Men's Basketball | 3/16/2026 11:38:00 AM

D3hoops.com All-Region 9 

La Crosse, Wis. - University of Wisconsin-La Crosse junior guard Sam Grieger of Randolph (H.S.), senior guard Dustin Derousseau of Tomah (H.S.) and senior forward JJ Paider of Neenah (H.S.) have been named to the 2025-26 D3hoops.com All-Region Team, the organization announced Monday.

Grieger was selected to the All-Region First Team and the Region Player of the Year with Derousseau and Paider being named to the All-Region Second Team. Grieger is the first player in school history to be voted the D3hoops.com Region Player of the Year.

Players were nominated for these awards by the Sports Information Directors at the various schools. There were 797 players nominated nationwide. The ballot was then made available to a number of Sports Information Directors, who voted for a predetermined number of players in their region. It's the 25th season D3hoops.com has named All-Region teams. Division III basketball is organized into 10 regions. A region with 40 teams or more has three All-Region teams honored, while a region with fewer than 40 teams has a first and second team. This organization results in approximately 10 additional players being recognized when compared to full seasons in the old eight-region alignment.

Players from the All-Region Teams are eligible for the D3hoops.com All-America teams with the men's basketball All-America team released the week of March 28.

It is the second D3hoops.com All-Region award for Grieger and Derousseau and first for Paider. Grieger was named to the 2024-25 D3hoops.com All-Region Second Team while Derousseau earned All-Region Third Team accolades.

All three players were named to the 2025-26 All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) First Team. Grieger, Derousseau and Paider started all 31 games this season. 

Grieger, named to the 2026 Bevo Francis Award Top 25 Watch List and one of 11 finalists for the 2026 Jostens Trophy, was voted the WIAC Player of the Year. He is the seventh player in school history to be named the WIAC Player of the Year, joining Eric Haug (1974-75), John Mielke (1980-81), Joe Werner (2006-07), Tony Mane (2010-11), Jared Staege (2015-16) and Wyatt Cook (2020-21).  

Currently seventh in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III in scoring at 25.7 points per game, Grieger led the WIAC in scoring, free throws made (212) and attempted (248) and assist/turnover ratio (2.5). He also led the league in field goals made (275) and attempted (533). Grieger leads NCAA Division III in field goals made while currently being third in attempts. He is tied for fourth in the country in free throws made and ranks fourth in attempts.

His 797 points this year breaks the single-season school record of 666 by Mane in 2010-11. The 797 points ranks fourth in single-season conference history. Grieger scored a school record 46 points at UW-Oshkosh on January 7, breaking Eric Dudek's single-game record of 43 versus UW-Whitewater on February 22, 1995.
 

Scoring in double figures in all 31 games this year, Grieger had at least 25 points in 17 contests. He became the 19th player in UWL history to eclipse 1,000 career points this year and currently ranks sixth with 1,503. Grieger set single-season school records for free throws made (212) and attempted (248) and field goals made (275) and attempted (533) this year.  He is eighth in school history in career field goals made (539) and ninth in attempts (1,067) while ranking third in free throws made (346) and fifth in attempts (422).
 
He is third in the WIAC in assists per game (3.5) and free throw shooting (85.5%), tied for seventh in steals (1.2) and eighth in field goal shooting (51.8%). Grieger is also averaging 5.0 rebounds per game.

Derousseau averaged 15.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while leading the team in three-point field goals made (48) and attempted (143). He also led UWL in blocks (44) and steals (58) finishing second in assists (87).

He scored in double figures in 25 games with a career-high 34 points versus UW-Stout on February 11, going nine-of-14 from the field, including two-of-four from three-point range, and 14-of-16 at the free throw line. He became the 18th player in UWL history to score 1,000 career points this season and currently sits 12th with 1,318.

Named to the All-WIAC Defensive Team for the second straight season this year, Derousseau ranks second for UWL in career blocks (104) and third in career steals (148). He was second in the WIAC in blocks and steals per game while ranking fifth in scoring. Derousseau recorded at least two blocks in 12 contests with a career-high eight versus Concordia University Wisconsin on December 19. He recorded at least two steals in 16 games, including tying his career-high with six against Hampden-Sydney College (Va.) on November 7. Derousseau had six steals versus UW-River Falls on January 22, 2025. 

Derousseau played in 100 career contests at UWL with 93 starts. He ranks eighth in school history in career free throws attempted (388) and 11th in free throws made (281) while ranking 12th in career field made (454) and 13th in attempts (968).
 

Paider averaged 14.5 points and team-high 7.7 rebounds this season while shooting 58.5% (159-of-272) from the field. He was second on the team in steals (44) and third in assists (59).

Scoring in double figures in 25 of 31 games, Paider finished with a career-high 29 points versus UW-Eau Claire on January 17, going 11-of-16 from the field and seven-of-seven at the free throw line. He added 13 rebounds. Paider recorded eight double-doubles this season and finished with 20 in his career. 

Paider became the 20th player to score 1,000 career points this season and currently ranks 14th with 1,193.  His 698 career rebounds ranks sixth in school history. Paider is one of five players in UWL history to record at least 1,000 career points and 650 rebounds. Paider set a school record for career free throw attempts (528) and ranks second in career free throws made (348).

Paider played in 105 career with 91 starts. He ranked second in the WIAC this season in rebounding, third in field goal shooting, tied for third in steals and eighth in scoring.

UWL finished 24-7 this season, recording its second-most victories in school history. The Eagles were 25-6 a year ago. UWL advanced to the 2026 NCAA Division III Sweet 16, falling 83-78 at fifth-ranked the University of Mary Washington (Va.) on March 14. The Eagles advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 with a 79-62 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (Calif.) on March 7 after a 75-61 victory over Hope College (Mich.) in the first round on March 6.
 
The Eagles earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships after capturing the WIAC Tournament title with an 81-78 victory at UW-Whitewater on February 28. It marked UWL's first conference tournament title in school history.