Johnny Davis and Dana Rettke named Wisconsin Athletes of the Year

MADISON, Wis. – Johnny Davis from the Wisconsin men’s basketball team and Dana Rettke from the Badger volleyball team have been named the 2021-22 Wisconsin Athletes of the Year, the UW Athletic Department announced. Davis earns his first athlete of the year award while Rettke picks up her second honor after being named the UW and Big Ten Conference Female Athlete of the Year in 2019-20.

The duo will now be up for the 2021-22 Big Ten Athletes of the Year, which will be announced Wednesday.

Davis, a 6-foot-5 guard from La Crosse, Wisconsin, had one of the greatest single-season performances in school history, bursting onto the scene his sophomore season as one of the best players in college basketball. A consensus first-team All-American, Davis filled up his trophy case winning the Lute Olson National Player of the Year, Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year, and Big Ten Player of the Year awards.

Davis led the Badgers to a share of the 2022 Big Ten regular-season championship, averaging 19.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Davis was recently selected 10th overall in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards.

A 6-foot-8 middle blocker, Rettke wrapped up her career by leading the Badgers to their first NCAA national championship in program history and third-straight Big Ten championship in 2021. She was named the 2021 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Player of the Year, the first UW player to receive the award. Rettke also became the first five-time, first-team All-American in AVCA history and wrapped up her career as a five-time, first-team All-Big Ten selection, racking up a school-record 11 Big Ten Player of the Week awards.

As a senior, the Riverside, Illinois, native ranked sixth nationally with a .430 hitting percentage. She led the Badgers with 3.41 kills per set and 1.43 blocks per set, which ranked fifth nationally. For her career, Rettke set UW records for hitting percentage (.422), blocks (751) and points (2,333.0).