13 hits, 11 runs batted in, seven doubles, seven runs scored and a stolen base. The RU softball team is scheduled to have its home opener on Thursday, March 17 against the University of Dubuque. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 5 PM at Mercyhealth Sportscore Two.

Rockford University's Brandon Emerick concluded his remarkable career as a Regent with yet another First Team All-NACC selection. This marks the third time in his storied career that Emerick has been named First Team All-NACC, which is more than any other player in program history. Emerick also becomes just the third RU men's basketball player to receive postseason recognition from the NACC three times during his career (Tony Diemer and Zach Wallace).

Rockford University's Anaya Davis was honored with a pair of major accolades on Tuesday afternoon, when the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference announced its 2022 postseason awards. Davis was named both the NACC Freshman of the Year and selected First Team All-NACC. She becomes the first RU women's basketball player to win both awards in the same season and just the fifth women's basketball player in the history of the NACC to accomplish the feat. Davis is also just the second Regent women's basketball player to be named the NACC Freshman of the Year (Taylor May, 2016-17) and the first RU women's basketball player to be named First Team All-NACC since the 2011-12 season (Britney Curry).

The following full-time (12 or more credits) students attending Rockford University were named Distinguished Scholars for the fall 2021 semester, earning at least a 3.75 GPA with no grades below "C" and having completed all requirements for the semester.

The following full-time (12 or more credits) students attending Rockford University were named to the Dean's List for the fall 2021 semester, earning at least a 3.5 GPA with no grades below "C" and having completed requirements for the semester.

The following students in the Degree Completion program at Rockford University were named to the Distinguished Scholars List for the fall 2021 semester, earning at least a 3.75 GPA with no grades below "C" and having completed all requirements for the semester.

The following students in the Degree Completion program at Rockford University were named to the Dean's List for the fall 2021 semester, earning at least a 3.5 GPA with no grades below "C" and having completed all requirements for the semester.

The awards and accolades continue to mount for Rockford University freshman sensation Anaya Davis, who added two more to her already impressive collection on Tuesday morning. Davis became the first Regent this season to be named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week and also earned her third NACC Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors this year. She also becomes just the fourth player in program history to be selected to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week and the first to ever be named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week and be selected the NACC Player of the Week in the same week. Anaya Davis averaged 28.5 points and 20 rebounds in a pair of road NACC wins this past week. She opened with 25 points, 22 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal for her third 20-point, 20-rebound game of the season in a win at Dominican. Davis then poured in a career-high 32 points, 18 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal for her 17th double-double of the year in a comeback win at Lakeland. Davis is putting together one of the best seasons in the history of the Rockford University women's basketball program. She currently leads the nation in double-doubles (17), rebounding (280) and offensive rebounds per game (7.0). She is also fifth in the country in free throw attempts (156) and rebounds per game (14.0) and ninth in made free throws (105). At the conference level, Davis leads the NACC in scoring (18.3 ppg) and rebounding (14.0 rpg) and is fourth in steals (2.4 spg). The RU women's basketball team will look to improve upon its NACC Tournament seeding on Tuesday, February 8 when the Regents travel to Concordia University Chicago. Tip-off between the Regents and Cougars is set for 7 PM.

The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference announced Tuesday morning that Rockford's Anaya Davis has been named the NACC Women's Basketball Player of the Week for the second time this season. Davis becomes the first RU women's basketball player to repeat as the conference's player of the week in the same season since Britney Curry did it during the 2011-12 season. Anaya Davis posted two more double-doubles last week to bring her NCAA Division III-leading total to 13 this season. Davis opened with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 4 steals against Benedictine. She then poured in a career-high 30 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 assist and 1 steal in a win at MSOE. For the week, Davis averaged 21 points on 53.8% shooting, 12 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks. At the midway point in the season, Davis currently leads the NACC in both scoring (17.4 ppg) and rebounding (13.4 rpg) and is third in the conference in steals (2.5 spg). The RU women's basketball team returns to the court on Tuesday, January 25 against Concordia University Chicago. Tip-off is set for 7 PM in the Seaver Center.

