Bobcats Bhatti, Lauter share male honour

Two men posed for a photo on the Healthy Living Centre floor on Thursday. The same two will have theirs displayed side by side on the track upstairs for decades to come. Read this article for free: Already have an account? As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.

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99 a X percent off the regular rate. Two men posed for a photo on the Healthy Living Centre floor on Thursday. The same two will have theirs displayed side by side on the track upstairs for decades to come.

Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Two men posed for a photo on the Healthy Living Centre floor on Thursday. The same two will have theirs displayed side by side on the track upstairs for decades to come. Sultan Bhatti joined Philipp Lauter as Brandon University’s only all-Canadians of the 2020s last month, and the two were named the Bobcats’ most outstanding male athletes on Thursday.

“That was a pretty sweet surprise (the) first time I saw that. It’s just really cool to see, especially next to the other names that are on there that you know, to be on there and recognized among these people is special,” Lauter said, adding Bhatti deserved it too. Philipp Lauter was named U Sports championship MVP after BU won its first-ever national men's volleyball crown on March 23.

(Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun) “You see him week in, week out, what he does is incredible. It’s an honour to be recognized among the other athletes and together with Sully, he’s first-team all Canada-West for a reason, he’s earned that for sure.” The hoops star shared the honour with a volleyball all-star for the second straight season after Paycen Warkentin’s stellar senior year in 2023-24.

“Like I said last year, I would always give it to the volleyball guys. They won nationals this year and it was Philipp’s last year so I feel like it should have only been him but I’m truly grateful to share it with him,” Bhatti said. “It’s definitely more special.

I got a lot of awards this year, I was first-team Canada West, all-Canadian, I feel like this one’s the cherry on top.” Both joined the Bobcats in 2021 — neither sat around waiting for their opportunity. Lauter was an instant starter at middle blocker for the volleyball team while Bhatti jumped into the basketball lineup and never left.

They were named to their respective all-rookie teams in 2022, while Lauter was the U Sports rookie of the year and a second-team all-Canadian. The six-foot-seven German continued to produce elite numbers and moments over his four-year tenure. He put up 135 kills and 85 blocks this year, bringing his totals over 750 and 400 for his career.

While Lauter’s team went 10-10 and suffered its third-straight Canada West quarterfinal exit, it was handed the No. 8 seed for nationals as the host. That weekend, he was beyond exceptional.

First, it was eight kills on nine attempts with seven blocks in a 3-0 sweep of the Winnipeg Wesmen. Lauter threw in five kills and eight blocks while Brandon fought back to beat Saskatchewan 3-2 in the semifinals. Then, in his sendoff and the biggest match of the Bobcats’ lives, Lauter hung 10 kills and nine blocks on the Alberta Golden Bears to earn BU’s first-ever national volleyball title.

He was rightly named tournament MVP, capping the most fun-filled three days a volleyball player can imagine. “Before Senior Night where I was just thinking, ‘Oh, I won’t have too many games here so I might as well have as much fun as I can.’ That was sort of the idea going into it,” Lauter said.

“It’s what happened at nationals. We play volleyball because that’s what we enjoy doing. The bigger the stage, the bigger the game, the more fun we have.

” Lauter will finish his last few courses online next year to graduate from BU’s school of music. In the meantime, he’s closing in on returning to Germany to play professional volleyball, leaving Brandon with plenty of special memories. “They’ll be living with me for sure.

This has been five years I definitely won’t forget, that I’m very grateful for. To end it on a note like this is pretty remarkable,” Lauter said. “It’s something really special I don’t think I’ll ever have again.

Even if you play (pro) volleyball, you’re never as attached to the program and to everything that comes with it as here where you’re part of this.” Sultan Bhatti was named a second-team all-Canadian after his best-ever U Sports men’s basketball season. The forward, along with Philipp Lauter of the men’s volleyball team, were named BU’s most outstanding male athletes on Thursday.

(Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun) Bhatti felt he was en route to an all-Canadian season at the break, but Brandon’s 3-7 record with a tough road ahead would likely hold him back from being named one of the top 10 players in the nation. He continued as both one of Canada West’s best scorers and rebounders, pushing Brandon to three wins in its last four games to get to 7-13 and snag the 12th and final playoff spot. The rebuilding Bobcats fell to the Trinity Western Spartans in the play-in round, but Bhatti finished sixth in the country with 20.

4 points per game, third with 10.7 rebounds per game and 15th with 4.5 assists per game.

Those marks were all fifth or higher in Canada West. “People knew we were good but not that good. I just had to motivate guys every day and push them to their fullest and they just trusted me too,” Bhatti said.

“It goes both ways, I trusted them, they trusted me ...

we had a good run but just fell short in the playoffs against a good Trinity team.” Bhatti was unsure if he’d return to BU for his fifth year of eligibility but has a couple of courses remaining and a strong desire to complete his degree before pursuing potential professional hoops opportunities. When it’s time to hang up his sneakers, he’ll use his business degree and plans to become an accountant while staying involved in basketball as a coach.

He’s not looking too far ahead just yet. “The next goal is just winning more games, bringing that team to the Canada West final, (going) to nationals, that’s the biggest goal,” Bhatti said. “I don’t really care about my individual accolades anymore, I’ve had enough of them, it’s really just winning basketball at this point.

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