IWU freshman Kyle Mangas accepts his MVP trophy Tuesday night following the national tournament in South Dakota. The former Warsaw star was named a first-team All-American by the NAIA on Thursday.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Add another hoops honor to the lengthy list for Kyle Mangas this basketball season.

The former Warsaw star has been named an All-American by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

The NAIA announced the 2018 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball All-America Teams Thursday.

Cornerstone’s (Mich.) Kyle Steigenga headlines the award winners as the 2018 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Player of the Year.

Players were chosen by the Division II Men’s Basketball All-America Committee. There are three teams of 10 individuals each that make up the 2018 All-Americans.

Mangas, a standout at Indiana Wesleyan, is the lone freshman in the country named among the 30 players chosen as All-Americans.

Mangas averaged a team-high 21.5 points-per-game in leading the Wildcats to a 31-7 mark this season. IWU defeated fellow Crossroads League member Saint Francis of Fort Wayne Tuesday night to win the NAIA Division II national championship in South Dakota.

Mangas was named the MVP of the National Tournament after he led IWU to five wins in six days. He averaged 22 points and eight rebounds per game in the National Championships.

“We couldn’t be more proud of Kyle for this accomplishment,” said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Greg Tonagel in a story published on the IWU Athletics website Thursday. “Our team started the year hoping to grow in ‘hunger, habits, and humility’ and from his first day on campus, Kyle embodied those traits. He showed a hunger to be great and developed habits that would allow him to have success. As a coach, it was amazing to watch as this success came because the humility he lives with allowed him to be embraced by everyone on the team and at IWU.”

Mangas, who was an Indiana All-Star in 2017 following a prolific prep career at WCHS, was named the Player of the Year and the Freshman of the Year in the Crossroads League. He is the first freshman in league history to earn POY honors.

Mangas, the son of Tim and Ann Mangas, led the Wildcats to the regular-season and tournament titles in the Crossroads League. His 818 points this season broke the single-season program record.

The Warsaw program was well represented on the All-American list. Former Tiger star Paul Marandet was named as a third-team All-American to join Mangas on the prestigious list.

Marandet, a sophomore guard at Spring Arbor, led his team in scoring and assists this season. He averaged 18.8 points and 5.8 assists per game as the Cougars posted a 20-11 mark. Marandet was the 2015 Ink Free News Player of the Year and earned first-team All-Crossroads League honors this season. He scored a career-high 34 points versus Goshen College this year.

Both Mangas and Marandet played for coach Douglas T. Ogle at WCHS. The pair led the Tigers to a 25-2 mark with Class 4-A sectional and regional championships in 2016.

Steigenga, a native of Holland, Mich., is the first player in Cornerstone men’s basketball history to earn this distinction. The four-time first team All-American led the Golden Eagles to a 30-5 record, including a 19-1 mark in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference en route to the team’s 10th conference title and a 14th national championship appearance. Cornerstone, which won the national title in Steigenga’s freshman campaign, reached the quarterfinals at the 2018 national championship before losing to eventual national runner-up Saint Francis (Ind.).

On the season, Steigenga tallied 727 points (20.8 points per game), 298 rebounds and shot 59.9 percent from the field. The senior’s point total ranked seventh nationally. Steigenga concluded a decorated career with 3,023 points and 1,201 rebounds – both of which rank among the top two totals in program history.

Overall, there are five individuals back from one of the three 2017 All-America Teams. Colton Kooima of Northwestern (Iowa) and Steigenga are the only individuals to repeat on the first team.

The 10-member first team features Mangas, along with seven seniors and two juniors. Saint Francis senior Bryce Lienhoop earned first-team All-American honors.

The second team includes Bethel College senior Gage Ott, a native of LaPorte.

Evan Maxwell, a junior center for IWU, earned honorable mention honors. Mangas and Maxwell combined for 1,483 points this season, the most by an IWU duo in program history.

In his first season at Indiana Wesleyan, Maxwell contributed 17.5 points and 6.7 rebounds. He shot 58.0-percent from the floor and a team-best 48.9-percent from the 3-point line. Maxwell was voted to the All-Crossroads League Second Team.

“Evan’s growth this season was remarkable,” stated Tonagel. “He came from Kansas University with no ego and was willing to be coached. As a result, a guy who started the season coming off the bench ended up as one of the most dominant players over five games at the national tournament. Even more exciting, his growth off the floor rivaled the growth he had on it. If he continues to approach his life with this same mentality, the sky is the limit for the impact he can have next season.”

Also tabbed to the honorable mention list was Saint Francis senior Derek Hinen, who played at Columbia City High School.

Following the conclusion of the national championship title game, IWU coach Tonagel was named the 2017-18 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year. Tonagel led the Wildcats to their third national title – the other two coming in 2014 and 2016 – and a 31-7 overall record. He was also named the NABC-NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year.