The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference announced Tuesday morning that Rockford University senior guard Brandon Emerick has been named the NACC Men's Basketball Player of the Week. This marks the second time in the last three weeks and the fourth time in his career that Emerick has received the award. Emerick also becomes the first Regent this year to be named the conference's player of the week on multiple occasions. Brandon Emerick poured in a team-high 23 points to lead Rockford to a 75-68 upset win over North Park University this past week. He shot 50% (8-of-16) from the floor and drained a game-high five three-pointers. He also added four steals, four assists and two rebounds to his totals. The RU men's basketball team returns to the court on Tuesday, January 4 at home against Aurora University. Tip-off between the Regents and Spartans is set for 7 PM in the Seaver Center.

The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference announced Tuesday morning that Rockford University senior guard Brandon Emerick has been named the NACC Men's Basketball Player of the Week. This is now the third time in his illustrious career that Emerick has been named the conference's player of the week. Emerick also becomes the first RU men's basketball player to garner the award this season. Brandon Emerick scored a team-high 26 points to lead the Regents to a 91-83 road win this past Saturday over St. Norbert. Emerick connected on 57.1% of his shot attempts including going 7-of-12 (58.3%) from three-point range. He also added a game-high 7 assists and 1 steal to his totals. The win moved the Regents to 7-2 on the season, including a 2-1 mark in NACC play. Rockford is back on the road on Wednesday, December 15 at Edgewood College. Tip-off between the Regents and Eagles is set for 7:00 PM.

The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference announced Tuesday morning that Rockford University freshman forward Anaya Davis has been named the NACC Women's Basketball Player of the Week. This marks the first time in her career that Davis has been named the conference's player of the week. Davis also becomes the second RU women's basketball player to win the award this season (Audrina Terhune). Anaya Davis had a pair of 20-point, 10-rebound games this past week for Rockford. She began with 21 points, 13 rebounds, 7 steals, 3 assists and 2 blocks in Rockford's 58-47 win at Edgewood. Davis then poured in 23 points, 11 rebounds and 3 steals at St. Norbert. For the week, she averaged 22 points on 63% shooting, 12 rebounds, 5 steals, 1.5 assists and 1 block. Davis currently leads the NACC and is second in NCAA Division III with 7 double-doubles this year. The Regents conclude their three-game road trip on Thursday, December 16 at Mount Mary University. Tip-off between the Regents and Blue Angels is set for 6 PM.

Rockford University's Joey Owens added yet another award to his collection on Wednesday morning when it was announced that he had been named Second Team All-Region by D3football.com. This is the second postseason award of the year for Owens, as he was already named First Team All-NACC by the conference's nine head coaches. Owens becomes just the fifth RU football player in program history to be named to a D3football.com all-region team, only the second to be named D3football.com Second Team All-Region (Jeff Cihlar, OL) and the first ever RU offensive skill position player to earn D3football.com all-region status. Additionally, Owens was the only NACC wide receiver to garner all-region recognition from D3football.com this season.

The Rockford University football team had five players recognized by the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference on Monday, when it released its 2021 postseason awards. Wide receiver Joey Owens highlighted that group with a First Team All-NACC selection. Defensive back Garrick McGregor's Second Team All-NACC selection was the highest award for any Regent defender. LaVar Johnson Jr., Jaelen Ray and Amari Jackson rounded out Rockford's award recipients with their NACC Honorable Mention selections. Linebacker Amari Jackson was also selected NACC Honorable Mention for the first time in his career. Following an abbreviated spring season just a few short months ago, Jackson turned in an excellent 2021 season in his first full year in a Regent uniform. He finished in the top seven in the NACC in four categories and was at or near the top of nearly every defensive stat category for the Regents. Jackson tied for the NACC lead in fumble recoveries (2), was fifth in total tackles (78) and assisted tackles (37) and was tied for seventh in solo tackles (41).

