CLEVELAND, OH – Two North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) men’s basketball players have been named to the 2025-26 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division III All-District 7 Teams, announced Tuesday, March 17. John Carroll graduate student guard Luke Chicone (Mentor, OH/Mentor) was named the District 7 Player of the Year and a First-Team honoree, while Denison junior guard Kellon Smith (Cleveland, OH/Shaker Heights) earned Second-Team recognition.
 
Chicone, the 2026 NCAC Player of the Year and Top Defensive Player, collected first-team All-District and District Player of the Year honors after guiding the Blue Streaks to an 11-5 conference record, a 23-7 overall mark, the program’s first NCAC Tournament title, and a fourth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, a run that ended in the second round. The graduate student set new single-season John Carroll records in points (710), assists (191), and steals (83), averaging 23.7 points, 6.4 assists, and 2.8 steals per game while leading the league in all three categories. Nationally, Chicone ranked in the top 10 in NCAA Division III in field goals (2nd, 266), assists (4th, 191), points (5th, 710), steals (5th, 83), assists per game (8th, 6.4), and assist-to-turnover ratio (9th, 3.08).
 
Smith, a first-team All-NCAC honoree, collected Second Team All-District honors after helping lead the Big Red to a 12-4 NCAC record, the program’s second-consecutive conference title, and an 18-9 overall record. Among league standings, the guard ranked 11th in scoring (13.8 ppg) and eighth in total points (372) while shooting 48.6 percent from the field (14th, 120-of-247). Smith was the league’s top free-throw shooter, going a perfect 19-of-19 from the line against Wittenberg (Feb. 27) en route to leading the NCAC in free-throw percentage at 85.8 percent (115-of-134). He also set career highs in field goals (10) and three-pointers (5) at Kenyon (Jan. 31) and hauled in a career-best 11 rebounds against John Carroll (Feb. 14).