Kansas City, Mo. - Sophomore forward Jesse Van Kalsbeek of Northwestern (Iowa) put together four stellar performances last week, scoring a total of 133 points to earn the season's first Gared Performance Sports Systems Offensive Player of the Week for the 2025-26 NAIA Men's Basketball season.

Kalsbeek was nearly unstoppable last week over four games. He opened the week on the road at Friends (Kan.), putting up 40 points, shooting 78.9% from the floor, and cashing in on a pair of shots from deep over 34 minutes. He followed that up with a 21-point performance at home against Central, playing 19 minutes.

This past weekend, it was the same Kalsbeek, but with different teams, dropping 28 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists against Clarke (Iowa) on the road. Then he closed the week out lifting the Red Raiders over Saint Francis (Ind.) with a career high 44 points, 14 boards, four assists, and one steal over 30 minutes played. NWC and Saint Francis combined for 226 points as Northwestern won the game 122-104.

Overall, Kalsbeek put up 133 points, 48 rebounds, 16 assists, and five steals with 119 minutes played as the Red Raiders went 4-0.

Gared Performance Sports Systems NAIA Men's Basketball Offensive Players of the Week are announced every Tuesday throughout the season, with the final player of the week for the first half of the season being released on December 9. Check out more on the 2025-26 player of the week honors and past winners at naia.org.