INDIANAPOLIS – After a decisive vote from the league's sports information directors, Hillsdale’s Patrick Cartier was officially labeled as the winner of the 2020-21 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Male Athlete of the Year award on Monday afternoon.
The Great Midwest Male Athlete of the Year is traditionally presented on an annual level to a nominee based on athletic accomplishments and contributions to their specific sports and the institution’s overall athletic program.
In the nine-year history of the conference award, Cartier is the first men’s basketball student-athlete to receive the prestigious award. He is also the youngest standout as the first sophomore to be named athlete of the year in the Great Midwest.
Cartier, a sophomore forward from Brookfield, Wisc., was a consensus Division II All-American from both the NABC and D2CCA organizations and also the Great Midwest Player of the Year for 2020-21.
Cartier helped the Chargers establish themselves as the cream of the crop in the Atlantic Region as the No. 1 overall seed while capturing the Great Midwest regular season crown with a 19-1 record.
“We’re super proud of him, not just for what he’s accomplished as a player but who he is as a person,” said Hillsdale head coach John Tharp. “His daily work ethic and his drive to get better is special. You look at what he does in the classroom, and he’s a real student-athlete, someone who puts time and effort into both and who really wants to excel at both. When you’re talking about the type of person we want to have on our team, Pat really is the total package.”
He was the most efficient high-volume scorer in Division II with a shooting percentage over 65 percent from the field this year. His career field goal percentage currently stands at 64.7 percent, which is on pace to blow away the conference career record.
Cartier was the league leader in scoring at 20.5 points per game and field goal percentage (.651) and was eighth in free throw shooting and ranked near the top 10 in rebounding. His scoring clip was the fourth most for a single season in conference history.
Cartier was also one of five CoSIDA Academic All-District Midwest Region honorees. He scored double figures in all 24 contests, including 14 games of 20 points or more and recorded five double-doubles.
Cartier, the 2019-20 Great Midwest Freshman of the Year, made a significant leap in his development in year two under the tutelage of head coach John Tharp. He was a five-time conference player of the week and also earned USBWA National Player of the Week honors in early February.
Tharp notably mentioned Cartier’s expanded shooting range to become a more complete inside-outside threat among other areas of marked improvement from a freshman to a sophomore.
“In the post, his footwork continues to get better, and the more moves you have at your disposal, the tougher you are to guard,” he said. “I think mentally, he took another step as well, in terms of toughness. Just having that year of experience, you know what to expect as a player, and he was much more consistent and in control all year long.”
Cartier is already on the cusp of breaking through the 1,000-point milestone, sitting at 943 going into 2021-22. He has averaged 18.13 points per game in his first two years, which would put him third all-time in league history while playing 52 games in two seasons.
Cartier is the third Charger to receive conference athlete of the year honors following in the footsteps of volleyball All-Americans Allyssa Van Wienen and Paige Vanderwall.
““He’s just special,” Tharp summarized. “It’s one thing to have the talent he has, but another thing entirely to have the mindset and the work ethic to get the most out of that talent. That’s what separates the great ones and it’s what Pat has shown as a part of this team for the last three years.”
Additional finalists for 2020-21 Male Athlete of the Year included Walsh’s Andrew Czech (baseball), Kentucky Wesleyan’s Ben Wilcoxson (baseball), Trevecca Nazarene’s Blain Turner (men’s golf), Ohio Dominican’s Dauson Dales (football), Ohio Valley’s Juan Hoyos (men’s soccer), Tiffin’s Nick Watson (football), Malone’s Noah Schaub (track and field), Findlay’s Tim Stollings (swimming and diving) and Cedarville’s Tommy Ansiel (track and field). Each member institution's SID was permitted (1) male and (1) female nominee to put on the voting ballot for the most recently completed academic year.