PRESQUE ISLE, ME

The UMPI Men's and Women's teams wrapped up a memorable 2024-25 campaign and three players across the two squads were named to all-conference teams, while one member of each team was named to the sportsmanship team.

Akhe McMichael- First Team All-NAC

Akhe McMichael had a break-out season for the Owls in his junior year. McMichael had been a part of UMPI's program in years past and served in a great off-the-bench or spot-starter role. This year he became an everyday starter for Coach Dan Kane and was much more than that. He exploded on opening night at the University of Southern Maine with a career high 32 points on four threes and never looked back after that.

Akhe led the Owls in scoring the first four games of the season and 14 times throughout their 26 games. He had a season high 36 points in their come-from-behind Overtime victory over the University of Maine at Farmington at home on January 31^st. This was highlighted by scoring the last seven of the Owls points in regulation en route to eliminating a six-point deficit with under two minutes to play. He nailed the game tying three-pointer with 50 seconds left. Akhe finished the year averaging 17.2 points per game and 50% from the field as a guard. His name is all over the NAC leaderboards as he ranked 6^th in the NAC in scoring and field goal percentage, and 2^nd in free throw percentage.

Alexis Ireland- Second Team All-NAC

It is difficult to sum up the career that Alexis Ireland has had at UMPI. On senior day, head coach Mark Knight said, "She's the most decorated athlete in UMPI history, and in my opinion, one of the best athletes UMPI has ever seen." This year she became the first player in UMPI history—men's or women's—to reach 1,000 rebounds later finishing her career with 1,101. A few games later, she surpassed Deborah Draper ('93) as the all-time leading scorer in UMPI women's basketball history.

To achieve this incredible career milestones, Alexis had to have a remarkable senior year. That she did. She averaged a double-double with 16.7 points per game, and 13.3 rebounds per game. Alexis had a double-double in all but five of UMPI's games this year, including a triple-double vs. VTSU-Johnson on January 20^th. She finished 3^rd in the NAC in scoring (One spot ahead of teammate Anaira Ayala, who also had a great season averaging 16.1 PPG) and also 1^st in the conference in rebounds. Alexis also finished 7^th in all of Division III in rebounds per game. This award was a cherry on top of her career, as she has now been named to an All-NAC team in all four of her full seasons.

Gilbert Jean Mendez- Third Team All-NAC

Gilbert Jean Mendez caps off one of the most consistent careers in UMPI history.  He has been the Owls iron-man in all four of his full seasons, starting 107 of 109 games played and averaging 33 minutes played throughout his whole career. As the elder statesman on this year's squad, he stepped into a leadership role and delivered on that responsibility in a big way for what is now the winningest UMPI men's basketball team to ever do it.

Gilbert averaged 12.7 points per game, and shot 40.6% from beyond the arc, leading the team in that category. His season-high 26-point performance on the final day of the regular season at Thomas College led the Owls to their record-breaking 20^th win. Gilbert also took a lot of pride in a very underrated part of his game, that being his passing. He was second on the team in assists with 97 on the year which was 5^th in the conference at 3.9 per game (one spot behind Myles Jones who averaged 4.6 per game). Against the University of Maine at Farmington in the NAC playoffs, Gilbert led UMPI with 23 points and 13 rebounds, playing 49 minutes in the double overtime heartbreaker.
 

Alexis Engel- Sportsmanship Team
Alexis stepped in when the Owls needed her as they were low on numbers at the beginning of the season. A senior at UMPI, Alexis made all-conference honors as a standout volleyball player and her athletic prowess proved to be huge for UMPI on the basketball court. She was an excellent and intense defender for the Owls and averaged 14 minutes per game, appearing in all 21 games after joining the team. 

Logan Migliori-  Sportsmanship Team 
Logan has been a crucial piece to the Owls locker room over the last two seasons since transferring in from Norwich, and this year was named a captain. His leadership was very important to the 20-6 Owls, and it is no surprise Logan was named to the sportsmanship team. The highlight of his season would be his 18 points on senior day as he co-led the Owls in scoring. 15 of those points came in the first half including a buzzer beater to put an exclamation point on a 65-point first half that sent Wieden into a frenzy.