All-Decade MVP: Joel Borchardt
A lot of people know him as a coach, but what Joel did as a student-athlete was memorable and deserving of the honor.
He played from 2009-13 and is the program's most-recent NCCAA 1st Team All-American. He's also the only student-athlete during the 2010-19 decade that earned All-America honors twice, and he was captain of the team for his junior and senior seasons. He earned the honor of the Northern Athletics Conference Freshman of the Year in the 2009-10 season, and he appears in the program record books (career stats) some 24 times.
Joel was versatile, skilled, and nothing short of exceptional:
| Joel Borchardt Honors | Year | |
| NCCAA DII 1st-Team All-American | 2012-13 | |
| NCCAA DII Midwest Region MVP | 2012-13 | |
| NAC 2nd-Team All-Conference | 2012-13 | |
| NCCAA DII Midwest Region Selection | 2012-13 | |
| NCCAA DII 2nd-Team All-American | 2011-12 | |
| NCCAA DII Midwest Region Selection | 2011-12 | |
| NAC Freshman of the Year | 2009-10 | |
| NAC All-Freshman Team | 2009-10 | |
| Joel Borchardt Stats^ | ||
| Category | Number | Rank |
| Career Points | 1,208 | 12th |
| Career Points per Game | 11.7 | T-23rd |
| Career Rebounds* | 758 | 1st |
| Career Rebounds/Game | 7.4 | 2nd |
| Career Defensive Rebounds | 501 | 1st |
| Career Assists | 165 | 7th |
| Career Blocks | 54 | 4th |
| Career Steals | 93 | 9th |
| (Career Top-25 Appearances) | 24x |
^Note: career records are accurate and are taken from the NCAA Career Stats Database. MBU's in-house career stats may differ due to incomplete records prior to 2015. After 2013, discrepancies between MBU and NCAA records may exist due to NCAA Countable Opponents policies.
*Note: ball control statistics (rebounds, steals, assists, etc.) were tracked beginning in 2000.
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Borchardt is part of a strong family representation at Maranatha: his father, Jeff Borchardt ('79 graduate) registered 1,097 career points in just 98 games, his mother, Cindy (Roehl) Borchardt competed on the Maranatha Women's Basketball and Women's Volleyball teams and his brothers, Jeff ('04 graduate) and Johnny ('05) both played Football. Joel's sister, Pam (Borchardt) Fiocchi ('15 graduate), was a two-time All-American Volleyball player.
Besides his career on the court, Joel played baseball for three seasons and was a two-year captain and an NCCAA Regional selection.
"Being a student-athlete taught me the value of hard work and being able to balance your life," Joel said. "I think being a student makes you really juggle your academics and your athletics and it allows you to practice balancing different responsibilities. It also teaches you the value of each team member - each guy was important to the team because everyone helped us prepare for the end of the season. The same goes for work or church organizations - everyone has a role and they play an important part in accomplishing goals."
For more on the all-decade MVP selection process, CLICK HERE
For a complete list of the all-decade MVPs (as they are announced), CLICK HERE
