Men’s Hoops Leads Way as NABC Releases Academic Honors

Titans pace the CCIW with nine named to Honors Court

7/15/2026 11:00:00 AM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - For the second straight season, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team continued to be leaders of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin as the National Association of Basketball Coaches dolled out its academic awards Wednesday, July 15. IWU saw a league-high nine student-athletes named to the organization's Honors Court, while Illinois Wesleyan also earned the NABC Academic Excellence Award.

Garnering the recognition for IWU were seniors Karlo Colak (Glencoe, Ill.-New Trier), Nathan Boldt (Deer Park, Ill.-Barrington), and Nick Tingley (New Lenox, Ill.-Lincoln-Way Central) along with juniors Brady Kuehl (St. Louis, Mo.-Parkway), Brady Ruggles (Wheaton, Ill.-Danville), Casen Lawrence (St. Louis, Mo.-Westminster Christian), Dylan Schmidt (Johnsburg, Ill.-Johnsburg), Jackson Niego (Western Springs, Ill.-Lyons Township), and Mason Funk (Normal, Ill.-University High).

"College basketball student-athletes do incredible things on the court, but their achievements in the classroom are equally worthy of celebration," NABC Executive Director Craig Robinson said. "Education is one of the NABC's core values, and the hundreds of programs and thousands of athletes represented on these awards reinforce the commitment to academic success that exists across all levels of our sport."

The Titans were one of six CCIW programs to be recognized as a team, joining Augustana, Carroll, Carthage, Elmhurst, and Wheaton. Overall, Illinois Wesleyan's nine Honors Court selections tied for 10th-most across NCAA Division I, II, and III, NAIA, and two-year institutions. Additionally, the total sits tied for seventh-most in Division III alongside Grinnell College and University of Chicago. IWU's total led the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, as the Titans were one of six schools to land student-athletes on the list. In all, over 2,300 players earned spots on the NABC Honors Court and nearly 400 programs received NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards for 2025-26.

The NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards recognize programs that completed the 2025-26 academic year with a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. The NABC Honors Court, meanwhile, includes junior, senior and graduate student men's basketball players who finished the 2025-26 year with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher. The NABC's academic awards are presented annually to teams and athletes from all levels of college basketball.

IWU posted a 26-5 overall record and won the CCIW regular season and tournament titles in the same year for the first time in program history. The Green and White's season ended in the Elite Eight, its deepest postseason run since 2022, and with a No. 7 national ranking.

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