KANSAS CITY, MO – The UVA Wise men's basketball team has been announced as a recipient of the National Association of Basketball Coaches Team Academic Excellence Award for their academic endeavors during the 2025-26 season. In addition, four student-athletes have earned spots on the organization's Honors Court.

To be awarded the Team Academic Excellence Award a team must complete the 2025-26 academic year with a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. To earn a spot on the Honors Court the player must be a sophomore, junior, senior, or graduate who has a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher.

Making the Honor's Court from UVA Wise are Filip Brkic', Yoro Diallo, Calen Lightford, Evan Ramsey. Lightford earns the honor for the second straight year.

Other South Atlantic Conference members to earn Team Academic Excellence Awards are Carson-Newman, Lenoir-Rhyne, Newberry, and Tusculum.

The NABC's academic awards are presented annually to teams and athletes from all levels of college basketball.

"College basketball student-athletes do incredible things on the court, but their achievements in the classroom are equally worthy of celebration," said NABC Executive Director Craig Robinson. "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."

Over 2,300 players earned spots on the NABC Honors Court and over 400 programs received NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards for 2025-26. A complete list is available at the link above.

The UVA Wise men's basketball team will report back to campus in mid-August and will soon afterwards begin preparations for the 2026-27 season. The Cavs will open the season on November 13-14 when they play in the SAC vs. Conference Carolinas Challenge in Bristol, Tennessee.