Official NABC Release

TACOMA, Wash. — Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball student-athletes Ben Tellez and Henry Smith were recognized for academic excellence on Wednesday, both earning a spot on the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court while the entire men's basketball squad was recognized with the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award.

Tellez and Smith are among the 48 student-athletes from around the Northwest Conference that were recognized, representing seven of the league's nine teams. To be eligible, student-athletes had to be a junior, senior, or graduate student academically with a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 (on a 4.0 scale) or better. 
 
Both Tellez and Smith were both named Academic All-District from College Sports Communicators (CSC) in March while Tellez ended the year as a Second Team All-NWC selection. 

All told, over 2,300 student-athletes were recognized with selection to the NABC Honors Court.
 
The Lutes are among the seven NWC schools to secure the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award. To be eligible, team's needed to maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher. This marks the third consecutive season the Lutes have been recognized by the national organization and are one of over 400 programs to be honored. 
 
Pacific Lutheran wrapped up the 2025-2026 campaign with an 11-14 overall record and a 5-11 mark in conference action. PLU's season included setting a school single-game record for threes after draining 19 in a 94-49 road win over Pacific University.