CLEVELAND, OH -- John Carroll point guard Luke Chicone (Mentor, OH/Mentor) has been named both the Player of the Year and the Top Defensive Player to highlight the 2025-26 All-North Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball squad, as selected by the league's head coaches.
Chicone earned John Carroll its first men’s basketball NCAC Player of the Year and Top Defensive Player awards after a dominant conference season. In NCAC play, the graduate student led the league offensively in made field goals (135), total points (359), points per game (22.4), made free throws (71), assists (118), and assists per game (7.4). His 118 assists were more than double the total of the next-highest conference player (58), underscoring his impact as the league’s premier playmaker. Logging 532 minutes of conference action, the point guard scored in double figures in all 16 NCAC games, including 11 outings of 21 or more points and a conference-regular-season-high 32-point performance against Wabash on Jan. 24. He also recorded at least four assists in every league contest, tying his career-high with 11 assists in a win over Denison on Jan. 17. Defensively, Chicone paced the NCAC with 46 steals, 21 more than any other player, averaging 2.9 per game, while recording three or more steals in nine conference matchups, including a career-tying eight steals in John Carroll’s regular-season finale against Wittenberg on Feb. 21. He also pulled down 71 defensive rebounds to rank among the league’s top 10.
DePauw senior guard Sam Jacobs (Fishers, IN/Hamilton Southeastern), the 2022-23 NCAC Newcomer of the Year, moves up to the first team after earning back-to-back second-team selections in 2024 and 2025. Wittenberg senior forward Eddie Brown ( Lewis Center, OH/Olentangy Orange) secures his second All-NCAC honor, elevating to the first team after collecting third-team honors last season, while Denison junior guard Kellon Smith (Cleveland, OH/Shaker Heights) and Wabash first-year guard Luke Ellspermann (Evansville, IN/Memorial) join Chicone as first-time selections to the league’s top team.
Additionally, Ellspermann collected the NCAC's Newcomer of the Year award as the league's top player in his first collegiate season. He is the fifth Little Giant to claim the honor and the first Wabash player since Jack Davidson was named in 2017-18. Ellspermann, who started in all 15 of the NCAC matchups he competed in, posted the second-most points in the NCAC with 256, averaging 17.1 per contest. The rookie ranked among the league’s top five in made free throws (66), assists (41), and field goals (85), while also finishing in the top 15 in defensive rebounds (68), total rebounds (80), and steals (18). The rookie scored in double figures in every NCAC matchup, including three games of 25 or more points.
For the second-consecutive season, Denison claimed the 2025 Coaching Staff of the Year honors, the fourth coaching award in program history. The Big Red are led by Head Coach Chris Sullivan and Assistants Ethan Quinn and Nate Haller. The Denison squad was guided to their second-straight NCAC championship title after compiling a 12-4 record in conference play. In 16 conference games, the Denison Big Red were the most efficient at the free-throw line (233-for-309; .754) and ranked fourth in total scoring with 1,184 points, averaging 74.0 points per game. On the glass, Denison collected the second-most total rebounds (587) and offensive rebounds (174), while also tying for second in defensive rebounds (413). Defensively, the Big Red were tied for second in opponent scoring at 69.1 points per game, totaled the second-most blocked shots (46) and tied for the third-most steals (104). Offensively, Denison finished third in shooting percentage (.446) and assists (212), and rounded out league play with the fifth-most field goals (411) and three-pointers (129) made.