<rleton College men’s basketball player Kevin Grow (Sr./Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial) is one of 10 finalists for the Jostens Trophy, a national award to honor the NCAA Division III basketball player of the year. He is the fifth player in MIAC history to be a finalist for this award.
Created by the Rotary Club of Salem, the award takes into account three vital parts: basketball ability, academic prowess, and community service. The trophy models the Rotary International motto of “Service Above Self” by recognizing those who truly fit the ideal of the well-rounded NCAA Division III student-athlete. This year’s class marks the 21st year the awards have been presented.
Grow wrapped up his Carleton career with a historic senior season. He was second among MIAC players in scoring at 17.3 points per game and paced the conference in rebounds (11.0 per game) for the third consecutive year. He became the first MIAC player since 2011 to average a double-double. Grow added a conference-best 2.0 blocked shots per contest.
Grow was also a .391 shooter from beyond the arc. That all-around skill set distinguishes Grow from his peers as he is the only NCAA men’s basketball player this season—from Division I, II, and III—to average at least 17.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks while shooting better than .200 from beyond the three-point line.
Grow ranks 13th in NCAA Division III in rebounding this season and was 27th in blocked shots. He totaled a career-best 16 double-doubles, ranking eighth in D-III on the year. Grow’s name could also be found among national leaders in scoring and field-goal percentage (.563).
Grow’s play on the court was recognized once again as conference coaches voted him to both the All-MIAC First Team and All-Defensive Team for the third consecutive season.
Grow became the eighth player in recorded MIAC history to total 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds, was the first to join the 1000-1000 club in 39 years, and is the only one to do so while also notching 200 career blocked shots. Grow concluded his stellar four-year career seventh in team history with 1,423 points, while establishing new program standards with 1,007 rebounds and 209 blocked shots.
He ranks third among active D-III players this season in career rebounds and blocks, while sitting fourth with 48 career double-doubles.
Away from the court, Grow owns a 3.47 GPA as an economics major. He has previously been selected to the NABC Honors Court and was chosen to participate in a 10-week study abroad program at Cambridge University in England. He is involved with several on-campus leadership positions and has volunteered at Northfield Montessori School.
Twenty student-athletes—10 men and 10 women—remain in the running for this season’s honors from a stellar pool of nominees representing all eight regions of Division III men’s and women’s basketball.
The Rotary Club of Salem is responsible for the initial review of nominations and narrowed the collection of candidates over the past two weeks. The Club’s Jostens Trophy Committee employs a numerical rating system in determining the lists of finalists. The system ensures an objective process thru the first round of vetting. The 20 finalists continue through the review process, with a national selection committee of 30 or more individuals charged with determining the two winners—one for men’s basketball, the other for women’s basketball—of the 2018 Jostens Trophy honors.
The trophies will be presented March 15, a day before the men’s basketball national semifinals are played in Salem, Virginia.