The Rockford University football team had five players recognized by the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference on Monday, when it released its 2021 postseason awards. Wide receiver Joey Owens highlighted that group with a First Team All-NACC selection. Defensive back Garrick McGregor's Second Team All-NACC selection was the highest award for any Regent defender. LaVar Johnson Jr., Jaelen Ray and Amari Jackson rounded out Rockford's award recipients with their NACC Honorable Mention selections. Quarterback Jaelen Ray was named NACC Honorable Mention for the first time in his collegiate career. Ray had bar none the best season of any quarterback in school history. He broke twelve school records, including two career records in his first full season in a Regent uniform. Ray now holds the RU records for passing yards (game and season), passing attempts (game and season), completions (game, season and career), passing touchdowns (game and season), total offense (game and season) and completion percentage (career). At the end of the regular season, Ray was at or near the top of the NACC in every passing category and was ranked in the top 27 in the country in eight statistical categories. He was second in NCAA Division III completions per game (28.6), third in total offense (3,516), fourth in passing yards (3,260) and passing yards per game (326), fifth in passing touchdowns (33), eleventh in points responsible for (212) and points responsible for per game (21.2) and was twenty-seventh in completion percentage (64.4%).

The Rockford University football team had five players recognized by the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference on Monday, when it released its 2021 postseason awards. Wide receiver Joey Owens highlighted that group with a First Team All-NACC selection. Defensive back Garrick McGregor's Second Team All-NACC selection was the highest award for any Regent defender. LaVar Johnson Jr., Jaelen Ray and Amari Jackson rounded out Rockford's award recipients with their NACC Honorable Mention selections. Senior running back LaVar Johnson Jr. earned NACC Honorable Mention status for the second time in his career (2019). Johnson wrapped up an incredible career that ranks him statistically as one of the top running backs in program history. He is second in school history in career rushing attempts (599), total touchdowns (32), points scored (182) and rushing touchdowns (31), third in career rushing yards (2,783) and all-purpose yards (3,199) and seventh in total offense for a career (2,828). At the conference level, Johnson had a remarkable 2021 season, which saw him ranked in the top 11 in the NACC in five different categories. He finished the regular season third in the NACC in rushing attempts (168), fifth in rushing yards (776), tied for fifth in rushing touchdowns (9), tied for tenth in total touchdowns (10) and tied for 11th in total points (60).

The Rockford University football team had five players recognized by the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference on Monday, when it released its 2021 postseason awards. Wide receiver Joey Owens highlighted that group with a First Team All-NACC selection. Defensive back Garrick McGregor's Second Team All-NACC selection was the highest award for any Regent defender. LaVar Johnson Jr., Jaelen Ray and Amari Jackson rounded out Rockford's award recipients with their NACC Honorable Mention selections. Senior defensive back Garrick McGregor was selected Second Team All-NACC for the first time in his career. McGregor burst onto the scene for the Regent defense with an excellent all-around season. McGregor tied the Rockford University single-game interception record twice with a pair of interceptions against both Lakeland and Benedictine, with the latter earning him NACC Defensive Player of the Week recognition. At the end of the regular season, McGregor was fourth in the NACC in solo tackles (45), fifth in interceptions (4) and seventh in total tackles (71).

The Rockford University football team had five players recognized by the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference on Monday, when it released its 2021 postseason awards. Wide receiver Joey Owens highlighted that group with a First Team All-NACC selection. Defensive back Garrick McGregor's Second Team All-NACC selection was the highest award for any Regent defender. LaVar Johnson Jr., Jaelen Ray and Amari Jackson rounded out Rockford's award recipients with their NACC Honorable Mention selections. Senior wide receiver Joey Owens was selected First Team All-NACC for the first time in his collegiate career. He put together one of the greatest seasons for a wide receiver not only in school history, but also in the history of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. Owens broke eight school records and tied a ninth, while also breaking the NACC record for receiving yards in season. Owens now holds the RU records for receiving yards (season and career), receptions (season and career), receiving touchdowns (game, season and career), points scored (season) and total touchdowns (season). At the conclusion of the regular season, Owens led the NACC in every major receiving category and was ranked in the top 15 in the country in seven categories. He led all of NCAA Division III in receiving touchdowns (17) and receiving yards (1,269), was second in receptions per game (8.6) and receiving yards per game (126.9), was twelfth in total points scored (104) and total touchdowns (17) and was fifteenth in scoring (10.4).