January 26, 2026
HELENA, Mont. – Valley City State (N.D.) and Bellevue (Neb.) were selected to the 13
th edition of the 2025-26 Erck Hotels/Frontier Conference Men’s Basketball Players-of-the-Week, announced Monday by the conference office.
Offensive Player of the Week: Kaleb Larson, Valley City State (N.D.)
Larson, a senior guard from West Fargo, N.D. was named the Offensive Player-of-the-Week.
He scored a season-high 29 points in Valley City State’s (N.D.) 100-88 win over Bismarck State (N.D.). He was 12-of-22 from the field in the game (54.5 percent).
Larson followed up with 21 points in VCSU’s 78-72 win over Mayville State (N.D.), highlighted by his 1,000-point career milestone when he put back a missed shot for a second chance basket.
For the week, Larson averaged 25.0 points, 2.5 offensive rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game as the Vikings went 2-0 record. He shot 18-of-40 from the field (45 percent) and hit nine 3-pointers. He converted 5-of-6 at the free-throw line.
This is Larson’s first career Erck Hotels / Frontier Conference Player of the Week award.
Defensive Player of the Week: Liam Thompson, Bellevue (Neb.)
Thompson, a junior forward from Phoenix, Ariz., was selected as the Defensive Player-of-the-Week.
He totaled three steals and registered three blocked shots in helping Bellevue (Neb.) defeat their traveling partner Dakota State (S.D.) 71-54 on the road. He led a defensive effort that held the Trojans to 20 points below their season average, as well as limiting Dakota State to 39 percent shooting from the field.
The Bruins forced the Trojans to 13 turnovers in the game.
This is Thompson’s second career Erck Hotels / Frontier Conference Player of the Week award.
| WEEK |
OFFENSE |
DEFENSE |
| 13 |
Kaleb Larson, Valley City State (N.D.) |
Liam Thompson, Bellevue (Neb.) |
| 12 |
Isaiah Crane, Carroll (Mont.) |
JJ Montgomery, Bellevue (Neb.) |
| 11 |
Kyle Gruhler, Montana Western |
Carter McCoy, Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
| 10 |
Kyle Gruhler, Montana Western |
Hayden Diekhans, Montana Tech |
| 9 |
Sherman Royal III, Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
Royce Robinson, Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
| 8 |
Kyle Gruhler, Montana Western |
Lorence Dela Cruz, Carroll (Mont.) |
| 7 |
Isaiah Crane, Carroll (Mont.) |
Kellen Harrison, Carroll (Mont.) |
| 6 |
Emanuel Steward, Montana Western |
David Young, Montana Western |
| 5 |
Kyle Gruhler, Montana Western |
Kellen Harrison, Carroll (Mont.) |
| 4 |
Leon Sayers IV, MSU-Northern |
Liam Thompson, Bellevue (Neb.) |
| 3 |
JR Cison, Valley City State (N.D.) |
Jaden Phillips, Bellevue (Neb.) |
| 2 |
Kyle Gruhler, Montana Western |
Hayden Diekhans, Montana Tech |
| 1 |
Kyle Gruhler, Montana Western |
Kellen Harrison, Carroll (Mont.) |
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