For the second year in a row, men's basketball forward Simon Hildebrandt has been named a Canada West First Team All-Star. The sophomore was a CanWest First Team All-Star, Rookie of the Year, and All-Canadian in 2022-23.
Hildebrandt becomes the first Bison in program history to be named a back-to-back CanWest First Team All-Star, and first overall since Elliot Unger in 1996-97 when the Herd were part of the Great Plains Athletic Conference.
This is the eighth straight season that a Bison has received conference all-star recognition in the 15-year head coaching tenure of Kirby Schepp.
Hildebrandt averaged 16.1 points per game this season, battling through multiple injuries and not missing a game or start. He put up a career-high 41 points against No. 1 seeded Victoria in a January 19 victory, which was the second-most points scored in a game in recorded history of Manitoba.
Overall, Hildebrandt scored in double figures in 16 of 20 regular season games, and his 16.5 points per game average over his first two seasons rank fourth in school history.
"I can't do that if we're not a good team," said Hildebrandt.
"Kirby has done a great job of putting me in a position to succeed and my teammates have done a great job of getting me the ball where I can score."
Manitoba kicks off post-season play on Thursday at 8 pm in the quarterfinals of the CanWest Playoff Tournament, hosted at IGAC.