Schmidtke and Gelabert Both Add to Honors with Programs First NAIA First Team All-American Selections

LEBANON, Tenn. - - Cumberland University Junior Philipp Schmidtke and Freshman Miquel Gelabert were both voted NAIA First Team All-Americans, released this afternoon by the national office.

The pairing became the first players in Cumberland history to be named to the NAIA All-American First Team, while it is also the first time that two players were named All-Americans in the same season since 2017. The accomplishments add to an already stellar campaign for both as they were named MSC Player and Freshman of the Year, respectively.

Junior forward Philipp Schmidtke pieced together one of the strongest campaigns that the Phoenix program has ever witnessed. The German was named Mid-South Conference Player of the Year for a season in which he scored a resounding 16 goals and 12 assists in 21 total games played, the first time a Phoenix was ever recognized with the honor.

Schmidtke's 16 goals ranked 14th in the country and his 12 assists comes in ranked 8th, naturally seeing the German slot in at 10th in overall points this season.

His partner on the wing, Miquel Gelabert, came in and in his freshman season was a dominant figure. The Spaniard was just one goal and assist shy of Schmidtke's marks, scoring 15 goals and adding in 12 assists to have two players ranked inside the top-15 nationally for points.

Gelabert was rewarded for his efforts with the fifth conference Freshman of the Year honor in school history as he led all first-years in the conference in all three major categories. The Spaniard showed his ability to contribute in big moments, including scoring the opener in the Phoenix's final match of the season.

Cumberland as a unit were one of the most offensively dominant teams in the whole of the NAIA, scoring 70 goals in 21 games for an average of more than three goals per outing. That goal tally saw the Phoenix sit at fifth place in the nation as the season came to its close, while 69 assists had them ranked fourth.

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