Box Score All-RMAC Teams
COLORADO SPRINGS – Colorado School of Mines'
Gokul Natesan is the RMAC Defensive Player of the Year and
Caleb Waitsman is a Second-Team All-RMAC selection in the annual year-end awards from the league.
Natesan was also selected as a First-Team All-RMAC honoree. The pair have led Mines to a 22-6 record and the #2 seed in the RMAC Shootout.
Natesan earns his third straight RMAC postseason honor but first on the first team. The 2014 RMAC Freshman of the Year and a 2015 Second-Team All-RMAC pick, Natesan is Mines' first-ever Defensive Player of the Year dating back to the award's start in 2004-05. The junior has had a standout season, earning RMAC Academic Player of the Year, CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-District, four RMAC player of the week honors (two defensive), and a spot on the Bevo Francis Award watchlist. Natesan leads the league with 2.1 steals per game while scoring 21.2 points per game with 3.6 assists a night. Defensively, he has picked three or more steals in 10 games, including a Mines record nine against New Mexico Highlands. Offensively, he has used his unlimited range to drain 77 three-pointers.
Waitsman repeats as a Second-Team All-RMAC honoree after a superb junior season. The Fayetteville, Ark. native compiled six double-doubles while averaging 10.6 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game, shooting .522 from the floor. Waitsman earned two RMAC Defensive Player of the Week awards this season and was a preseason all-RMAC selection as well. He set career highs in scoring (24 points vs. CCU), rebounds (22 vs. Adams State), and steals (5 vs. Adams State) this season, setting the done defensively for Mines in the paint while crossing into double-digit points 17 times.
The Orediggers begin the postseason Tuesday night, hosting Adams State in an RMAC Shootout Quarterfinal at 8 p.m. live on CET.
