ROLLA, Mo. - Southwest Minnesota State University senior guard Jakob Braaten has been named the National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC)/Division II Conference Information Directors Association (D2CIDA) National Player of the Week the organization announced on Tuesday.
 
Braaten, a 6-foot, native of Byron, Minn., is the first Mustang in program history to earn the national award.
 
Braaten averaged a double-double with 16.3 points and 10 assists per game to help lead SMSU to three wins last week, including a pair of road victories in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.
 
After recording nine points and a school record 17 assists in a win over North Central University to begin the week last Monday, Braaten came up big in the scoring column with a career-high 27 points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists in an 80-71 win at Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday.
 
Braaten followed that up with a 13-point, seven-assist outing with four rebounds and three steals as the Mustangs defeated Winona State 76-56 on Sunday.
 
In the three victories, Braaten made 68 percent of his field goal attempts (19-of-28) and all nine free throws, while averaging 5.7 rebounds and two steals per game to go along with the 30 assists during the week. In the two NSIC wins, he went 15-of-20 from the field and had his fourth game with at least 20 points this season in the win over CSP.
 
Braaten, named as the NSIC's South Division Player of the Week on Monday, has helped lead the Mustangs to four consecutive wins.
 
SMSU, 6-4 overall, 4-1 NSIC, will return home on Thursday taking on Minnesota State will tip-off slated for 5:30 p.m. The Mustangs will host St. Cloud State on Saturday with game time set for 2 p.m.