UWP Athletics June 9, 2009

UW-Platteville has added six top-flight recruits for its 2009-10 basketball season. They will join an outstanding nucleus from last year's team that finished 23-6, advanced to the second round of the NCAA III playoffs and finished sixth in the final D3hoops.com poll.

The six newcomers are:

Here is an extended look at each player:

Kane Hoffmann

Guard, 6-0, 175, Freshman, Benton, WI

High School: Hoffmann led the Zephyrs to a WIAA Division 4 state championship as a senior, making Benton the smallest school ever to win a Wisconsin title … earned first team all-conference honors in both 2008 and 2009 … earned first team all-state honors as a senior and honorable mention accolades as a junior … two-time all-area by both the Wisconsin State Journal and the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald … averaged 11 ppg as a junior and 8 ppg as a senior … also was an all-conference linebacker and running back, earning the Queen B Radio Defensive Player of the Year award … won the triple jump at the Six Rivers Conference meet held at UW-Platteville … Personal: son of Steve and Mary Jo Hoffmann … physical education major.

Mark Pace

Forward, 6-4, 195, Freshman, Milwaukee, WI/Whitefish Bay Dominican

High School: Pace earned first team all-Midwest Classic Conference honors after averaging 13.2 points and 7 rebounds per game as a senior … selected as an alternate for the WBCA Division 3 All-Star Game … led team to 18-5 mark, second place in conference and a regional championship … earned second team all-MCC in football … Personal: son of Robert Pace III and Karen Birks-Pace … biology (pre-dentistry major).

Joe Schweigert

Guard, 6-3, 205, Freshman, Cuba City, WI

High School: Schweigert earned first team all-conference and second-team all-state honors after averaging 15.4 ppg … selected to play in the WBCA Division 3 All-Star game for the South Squad … grabbed more than 200 rebounds in 2 seasons … led Cubans to back-to-back conference championships … two-year regional champions … 22-2 record as a senior … earned all-conference honors in football as a tight end… Personal: son of Lou and Sherri Schweigert… business major.

Rob Stallion

Forward, 6-4, 190, Freshman, University Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Benedictine

High School: Stallion averaged 8.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game for team that plays national schedule, traveling to face country’s best teams … Benedictine does not play in a conference … earned honorable mention all-state honors in Ohio’s Division II … named to Greater Cleveland Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Team and to All-Academic Team … Personal: son of Anthony Stallion and Tanya Edwards … business major.

Ben Stecker

Forward, 6-4, 185, Freshman, Bettendorf, IA/Pleasant Valley

High School: Stecker was a two-time all-conference and all-Quad Cities Metro selection after leading Pleasant Valley to a two-year mark of 33-13 … senior year record of 18-5 is fourth-best in school history … averaged 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists per game as a senior … two-time captain … 85 percent career free throw shooter … led team in charges taken … Personal: son of Tim and Kim Stecker … National Honor Society student … physical education major.

Mitch Tordoff

Guard, 5-11, 185, Freshman, Monroe, WI

High School: Tordoff earned first team all-state honors in both junior and senior seasons … broke five D2 state records and tied two more … averaged 19 ppg in 2008-09, 16 ppg in 2007-08 and 12 ppg the previous year … led Cheesemakers to three Badger Conference championships, three regional and three sectional championships … Monroe won WIAA Division 2 in 2007, was a semifinalist in 2008 and runner-up in 2009 … three-year record of 65-15 … earned four letters … selected to play in the WBCA All-Star Game for Division 2 South … earned Badger Conference honorable mention football honors after breaking the school record with 1,500 passing yards … Personal: son of Jerry and Renee Tordoff … National Honor Society member with 3.85 g.p.a. … accounting/business major.

UW-Platteville is a school of 7,000 located in the southwest corner of Wisconsin, approximately 25 minutes from both Iowa and Illinois. The Pioneer Basketball Program boasts one of the richest traditions in NCAA history, winning Division III national championships in 1991, 1995, 1998, and 1999 under Coach Bo Ryan, now the head coach at Wisconsin. The Pioneers play on the Bo Ryan Court, and the facility will continue its renovation this summer with new bleachers. Last year, new scoreboards, shot clocks and backboards were added.