KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Idaho State men's basketball earned the 2025-26 National Association of Basketball Coaches Team Academic Excellence Award for the fifth consecutive season, while six Bengals were named to the NABC Honors Court, the organization announced Wednesday.
Caleb Van De Griend, Connor Hollenbeck, Evan Otten, Gus Etchison, Jaedyn Brown and Jamison Guerra each earned a place on the NABC Honors Court for their academic accomplishments during the 2025-26 academic year.
"We are proud of the effort our program continues to put forth in the classroom," Idaho State head coach Ryan Looney said. "Our student-athletes represent Idaho State University extremely well, and their commitment to academic success is reflected in these honors. Our academic advisor, Pepper Kaneko, is incredibly dedicated to their success, and we appreciate everything she does to support our program."
The NABC Team Academic Excellence Award recognizes men's basketball programs that completed the academic year with a team grade-point average of 3.0 or higher. Idaho State has now received the honor in five consecutive seasons, continuing the program's sustained commitment to academic achievement.
Idaho State was one of six Big Sky Conference men's basketball programs to earn the Team Academic Excellence Award this season. The Bengals' six Honors Court selections were tied for the third most among those six conference programs.
The NABC Honors Court recognizes junior, senior and graduate student-athletes who completed the year with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher.
Idaho State was one of more than 400 programs across all levels of college basketball to receive the Team Academic Excellence Award, while more than 2,300 student-athletes were selected to the Honors Court.
Idaho State NABC Honors Court Selections
Jaedyn Brown
Graduate Student | Psychology
Gus Etchison
Senior | University Studies
Jamison Guerra
Graduate Student | Athletic Administration
Connor Hollenbeck
Graduate Student | Athletic Administration
Evan Otten
Junior | Business
Caleb Van De Griend
Senior | University Studies
The NABC's academic awards are presented annually to recognize outstanding classroom achievement by men's basketball programs and student-athletes throughout college basketball.
"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."
