JCU's Chicone, Wabash's Ellspermann Earn Major Awards; Two Named D3hoops.com All-Region

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - D3hoops.com has announced the 2025-26 Men’s All-Region and special awards and the North Coast Athletic Conference was headlined by John Carroll point guard Luke Chicone (Mentor, OH/Mentor) being named the D3hoops.com All-Region 7 Co-Player of the Year and Wabash first-year guard Luke Ellspermann (Evansville, IN/Memorial) being selected as the Region 7 Rookie of the Year. Additionally, Chicone and DePauw senior guard Sam Jacobs (Fishers, IN/Hamilton Southeastern) were named to the All-Region 7 Team.
 
Chicone, the 2026 NCAC Player of the Year and Top Defensive Player, collected first-team All-Region honors after guiding the Blue Streaks to an 11-5 mark in conference play, a 23-7 overall record, the program’s first NCAC Tournament title, and fourth-straight NCAA tournament appearance. JCU ended its season in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Chicone led the league and set new single-season program standards for points (710), assists (191), and steals (83), averaging 23.7 points, 6.4 assists and 2.8 steals per game. Nationally, Chicone ranks in the top 10 in NCAA Division III heading into the semifinals in field goals (2nd, 266), assists (4th, 191), points (5th, 710), steals (5th, 83), assists per game (8th, 6.4) and in assist/turnover ratio (9th, 3.08).
 
Ellspermann, the NCAC Newcomer of the Year and first-team All-NCAC selection, ranked among the most productive first-years in the region while leading the Little Giants in scoring. He started 24 contests during his first collegiate campaign and averaged 15.9 points to tie for second in the league, while his 2.6 assists per game ranked sixth. His 398 total points landed him third in the NCAC, and he tallied 137 field goals, 123 rebounds, 66 assists, 21 steals and one block. Across 15 NCAC matchups, the rookie averaged 17.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
 
Jacobs, who earned a third-team nod to the All-Region team, averaged a team-high 14.9 points per game, which was tied for fourth-best in the league. The first-team All-NCAC selection also tied for the third-most field goals made in the conference with 142 and ranked fifth in assists with 68. He shot .505 from the field and .359 from behind the arc and recorded 81 rebounds, 68 assists, 15 steals and five blocks.

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