Abbotsford – A trio of University of the Fraser Valley basketball players were honoured by Canada West on Monday, as the conference unveiled its all-star and all-rookie teams.
Kevon Parchment of the Cascades men’s team and Kayli Sartori of the women’s squad were both voted first team all-stars, and Taylor Claggett was named to the women’s all-rookie team.
• Parchment becomes the fourth UFV men’s hoopster to earn a first team all-star nod since the Cascades joined Canada West in 2006, joining Zeon Gray (2009-10), Joel Friesen (2011-12) and Sam Freeman (2012-13).
The 6’3” fifth-year guard from Scarborough, Ont. authored a phenomenal senior season. He led the Cascades and finished 10th in the conference in scoring, averaging 17.5 points per game, and also ranked among the Canada West leaders in assists (5.2 apg, second), rebounds (9.1 rpg, sixth), blocks (1.2 bpg, 10th) and steals (1.6 spg, 17th).
It’s the second consecutive all-star nod for Parchment – he was a third-teamer in 2014-15.
“Kevon had a tremendous year, and did everything for us,” UFV men’s basketball head coach Adam Friesen said. “There’s no way we could have had the year we had without him on the court.
“He’s always seemed to improve, and his game has become more well-rounded over the years. He’s moved from a secondary role when he first came to UFV, and transitioned into a primary offensive option. The ability to make big hoops and score one-on-one has improved, but more importantly, so has his ability to make his teammates better.”
• After sitting out the 2014-15 season, Sartori rejoined the Cascades last fall and took her game to another level.
The 6’1” fourth-year guard/forward out of Abbotsford’s W.J. Mouat Secondary averaged 18.4 points per game to win the Canada West scoring title and finish fourth nationally in that department. She also ranked among the league leaders in rebounding (7.7 per game, 11th), assists (4.5 apg, fourth), blocks (1.5 bpg, fourth) and steals (2.3 spg, eighth).
Sartori becomes the second player in team history to earn conference first team all-star recognition, following closely in the footsteps of Sarah Wierks (2014-15). It’s the second all-star award she’s earned as a Cascade – she was named to the CIS Final 8 All-Tournament team in 2014.
“It’s a great honour to her and to our program that she’s been recognized by the Canada West coaches,” Cascades women’s coach Al Tuchscherer said. “I think it’s well-deserved, and I know Kayli is excited to build on our team success moving forward into her fifth year.
“It’s a nod to the type of athlete that Kayli is that she can take a year away from the game and come back and play at an extremely high level. Her stats were fantastic this year, but more than anything, she grew as a teammate and as a leader.”
• Canada West has only been naming all-rookie teams since 2013-14, and Claggett becomes the first Cascade to earn the distinction.
The 5’11” forward from Mission, B.C. made an instant impact after joining the Cascades out of Mennonite Educational Institute. She averaged 11.7 points per game, good for third among all first-year players in Canada West and third on the UFV squad. Claggett also paced the Cascades and ranked seventh overall in Canada West in rebounding, averaging 8.7 boards per game, and her field goal percentage (52.4) was fifth-best in the conference. She also showcased a gift for drawing fouls – her 133 attempts from the free throw line ranked second in Canada West.
Claggett also rewrote the Cascades’ rookie record book, setting new marks for first-year players for points, field goals made, field goal percentage, free throws attempted and made, offensive rebounds, and minutes.
“It was a phenomenal first year for Taylor,” Tuchscherer said. “The door opened for her early in the season to start and play a lot of minutes, and she just embraced that and became a force on our team.
“I had a lot of confidence, especially after coaching her for a summer, that her game was going to translate to this level and she’d be a great player in Canada West. She’s had a great start to her career.”
The complete Canada West men’s basketball and women’s basketball all-star and all-rookie teams can be viewed at canadawest.org.
