Cody Baer, Sydney Hannam Notch D3Hoops.com All-Region Honors
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Cody Baer (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap/Southwestern Illinois) became the first Eureka men's basketball player in program history to be selected to the D3hoops.com All-Region First Team on Tuesday, and Sydney Hannam (Canton, Ill./Canton/Spoon River) became the sixth Eureka women's basketball player to receive D3hoops.com All-Region honors.
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Baer, a 6-foot-10 junior, was selected to the All-Region 8 First Team, becoming the seventh Red Devil on the men's side to receive the honor, joining Craig Negangard (2004 All-Midwest Region Third Team), Michael Zasada (2010 All-Midwest Region Second Team), Mark Lessen (2013 All-Midwest Region Second Team), Shea Feehan (2018 All-Central Region Second Team and 2017 All-Central Region Third Team) Dakota Bennington (2020 All-Central Region Third Team), and Ian Milsteadt (2022 All-Region 8 Second Team).
Hannam, a 5-foot-8 junior, was named to the All Region 8 Third Team, joining Carrie Eisenbarth (2003 All-Central Region Second Team), Jessica Reardon (2004 All-Central Third Team), Nicole Fisher (2007 All-Central Region Second Team, 2008 All-Central Region Third Team) and Caty Eeten (2012 All-Central Region Second Team, 2013 All-Central Region Third Team, 2014 All-Central Region Third Team) and Hayley Reneau (2018 All-Central Region Second Team) as the only Red Devils on the women's side to receive the honor.
Baer, who previously became the sixth Red Devil to be named St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year, was the only player in the SLIAC to average a double-double this season.
He ranked second in the conference in scoring with 17.2 points per game while pulling down a league-high 11.6 rebounds per game, collecting 290 boards on the season. He was third in the league in field-goal percentage at 53.8 percent and third in total field goals, making 172 of 320 attempts.
His 11.6 boards per game average was the second-highest in a single season in program history, and his 290 rebounds was the second-most in program history. Baer finished the season ranked sixth in NCAA Division III in defensive rebounds with 9.6 per game and 14th in the country in rebounds per game (11.6) He pulled down 20 or more rebounds four times and had at least 15 six times. His 23-board performance at Greenville on Jan. 28 tied the SLIAC record for rebounds in a single game.
As a scorer, Baer reached double figures 21 times, posted 20 or more seven times, and he racked up a career-high 43 points against Greenville on Jan. 28 in the same game that he grabbed 23 rebounds. Defensively, he racked up 34 blocks – good for second in the league and tied for seventh-most in a single season in program history. He also contributed 29 assists and 18 steals.
Hannam was the second-leading scorer in the SLIAC this season, averaging 18.7 points per game while shooting 44.7 percent from the field, 34.4 percent from 3-point range and 84.7 percent from the free-throw line.
This winter, Hannam scored 20 or more points 13 times, including in nine straight games from Dec. 16 to Jan. 21, and against conference opponents nine times. She reached double figures in scoring in every game except for two.
On Jan. 11, she scored a career-high 43 in a 104-59 dubbing of Blackburn. It was the first 40-point game in program history since Hayley Reneau's 41 against Monmouth on Nov. 21, 2017, and the highest scoring performance since Caty Eeten's 49 against Knox on Nov. 17, 2011.
Hannam finished the season with 486 points – 273 more points than she did last year. She complemented all her scoring with career improvements in rebounds (66), assists (38), steals (39) and blocks (six), as well.
She ranked fifth in program history in free-throw percentage in a single season (84.7), sixth in points a single season (486), seventh in points per game in a single season (18.4) and ninth in a single-season in free throws attempted at 163.
Players were nominated for these awards by the Sports Information Directors at the various Division III institutions. There were 798 players nominated nationwide. The ballot was then made available to SIDs, who voted for a predetermined number of players in their region. It's the 22nd season D3hoops.com has named All-Region teams.