KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Awards continued to come the way of Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball sophomore standout Noah Cleveland (Normal, Ill.-Normal Community) as the rookie was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-America First Team Wednesday, March 18. He is the first to earn the award since Matthew Leritz did so in 2022.

Cleveland has taken #D3hoops by storm in his debut season, putting together one of the most accomplished years the Titans have seen. A unanimous First Team All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin pick, Cleveland made league history as the first to be named CCIW player of the year and newcomer of the year in the same season. He made history as the second in the program to be named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week three times in a year (Matthew Leritz - 2021-22), while also garnering five CCIW Player of the Week awards. His five weekly league honors stand as the most since 2018. In addition to being named the NABC's District 8 Player of the Year and First Team All-District 8,  Cleveland was voted the Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational's Most Valuable Player and also landed on the Mike Turner Classic All-Tournament Team.

The Normal, Ill. native has established himself as one of the great big-men across the country. He has been a double-double machine with 16 on the season, the sixth-most nationally. Cleveland is averaging 18.8 points per game alongside 11.4 rebounds per game, and has 52 assists, 49 blocks, and 43 steals. He has eclipsed the 20-point mark 11 times, including in two of the team's NCAA Tournament games, and has gone for 30+ on three occasions.

Illinois Wesleyan's postseason schedule continues tomorrow, March 19, with an Elite Eight bout against No. 2 Emory University. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET inside Allen War Memorial Coliseum. More information about IWU's trip to Fort Wayne, how to follow the games, as well as ticket information can be found here.

2025-26 NABC Division III All-America First Team
Luke Chicone, John Carroll
Noah Cleveland, Illinois Wesleyan
Omari DeVeaux, Virginia Wesleyan
Sam Grieger, UW-La Crosse
Scott Gyimesi, Tufts
Hudson Johnson, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Marcus Montagnino, Endicott
Zevi Samet, Yeshiva
Jayden Thomas, DeSales
Jevon Yarbrough, Hood

2025-26 NABC Division III All-America Second Team
Myles Barnette, Gustavus Adolphus
Mason Dopirak, MSOE
Elijah Farrington, Mount Union
Elijah Kinney, Endicott
Jacob Morales, Montclair State
Ben Pearce, Emory
Jack Plesser, Union
Joey Ramirez, Concordia (TX)
CJ Ruoff, Catholic
Henry Vetter, Trinity (CT)

2025-26 NABC Division III All-America Third Team
Lucas Gordon, Redlands
Camden Hurst, Lancaster Bible
Connor May, WashU
Cooper Nailor, Coe
Jalen Overway, Calvin
Cameron Perkins, UMass Boston
Kye Robinson, Mary Washington
Mohamed Toure, Ursinus
Remijo Wani, Saint Joseph's (ME)
Reem Welch, Plattsburgh State