Tavion Banks of Drake and Chase Walker of Illinois State headline the list of selections for the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference specialty teams for men’s basketball. Banks has been tabbed the conference’s Team Captain for the All-Bench Team, while Walker is the league’s Team Captain for the Most-Improved Team.
All-Bench / Most-Improved Teams (PDF)
The teams, which were selected by a panel of the league's newspaper beat writers and a panel of media voters, are comprised of a minimum of five student-athletes (top five vote-getters, plus ties) on each squad.
Banks helped Drake to its first regular-season MVC crown since 2019. He has played in 29 games, including one start. The junior averages 19.1 minutes per game off the bench, averaging 9.9 points and 4.7 rebounds, while shooting 52.2 percent. He has scored in double figures in 16 games and Drake is 16-0 when he scores in double figures. He recorded his first-career double-double with an 11 point, 13 rebound outing vs. Evansville on Jan. 11, and he also had a double-double in the overtime win against Missouri State on March 2. Banks scored a career-high 21 points at Southern Illinois on Feb. 1.
Meanwhile, the league's Most Improved Team Captain - Chase Walker of Illinois State -- has seen all of his primary stats improve, including points per game (3.2 – to – 15.1), rebounds per game (2.1 – to – 6.0), while his assists have raised by 56 (7 – to – 63), blocks (4 – to – 8), and steals (6 – to – 19). And his field goal percentage has raised from .529 to .581. Walker hit double-figure scoring totals 22 times, reaching 20 or more points on nine occasions. Walker had two double-doubles this year, and notched his season-best point total at UIC, when he scored 31 points with nine rebounds for the Birds.
| 2025 MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE ALL-BENCH TEAM |
| Student-Athlete, School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown (Last School) |
| *Tavion Banks, Drake |
Jr. |
G/F |
Kansas City, Mo. (Minnesota Prep / NW Florida State College) |
| Jack Daugherty, Illinois State |
Fr. |
F |
Brookfield, Wis. (Brookfield Central High) |
| Jaden Daughtry, Indiana State |
So. |
F |
Richmond, Va. (Hargrave Military Academy) |
| Jaquan Johnson, Bradley |
Fr. |
G |
Milwaukee, Wis. (Pius XI High) |
| Modestas Kancleris, UIC |
RS-Sr. |
F |
Kaunas, Lithuania (Varpas Gimnazija/CS-Bakersfield/Creighton) |
| Brody Peebles, Belmont |
Gr. |
G |
Hartselle, Ala. (Hartselle High / Liberty) |
|
|
|
|
| 2025 MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE MOST-IMPROVED TEAM |
| Student-Athlete, School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown (Last School) |
| *Chase Walker, Illinois State |
So. |
F |
Columbus, Ohio (St. Charles High) |
| Jaden Daughtry, Indiana State |
So. |
F |
Richmond, Va. (Hargrave Military Academy) |
| Kennard Davis Jr., S. Illinois |
So. |
G |
St. Louis, Mo. (Vashon High) |
| Cam Haffner, Evansville |
Jr. |
G |
Westfield, Ind. (Eastern Illinois) |
| Cooper Schwieger, Valparaiso |
So. |
F |
Overland Park, Kan. (Blue Valley Southwest / Link Year) |
| Isaiah Walker, Belmont |
Jr. |
G |
Wyoming, Ohio (Wyoming High) |
|
|
|
|
| *--indicates team captain |
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