5. Bryce Gorman, redshirt junior wrestler

The wrestling team has had an up-and-down season, but Gorman has been a consistent presence all season long. Gorman accumulated a 4-2 record in January in the 174-pound head-to-head matches.

He began the new year with a 2-0 weekend in the Huskies’ match against the Citadel and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.

Gorman was a large contributor to the Huskies starting off the new year at 2-0 and has wrestled in every match this year for NIU.

Gorman is one of the few upperclassmen on the roster, as 16 of the 22 players have at least two years remaining after this season. Gorman should remain a core part to leading the young group of grapplers.

4. Eugene German, men’s basketball sophomore guard

The men’s basketball team has been a disappointment this season to say the least, but fans are usually entertained when German is on the floor.

German is averaging a Mid-American Conference-leading 19.6 points per contest this season while shooting a very respectable 47.6 percent from the field.

German tallied 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting in the Huskies’ 72-66 win Jan. 13 against Eastern Michigan, acting as his most impressive performance in January.

Even though nobody can seem to stop him when he chooses to drive to the lane, German’s biggest improvement this season has been his 3-point shooting. German shot roughly 28 percent from distance as a freshman but has raised it to roughly 35 percent this year.

In the Huskies’ 93-62 blowout win Jan. 23 against Bowling Green, German brought out his inner Stephen Curry, going 7-for-7 from the field and 5-for-5 from behind the 3-point line.

“I was just going with the flow,” German said. “I just tried to keep my head and go out there and play my game.”

3. Jehvania Whyte, track and field junior jumper

Whyte has been the story in every meet this season for the track and field team. She has been competing against herself this season, as she has broken her own record three times in triple jump.

The third time she surpassed her own jumps was at the Black & Gold Premier Saturday where she tallied a school record of 12.57 meters in the triple jump.

“She just decided this year that this is a goal she has to represent her country and to represent NIU,” said Head Coach Connie Teaberry. “She’s actually made a lot of sacrifices with her nutrition, her study habits, time managements and her workouts to give everything she has.”

Whyte has solidified herself in the NIU record books with her oustanding jumps and looks to continue building on her success to begin the season.

2. Courtney Woods, women’s basketball junior guard

It’s no secret the women’s basketball team is going through a tough stretch of basketball, primarily because of season-ending injuries to key players.

Sophomore guards Janae Poisson and Myia Starks went down for the year with torn ACLs, and Woods has not been shy about answering the bell and competing at a high level.

Woods has scored over 30 points three times in January, including an outstanding performance in the Huskies’ 81-72 loss Saturday to Ball State. Woods finished with an extremely efficient 14-of-21 from the field and 7-of-10 from behind the 3-point line.

Her performance Saturday played a large part in Woods earning her third MAC West Division Player of the Week honors Tuesday.

Even with her recent success, Woods said she believes she can always do more to help the team.

“Doing my role isn’t really enough if we are not winning games,” Woods said. “There are definitely places where I need to impact games more.”

Woods is the leading scorer for the Huskies, averaging just over 20 points per game.

1. Ashley Potts, senior gymnyst

The gymnastics team is off to a tough 1-6 start to the year, but it has not been because of the performances of Potts.

She is the only player on the team who consistently competes in all four events: the vault, the balance beam, the uneven bars and the floor exercise.

Potts’ 39.350 points in the Huskies’ loss Saturday to Central Michigan was sixth in the all-time NIU record list for an all-around score in a gymnastics meet.

Contributing to her stellar all-around score was a career high of 9.990 on the balance beam, making her the first Huskie since 2004 to make her way onto the overall beam top-10 list. Potts’ career afternoon earned her MAC Gymnast of the Week honors.

Along with her success in her respective sport, she also excels in the classroom. Potts was named one of the NIU Scholar Athletes of the Week with a 3.0 GPA as a sociology major.

Look for Potts to continue leading the gymnastics team this season.