The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced 21 honorees with the association’s highest individual honors as part of its annual NAIA National Awards Day on September 15, 2017. Among those honored was former Red Raiders men’s basketball standout Brandon Woudstra, who was inducted into the NAIA’s Hall of Fame, the highest honor presented by the association.
Woudstra ended his Red Raider playing career with an incredible 112-21 overall record, leading Northwestern to two NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championships (2001, 2003) and another NAIA National Championship semifinal appearance (2002).
Woudstra is the Red Raiders’ all-time leading scorer (2,478 points) and assists leader (348), while also ranking sixth all-time in career rebounds (896) at Northwestern. He was a three-time NAIA All-America selection (2001 – Honorable Mention; 2002 – Second Team; 2003 – First Team), a two-time NAIA National Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player (2001, 2003) and earned NAIA National Player of the Year honors in 2003. Woudstra was also a two-time NAIA Scholar Athlete and the recipient of the NAIA Emil S. Liston Award in 2002.
Following his standout career at Northwestern College, Woudstra played professionally in Europe for six years where he was a five-time All-Star and scoring leader. Woudstra was inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2017 and currently resides in Orange City where he is the Market President at American State Bank.
Said Northwestern College president, Greg Christy, on the nomination form “Brandon’s accomplishments as a college basketball player are simply remarkable. His teams finished in the semifinals in 2002 and won national championships in 2001 and 2003. During those years when Brandon was playing I was working at another school in the GPAC and was blessed to watch him and his teams play. They were a special group but Brandon was the person who took them to the next level. In addition to his record of achievement on the court, he has distinguished himself in scholarship, character and citizenship as a student-athlete and since graduating. After returning from playing professionally in Europe for several years, we hired him to teach in our business department. He was highly respected by students and each year received excellent teaching evaluations in his five years at NWC. A little over two years ago he had the opportunity to join American State Bank when they expanded into Orange City and he was hired as Market President. Brandon meets every criterion and more for selection to the NAIA Men’s Basketball Hall of Fame. He is a proven winner on the basketball court, as a professor and now business leader but more importantly as a husband and father to his beautiful family. He is a person of high character that truly exemplifies the NAIA Champions of Character.”
Barry Brandt, former Athletic Director at Northwestern College, commented, “Brandon was an outstanding player who led the Red Raiders to multiple national tournament appearances, culminated in winning two championships. He was a player who excelled in the most difficult of situations. As good as Brandon was a player, he was even more effective as a leader. He had the special ability to make those around him better and also cared enough about his teammates to hold them accountable for doing their best.”
Woudstra is the third Northwestern College athlete to be named to the NAIA Hall-of-Fame, joining Lee McKinstrey (inducted in 1993) and Rachel (Binneboese) Leavitt (2017), and the sixth Red Raider overall to earn the NAIA’s highest honor. Larry “Bub” Korver (1989), Paul Bartlett (2008) and Earl Woudstra (2012) were inducted as coaches.
