February 25, 2026

Ferris State’s Perez, Bingham, and Riley garner GLIAC Player of the Week honors for tennis and basketball teams

Ferris State University’s Jose Perez, Mykel Bingham, and Mia Riley have claimed Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors for their respective sports this week.

Perez has posted strong numbers in the early goings of the spring season, as this marks his second men’s Player of the Week honor in the month of February (Weeks One and Four).

The sophomore led the Bulldogs to a historical 5-2 upset against Western Michigan on Feb. 20 to claim the program’s first win against an NCAA Division I program in at least 20 years. Perez also helped Ferris State sweep Hillsdale College 7-0 on Feb. 21, improving the team’s record to 8-1 this season while riding a seven-match win streak.

Perez, a Business Data Analytics major from Quito, Ecuador, recorded a 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) win over WMU’s Tim Riedel and teamed up with Kacper Pasielak for a 6-1 win at two doubles in the contest against the Broncos. He notched two more wins against Hillsdale, winning 6-3 and 6-1 at two singles and pairing up again with Pasielak for a 7-5 triumph at two doubles.

For the weekend, he went a perfect 4-0 in combined singles and doubles play.

The Bulldogs will return to the court on Sunday, March 8, as they open their annual spring break trip to Florida with a non-league matchup at Florida Southern.

Men’s basketball senior forward Mykel Bingham, a Leadership major from Grand Rapids, claimed his first Player of the Week honor during the 2025-26 campaign following a pair of losses against Lake Superior State (Feb. 16) and Northern Michigan (Feb. 21).

Bingham’s presence was felt on both sides of the ball, as he finished the two-game stretch with 31 points and 18 rebounds while draining five of his six three-point attempts between the contests. In total, he averaged 15.5 points, nine rebounds, and two-and-a-half blocks.

The veteran standout now has 19 double-figure scoring games this year and has notched 10 rebounds or more for a total of 11 times to date this season.

Ferris State has a critical pair of road tests this week for its final regular-season games that will determine if the Bulldogs clinch a seed in the 2026 GLIAC Tournament. The team visits Grand Valley State on Thursday, Feb. 26, and Davenport on Saturday, Feb. 28, with a current 10-15 record (7-11 GLIAC).

Senior guard Mia Riley’s presence was felt once again for the red-hot women’s basketball team as she was named GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week, her second honor this season.

She led Ferris State in a decisive 75-43 road win at LSSU (Feb. 16) and a top 25 matchup at home against then-No. 20 Northern Michigan (Feb. 21) that finished 80-68 in favor of the Bulldogs.

Riley, an Optometry major from Fowler, tallied a game-high 31 points against the Lakers that were paired with 11 rebounds, as Riley didn’t slow down against the Wildcats. Her triple-double performance (20 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists) against NMU was the second of her career and marked only the fourth-ever triple-double in program history.

In total, she averaged a team-leading 25.5 points, 13.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists per contest last week for the then-nationally 16^th-ranked Bulldogs. The team has since jumped to No. 13 in the WBCA NCAA Division II Coaches’ Poll with a current 23-4 record as their win streak stands at 10 straight dubs.

The Bulldogs have long positioned themselves to compete in the postseason tournament with a 16-2 GLIAC record, as they are currently second in the league and fighting to maintain that position in their final pair of regular season contests.

Ferris State will hit the road to face long-time rival No. 2 Grand Valley State on Thursday, Feb. 26, and travel to Grand Rapids to face the Davenport Panthers on Saturday, Feb. 28.