Contact: Alex Mielcarz, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, ajmielcarz@noctrl.edu
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (April 7, 2026) – Jonathan Brown was announced as the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin's (CCIW) Men's Volleyball Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday morning after accruing 261 digs in the regular season, a mark that is second in the league despite playing in 11 fewer sets than the conference leader. Brannen Almarales joins him on the All-CCIW First Team after leading the league in kills with 321.
It is the first all-conference selections for both Brown and Almarales, making their debuts on the All-CCIW First Team.
Brown's 261 digs set a new single-season record for the men's volleyball program, while his 3.07 digs per set currently sits as the second-best mark in CCIW history, and the 11th-best currently in Division III.
Brown eclipsed double-digit digs in all but five matches this year. He had multiple top-10 single-match performances during the season. He logged the second-most digs in a match in program history with 24 against Concordia University Wisconsin, and the ninth most digs with 17 against Illinois Wesleyan University at the end of February. Brown also logged the sixth-most digs in a four-set match in program history with 15 against Illinois Wesleyan in March, and the 10th most in a four-set match with 14 against Augustana on March 14.
He was named CCIW defensive player of the week on February 2 for the week of January 26 to February 1, during which he racked up 50 kills over three matches, including his 24-dig performance against CUW, which, at the time, ranked as the best single-match digs performance in program history.
Almarales' 321 kills are the second-most kills in a single season in program history, trailing only Jared Moser's 378 in 2023. Almarales also ranked second on the team in digs with 238 and second in blocks with 52, all while leading the team in sets played with 88.
Almarales finished the regular season off with a bang. He broke the program's single-match kills and digs records with a 35-kill, 27-dig performance against Loras College on Saturday. His 35 kills tie for the 10th-most in a single match in Division III history.
Those weren't his only top-10 single match performances this season. He logged the fifth-most kills in a three-set match in Cardinal history with 16 against the Milwaukee School of Engineering, the fifth-most kills in a single match with 22 against Loras back in February and the eighth-most kills in a five-set match in program history with 20 against Concordia Wisconsin.
Nationally, Almarales is 25th in kills per set (2.65) and 28th in digs per set (2.70).
BK Bartlett was also recognized by the conference office on Tuesday. He was named North Central's recipient of the CCIW RESPECT award, which is awarded to a member of each CCIW varsity team who demonstrates the values of Responsibility, Enthusiasm, Service, Pride, Excellence, Collaboration and Trust while demonstrating themselves as a vital member of their team.
North Central now turns its attention to the postseason. It takes on CCIW regular season champion No. 4 Carthage College tomorrow night in Kenosha, Wisconsin, inside Tarble Arena at 7 p.m. in the CCIW Tournament Semifinal.
