KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced the recipients of the 2024-25 Team Academic Excellence awards as well as the individual athletes that were named to this year's Honors Court. The awards represent achievement in the classroom by men's college basketball teams and the individual players.

The NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards recognize programs that completed the 2024-25 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 2024-25 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.

"Education is one of the NABC's five core values, and we are proud to recognize the academic accomplishments of these programs and individual student-athletes across our sport," said NABC Executive Director Craig Robinson. "The dedication and hard work of these athletes, along with their coaches and support staff members who prioritize academic success, deserves to be widely celebrated

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs Men's Basketball program was among the nearly 400 programs that were recognized from across the country with William Becker, Brady Jones, and Hannes Saar being named to the Honors Court.

William Becker wrapped up his tenure this season playing in all but one game for the Mountain Lions, as he led the team in points with 412. He surpassed Derrick White's record for blocked shots as he now leads the program with 157 on his career, and was tops in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) in field goal percentage. As
Becker turns the page in his athletic career to professional hopes, he completes nearly 2,500 minutes played, with 981 points, and 825 rebounds.

Brady Jones joined the Mountain Lions ahead of the 2025-26 season after spending his true freshman season at RMAC rival Black Hills State in Spearfish, S.D. In his debut season with UCCS, Brady competed in 17 games averaging just over six minutes, while scoring 39 points. Providing depth value off the bench, Jones shot 70.4% from the field in just over one hundred minutes on the season.

Hannes Saar appeared in all 29 contests in the black and gold during the 2024-25 season, as he was third on the squad in points with 333 (11.5 ppg). Averaging just over 30 minutes per game, Hannes showed his reliability throughout the season. Shooting 46 percent from the field with 120 rebounds, Hannes was involved on both sides of the floor for UCCS this past Winter.

The Mountain Lions will return to action on November 14^th in Wichita Falls, Texas as they open the season on the road against Midwestern State. Stay tuned to gomountainlions.com for all schedule information and news ahead of the 2025-26 season.
 
SOCIAL
X – @GoMountainLions
Instagram – @gomountainlions
Facebook – /GoMountainLions
 
For everything UCCS Athletics, follow the Mountain Lions on social media and stay tuned to gomountainlions.com.
 
As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.