WICHITA, Kan. – Led by first team selections Markis McDuffie and Landry Shamet, Wichita State placed four players on the All-Missouri Valley Conference squad, released Tuesday morning.
 
Balloting was conducted by coaches, sports information directors and a panel of media. Voters could not choose their own student-athletes.
 
In the four decades since the MVC shifted to its current format, McDuffie – a 6-foot-8 sophomore forward– and Shamet – 6-4 redshirt freshman guard – are just the second set of Valley teammates to make the first team as underclassmen. The other: Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet, who each made the list as sophomores in 2014.
 
Helped by Baker and VanVleet's run of three-consecutive first teams, WSU has now had multiple players on the top unit in four-straight and in five of the last six seasons.
 
In addition to Shamet and McDuffie, juniors Conner Frankamp and Shaquille Morris were named to the newly-established All-Valley Third Team. Shamet earned All-Freshman status, while carving out a spot alongside junior college transfer Darral Willis Jr. on the All-Newcomer team. Junior forward Zach Brown was named to the All-Defensive squad.
 
The MVC plans to release its Specialty Award winners later this afternoon. All-Bench and Most-Improved Teams, as selected by the league's beat writers, will be announced on Wednesday. The three-day rollout concludes with Thursday's Coach of the Year Luncheon in St. Louis.
 

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In the 45 years since the NCAA restored freshman eligibility, Shamet is only the second freshman to make the All-Valley First Team, joining Creighton's Doug McDermott (2011).
 
Shamet also enters an elite group of Shockers who earned All-Valley nods as freshmen. The other three --- Cleo Littleton (a first-teamer in 1952), Antoine Carr (second team, 1980) and Cliff Levingston (second team, 1980) --- all have their jersey numbers hanging from the Charles Koch Arena rafters.
 
After playing off-ball for more than half of the year, Shamet made the switch to point guard in January, and helped the Shockers to their most productive offensive season since 1983 (82.5 points per game).
 
Shamet averages 11.4 points and ranks 10^th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.25). In MVC play, he hit a league-best 43 three-pointers on 51.8 percent shooting, becoming just the second player in Valley history to lead the conference in both categories.
 
McDuffie -- the 2016 MVC Freshman of the Year -- took a big step forward as a sophomore. He leads the team in points (11.7), rebounds (5.7) and steals (35).
 
As part of a balanced WSU lineup, he scored in double-figures a team-high 21 times.
 
Frankamp – a 6-1 guard from Wichita – has played some of his best basketball since a move to shooting guard in late January. He's scored in double-figures in eight of his last nine games.
 
In MVC play, Frankamp averaged 10.2 points. His 41 threes and 50.6 percent three-point percentage were the Valley's second-best totals behind Shamet.
 
Morris also made a late charge after putting up modest numbers. He's been a catalyst behind the Shockers' 12-game winning streak, averaging a team-high 12.9 points and 7.0 rebounds over that stretch.
 
On a per-minute basis, Morris has been one of the MVC's most dominant players. In conference play, he averaged a league-high 26.4 points-per-40 minutes with 14.3 rebounds.
 
After transferring from Pearl River (Miss.) CC, the 6-foot-9 Willis provided an immediate offensive lift. He finished the regular season as the team's third-leading scorer (10.2 points) and second-leading rebounder (5.1).
 
Brown – an athletic, 6-6 forward -- embraced the role of defensive stopper, often guarding the opponent's top scoring threat. Buoyed by his efforts, WSU ranked among the national leaders in field goal percentage defense for the second year in a row, holding foes to 38.1 percent in 31 regular season contests.
 
Shamet's selection to the All-Freshman team marks the third year in a row that WSU has had a player on that list. McDuffie made it in 2016 and Morris earned the honor in 2015.
 

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2017 ALL-MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE TEAMS

First Team
Milton Doyle, Loyola (Sr.)
Alize Johnson, Missouri St. (Jr.)
Paris Lee, Illinois State (Sr.)
Markis McDuffie, Wichita St. (So.)
Landry Shamet, Wichita St. (Fr.)
 
Second Team
Jaylon Brown, Evansville (Sr.)
Deontae Hawkins, Illinois St. (Sr.)
MiKyle McIntosh, Illinois St. (Jr.)
Jeremy Morgan, UNI (Sr.)
Sean O'Brien, S. Illinois (Sr.)
 
Third Team
Conner Frankamp, Wichita St. (Jr.)
Donte Ingram, Loyola (Jr.)
Shaquille Morris, Wichita St. (Jr.)
Brenton Scott, Indiana St. (Jr.)
Reed Timmer, Drake (Jr.)
 
All-Newcomer Team
Phil Fayne, Illinois State (So.)
Aundre Jackson, Loyola (Jr.)
Alize Johnson, Missouri St. (Jr.)
Landry Shamet, Wichita St. (Fr.)
Darral Willis Jr., Wichita St. (Jr.)
 
All-Freshman Team
Koch Bar, Bradley
Jordan Barnes, Indiana State
Darrell Brown Jr., Bradley
Spencer Haldeman, UNI
Landry Shamet, Wichita State
Dru Smith, Evansville
 
All-Defensive Team
Thik Bol, Southern Illinois (Jr.)
Zach Brown, Wichita State (Jr.)
Obediah Church, Missouri St. (So.)
Paris Lee, Illinois State (Sr.)
Jeremy Morgan, UNI (Sr.)
Tony Wills, Illinois State (Sr.)

Specialty Award Winners -- Tuesday Afternoon
All-Bench & Most Improved Teams -- Wednesday
MVC Scholar Athletes -- Thursday
MVC Coach of the Year -- Thursday