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The UW Athletic Department names Dana Rettke and Johnny Davis Wisconsin Athletes of the Year

The Wisconsin Athletic Department announced that a pair of former Badgers are the Athletes of the Year for 2021-2022.

Matt Belz

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Each year the University of Wisconsin Athletic Department names one female and one male as the Wisconsin Athlete of the Year. 

This season, the awards came as no surprise, as volleyball superstar Dana Rettke and men's basketball standout Johnny Davis earned the honor for the 2021-2022 school year. 

Both players are now up for the Big Ten Athlete of the Year award, which will be named later this week. 

For Rettke, this is her second time winning the prestigious honor, after also winning the Big Ten Conference Female Athlete of the Year in 2019-2020. Rettke helped guide Wisconsin to the volleyball program's first NCAA National Championship last season, as Kelly Sheffield and the Badgers won their third consecutive Big Ten title. Rettke won the 2021 AVCA National Player of the Year award and was once again a first-team All-American selection for the fifth time in her career a year ago. 

One of the best players in the history of college volleyball, Rettke holds Wisconsin records for blocks (751), points (2,333), and hitting percentage at 42%. She now plays internationally in Italy for Monza.  

The award continues a tremendous week for Johnny Davis, who was recently a first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Davis went No. 10 overall to the Washington Wizards, becoming the first Wisconsin player drafted into the NBA since 2015. 

Davis also put together a stellar season for the Badgers, leading the men's basketball team to a share of the regular season Big Ten title and an NCAA Tournament birth. Davis was a consensus first-team All-American and won the Big Ten Player of the Year Award. 

Johnny Davis led the Badgers in scoring and rebounds last season, averaging 19.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest. Some of his top performances from a season ago include his play in the Maui Invitational, where he won the tournament MVP award, and 30-point games against Houston, Purdue, and Indiana. Davis added six double-doubles and recorded consecutive games in the middle of the season with at least 16 points and 15 rebounds. 

At the national level, Davis also won the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year and the Lute Olson National Player of the Year award. 

You can read the full press release shared by the UW Athletic Department below. 

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Matt Belz
MATT BELZ

Title: Publisher, Beat Writer for AllBadgers.com, a Sports Illustrated Channel Hello, my name is Matt Belz, and I am the site manager at All Badgers. I previously wrote for multiple years at Buckeyes 5th Quarter and have been the leading publisher here since March of 2022.  When I am not covering the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams, I enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends.  You can follow everything I write about on several different platforms. First and foremost on our site...AllBadgers.com You can follow me personally on Twitter at @savedbythebelz or check out our Facebook page at Wisconsin FanNation on Sports Illustrated.

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