Sioux City, Iowa-The Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) announced tis 2023-2024 nominees for some of the top honors in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and two of the nominees are from the local area.
The male nominee for the Emil S. Liston Award is Luke Rankin, a member of the Dordt University Men’s Basketball Team. Rankin, from Grimes, Iowa, is majoring in Business and Finance, with minors in Accounting and Economics. His GPA is 3.982 and he is a two-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete.
Rankin is the Dordt career leader in assists and has surpassed scoring 900 points in three seasons. Rankin was named the Freshman of the Year in the GPAC in 2021-22 and has been named All-Conference three times.
“Luke is an outstanding player and teammate, in my 28 years as a head college basketball coach, I have never coached anyone like Luke,” said Dordt Men’s Basketball Coach Brian Van Haaften. “He plays with great speed, passes the ball brilliantly and makes others around him better. He is a great teammate and the epitome of a team player.”
Matt McCarty from Northwestern College is the GPAC nominee for the NAIA Coach of Character Award.
McCarty is the head football coach at Northwestern.
“As a Coach of Significance, one way I try to teach and instill character is through our small group activities,” McCarty said. “All of our small group activities center around the team of “Choose to Pursue Excellence Daily” – this is our team’s mission and guides all we do.”
“As the face of a nationally competitive football program, Coach McCarty embraces this unique opportunity by influencing others,” Northwestern Vice President for Athletics Tony Hoops said. “Matt is a foundational rock for our athletic department. All of us at Northwestern are fortunate to have (him) as a strong mentor to work with and are thankful that the highly visible sport of football has a leader that models the mission of our institution daily.”
The national winners will be announced during the 2024 NAIA Awards Day on September 15.
