(Thursday, April 16; Sioux Center, Iowa) The Heart of America Athletic Conference has announced its post-season individual awards for the 2026 men's volleyball regular season and Dordt's Colt Schmidt (Freshman; Palmdale, California), has been named the Co-Freshman of the Year.

Schmidt led the team with 4.1 digs per set and was a second-team selection and had 21 ace serves as the Defenders posted a 22-10 overall record and a 12-7 conference mark. Schmidt recorded 20 or more digs in four matches and recorded a program record 435 digs.  Schmidt was earlier named to the All-HAAC 2^nd Team and was one of three Defenders selected for all-conference honors in an announcement last week.