The Augustana University men’s basketball team was recognized in the Sporting News Yearbook 2015-16 preseason rankings as the No. 2 team in the country.
They also had two players listed as Preseason All-America selections.
Senior Daniel Jansen was named to the Sporting News Yearbook Preseason All-America First Team and fellow senior Casey Schilling was named to the second team.
Augustana returns 12 players, including all five starters, from last season’s team that had a record-breaking year. The Vikings did not have a single senior on last year’s team that finished 31-3 and set a program record for most wins and hosted the NCAA Central Region Tournament for the first time in school history.
Jansen, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward from Orange City, Iowa, averaged 19.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in 2014-15. Jansen was named to five All-America teams following last season and was also named the NSIC and Daktronics Central Region Player of the Year. He led the Vikings in scoring last season, setting a single-season record at Augustana with 671 points. Jansen scored 10 or more points in 31 of 33 games, including 20-plus points 19 times in 30-plus points twice. He finished the season second on the team with 58 3-point field goals and shot 50.8 percent from the field, 38.9 percent from 3-point range and 77.2 percent from the line.
Schilling, a 6-foot-6 forward from Ellsworth, Minn., was named the NSIC’s Defensive Player of the Year last season averaging 8.4 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.1 blocks per game to go along with 18.9 points and 2.1 assists. Schilling was named to two All-America teams following last season as well as being named to the NABC All-District and Daktronics All-Central Region First Teams. Schilling was named the MVP of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament last season after averaging 23 points and 11.5 rebounds while shooting 55 percent from the field to help the Vikings to their first-ever conference tournament championship. Schilling scored in double-digits in 33 of 34 games, including 20-plus points in 16 games and 30-plus points twice. He led the team with 12 double-doubles, 36 blocks and 61 steals.
