College of Idaho's Kelly McCarty was named the NAIA National Player of the Week on Tuesday.
Yotes' Kelly McCarty Named NAIA National Player of the Week
CALDWELL, Idaho -- For the first time in over 25 years, a College of Idaho men’s basketball player was honored as NAIA Division II National Player of the Week, as Coyote guard Kelly McCarty received the award from the national office in Kansas City, Mo.
The senior, from Salinas, Calif., helped the Coyotes to back-to-back home wins, an 80-54 rout of Southern Oregon, and a 65-60 victory over then No. 7 ranked Oregon Tech.
McCarty scored 22 points in the win over SOU and added seven assists, while leading the Yotes with 23 points in the win over OIT. For the weekend, he hit a blistering 80-percent of his field goal attempts (16-of-20), knocking home 4-of-5 from outside the arc, helping the Coyotes extend their home win streak to six games.
The last Coyote player to receive the award was C of I Hall of Fame player, Mark Owen, who earn the distinction during the 1984-85 season after scoring 47 points in a win at Northwest Nazarene.
Four other C of I men’s student-athletes have earned the award – Jason Southward (2002) and Jared Larsen (1999 and 2000) in men’s soccer, and Luke Hays (1999) and Tim Onofrei (1996) in baseball. Seven Lady Yotes have earned NAIA Player of the Week honors – Sarah Harris (2010), Erin Cherrington (2006), Charity Gaston (2005), and Amanda Basanez (2003) in volleyball, Katie Zillner (2008) in softball, Amy Rhoades (2007) in soccer, and Alyson Pincock (2001) in basketball.
The Coyotes return to action this weekend with road games at Concordia and Warner Pacific.