CHICAGO, Ill. -- An illustrious junior campaign that started with securing a starting role with North Park men's basketball has grown to 2026 D3hoops.com All-Region 8 honors for junior guard Mike Vuckovic. Vuckovic was one of six players from the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) named to the All-Region team, earning a spot on the third team.
Vuckovic's offseason work and development put him a position to start for Coach Ed McGhee in the Vikings' 16-win season this year, becoming North Park's scoring leader with 19.6 points per game. The junior from Hanover Park, Illinois turned in 23 games with a double-digit point total and had a pair of games where he scored 30+. He finished the season by posting double-digit point totals in 11-straight games, including 26 points at home against Wheaton College in the CCIW Quarterfinals.
Vuckovic, a first-team All-CCIW honoree this season, made six three-pointers at Millikin and buried shots from beyond the arc in all but two games that he appeared in this season. He was second on the team with 122 assists and added 34 steals alongside 116 rebounds. He shot 50.7% from the field (181-357) and 43.9% (58-132) from beyond the arc.
Players were nominated for these awards by the Sports Information Directors at the various schools. There were 797 players nominated nationwide. The ballot was then made available to a number of SIDs, who voted for a predetermined number of players in their region. It's the 25th season D3hoops.com has named All-Region teams.
The regional Rookie of the Year award honors the top freshman in each region, while D3hoops.com also names a regional Coach of the Year.
Division III basketball is organized into 10 regions. A region with 40 teams or more has three All-Region teams honored, while a region with fewer than 40 teams has a first and second team. This organization results in approximately 10 additional players being recognized when compared to full seasons in the old eight-region alignment.
Players from these lists are eligible for the D3hoops.com All-America teams. The women's basketball All-America team will be released March 21, at the national championship game, and the men's basketball All-America team will be released in the following week.
2026 All-Region 8 Team
Player of the Year: Noah Cleveland, F, Illinois Wesleyan
Coach of the Year: Ron Rose, Illinois Wesleyan
Rookie of the Year: Noah Cleveland, F, Illinois Wesleyan
| First team |
|
|
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| G |
Shane Regan |
Chicago |
Sr. |
Larchmont, N.Y. |
| G |
Mason Dopirak |
MSOE |
Sr. |
Manitowoc, Wis. |
| F |
Connor May |
WashU |
So. |
Palatine, Ill. |
| F |
Logan Landers |
Concordia (WI) |
Sr. |
Cedarburg, Wis. |
| F |
Noah Cleveland |
IL Wesleyan |
So. |
Normal, Ill. |
|
|
|
| Second team |
|
|
| G |
Mason Funk |
IL Wesleyan |
Jr. |
Normal, Ill. |
| G |
Soren Richardson |
Wheaton |
Jr. |
Northfield, Minn. |
| G |
Nick Roper |
Chicago |
Sr. |
St. Louis, Mo. |
| F |
Tray Huguley |
MUW |
So. |
Saks, Ala. |
| F |
Hunter Barr |
Transylvania |
Jr. |
Hardinsburg, Ky. |
|
|
|
| Third team |
|
|
| G |
Mike Vuckovic |
North Park |
Jr. |
Hanover Park, Ill. |
| G |
Ryan Johnson |
Carthage |
Jr. |
Oswego, Ill. |
| F |
Dominic Trelenberg |
Elmhurst |
Sr. |
Westchester, Ill. |
| F |
Malachi McNair |
Hanover |
So. |
Evansville, Ind. |
| C |
Devon Richardson |
Aurora |
Jr. |
Hazel Crest, Ill. |
