Follie Bogan named AAC Player of the Year; Men’s Basketball trio named All-AAC

WALESKA, Ga. (February 27, 2024) – The Milligan University men's basketball team had three players collect all-conference awards with graduate student Follie Bogan claiming Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Men's Basketball Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year honors, the league office announced on Tuesday evening.

Along with his major awards, Bogan was named to the All-AAC First Team. Freshman McCaskill Rivers was selected to the All-AAC Second Team and AAC All-Freshman Team. Sophomore Lincoln Thomae joined Rivers on the AAC All-Freshman Team.

Bogan led the AAC in scoring and ranked ninth in the NAIA at 23.5 points per game. He finished 10th in the AAC in rebounding at 6.7 boards per game and was top-10 in the conference in assists (seventh, 96) and steals (ninth, 39). A five-time AAC Player of the Week, he is the second Buff to earn conference player of the year honors under coach Bill Robinson, following in the footsteps of Aaron Levarity in 2019.

Bogan eclipsed 20 points in 19 of 26 games and had over 30 points six times against conference foes, including a career-high 38 points in a 105-93 win over (RV) Union, the eventual AAC regular season champion. His season scoring average through the regular season is the fourth-highest total in program history, trailing only Milligan's all-time leading scorer Charles "Toonie" Cash. Bogan had three double-doubles on the season and came one assist shy of a 30-point triple double at Johnson.

Rivers emerged as Milligan's second-leading scorer as a freshman at 14.2 points per game in 2023-24. He finished the regular season ranked 13th in the AAC in scoring and ranked fourth in the league with 131 free throw attempts and 99 foul shots made. Rivers had five 20-point outings, including a career-high 28 points last week at Bluefield. His 368 points this winter are the most for a Milligan freshman since Kyle Grisby scored 370 and won AAC Freshman of the Year honors in 2010-11.

Thomae was eligible for all-freshman status after appearing in just last season's opening game before sustaining a injury and missing the rest of the season. He averaged 9.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals in 2023-24. Thomae concluded the regular season ranked seventh in the AAC in field goal percentage (55.4), 10th in assist to turnover ratio (2.0) and 11th in assists (86). He posted two double-doubles and scored in double-figures 14 times. He drained a game-winning three with 1.4 seconds left to deliver the Buffs to an early season victory over Bluefield.

Finn McClure was named to the AAC Champions of Character Team. Flynn Carlson, Jaz Johnson and Thomae were AAC All-Academic Team honorees.

After being picked to finish eighth of 13 teams in the AAC Preseason Poll, Milligan earned the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament with a 14-10 AAC record. The Buffs led the AAC and ranked top-20 in the NAIA in scoring at 87.2 points per game.

The Buffs take on fifth-seed Johnson (Tenn.) in the AAC Tournament quarterfinals at the MeadowView Marriott in Kingsport on Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m.