The Sun Conference: Season 2025-26
The Sun Conference 2025-26
The Sun Conference Final: Ave Maria University - Keiser University 83-78 Ave Maria University (Jamon Copeland): Mike Klekas, Alex Sherwood, Jack Watkins, Jonathan Effertz, Marlon Bennett, Bradley Michel, Pablo Hernandez, Jaylen White, Mitchell Lee, Daniele Russo, Jai White, Lance Rawls, Christian Pichay, Bradley Alcime, David Olivier Standings 2025-26
#
Team
W-L
TSC
- qualified to the play-offs Stats Leaders 2025-26
PPG
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
 St.Thomas, FL  Ave Maria University - Champions of The Sun Conference 2025-26
Arrived: Alex Sherwood (Saint Leo University)
Average Height: 195.0 cm (6'4.8'')
Average Age: 22.0
 Ave Maria Goes Back to Back-Mar 1, 2026
For the second year in a row, and third time in program history, the Ave Maria Men's Basketball team claimed the Sun Conference Championship. It was a battle between the top two teams in the conference, but the Gyrenes got it done as they beat the host Keiser Seahawks 83-78. "I love this place man. I tell people all the time, this is my dream job," said head coach Jamon Copeland . "To bring success to something you're so passionate about is awesome." Going into Saturday's championship game, the hype was off the charts. Both Ave Maria and Keiser had split the regular season series and finished the year 13-3 in conference play. The two were declared Regular Season Co-Champions, the first time that has happened in the Sun Conference since 2022. When both teams won their respective semifinal, they set up the first ever championship game between Co-Champions in Sun Conference history. Keiser scored the opening points of the game, but the Gyrenes immediately responded with a three-pointer from Jonathan Effertz (6'1''-G). Ave Maria held onto that lead for the rest of the first half. Ave Maria's lead danced between one and two possessions of the Seahawks for the first nine minutes of play. Right before the second media timeout, the Gyrenes knocked down three triples in a row, one from Marlon Bennett (6'4''-G) and the other two from Bradley Alcime (6'9''-F), and took an 11-point lead. The Gyrenes pushed their lead up to 13 at one point in the opening half, but a 9-0 run for the Seahawks made it a four-point game going into the break. In the two regular season games between the Gyrenes and Seahawks, the winner was the team who took control at the start of the second half. In Saturday night's game, that team was Ave Maria. The Gyrenes started the frame with a three-pointer from Mike Klekas (6'3''-G). Ave Maria then went on a 12-6 run to get back up by double digits. In the middle of the half, Keiser made a big push and took their second lead of the night with nine minutes left in the game. A layup capped a 14-2 run and put the Seahawks up 59-58. Ave Maria responded immediately as Bennett knocked down another three just 11 seconds later to retake the lead, one the Gyrenes wouldn't relinquish for the rest of the game. Keiser led for just 29 seconds in Saturday's contest but were constantly nipping at the heels of the Gyrenes. With a little over six minutes remaining, Ave Maria rattled off their last run of the game which built a big enough cushion to last the rest of regulation. Ave Maria went on a quick 5-0 run that pushed the lead up to three-possessions. Keiser never got the deficit back down to one possession during the rest of the game, as the Gyrenes hit their free throws to ice the game. Jack Watkins knocked down the final free throw to give the Gyrenes their 83-78 win. "We [knew] we [were] going to take everybody's best shot every night. We knew we had to stick together as a team. We have amazing guys on the team who are all bought into their roles, and we knew if we just cleaned up a lot of things, we were going to have a special season," said Klekas after the game. Five Gyrenes hit double figures in the championship game. Watkins led the team with 17 points, followed by Effertz at 15, Bennett at 14, Klekas at 13 and Jay White at 12. As a team, Ave Maria hit 16 trifectas, tying their season high which they have hit now four times. Effertz and Bennett were tied for the team lead with four. For the whole tournament, Klekas was named the Sun Conference MVP, finishing the two games with a combined 42 points, 18 field goals and 13 rebounds. It is the second straight year he has won MVP. With the win, Ave Maria improves to 26-4 overall, breaking the record for most wins in a season in program history. The Gyrenes are now 3-1 in Sun Conference Championship games and are the first team to go back-to-back in Sun Conference history since Warner won titles in 2016 and 2017. The win also punches Ave Maria's ticket to the NAIA National Tournament for the third year in a row as the automatic qualifier from the Sun Conference. "Same mindset as last year. Couple days off, rest our bodies, rest our minds. Celebrate the win of course…but we have our eyes set on a bigger trophy, bigger banner, bigger ring later on," said Watkins. Courtesy of thesunconference.com Final: Ave Maria - Keiser 83-78 Semis: Ave Maria - Southeastern 91-84 Keiser - St. Thomas 99-73  All-SAC Awards 2026-Mar 4, 2026
 Micah Clark, forward from the Nelson University, picked up the Player of the Year at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
He received multiple other awards, was voted to the First Team and Tournament Team.
Clark averaged over 22 points and almost 7 rebounds per game in the league.
He has totalled 12 games of 20 or more points on the year and recorded 30 or more points in 7 games.
Clark registered double-doubles in 4 games during the event.
His 50 points against the College of the Ozarks were the most he scored in the 25 26 season.
Jonas Carlisle, guard from the Oklahoma City University, was named the All-Tournament MVP of National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
He collected multiple other honors, was selected to the First Team and Defensive Team and Tournament Team.
Carlisle had over 17 points and 6 rebounds per game that season in the league.
He has totalled 4 games of 20 or more points and recorded double-doubles in 2 games on the year.
Carlisle's 27 points against the USAO were the most he scored in the 25 26 season.
Among many awards he was selected to the All-AMC Defensive Player of the Year in 2025.
He was also selected to the All-AMC First Team in 2025.
Carlisle was selected to the AMC All-Defensive Team in 2025.
He was also selected to the All-AMC Third Team in 2024.
Orlando Thomas, guard from the Langston Lions, was voted the Newcomer of the Year at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
He received multiple other awards, was chosen to the First Team and Tournament Team.
Thomas logged over 14 points and almost 5 rebounds per game over the season in the league.
He has totalled 2 games of 20 or more points on the year.
Thomas' 26 points against the Wayland Baptist were the most he scored in the 25 26 season.
Jamari Lawrence, guard from the Wayland Baptist University, was named to the First Team of National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
He also earned a spot in the Tournament Team.
With Lawrence's excellent performance, the Wayland Baptist University achieved the best record of the season in the league, finishing with an impressive 24 to 6 in the regular season.
Lawrence averaged over 20 points and almost 5 rebounds per game in the league.
He has totalled 5 games of 20 or more points on the year and registered 30 or more points in 2 games.
Lawrence's 33 points against the USAO were the most he scored in the 25 26 season.
Antonio Lewis, guard from the Langston Lions, was voted to the First Team at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
He notched over 13 points and 3 rebounds per game that season in the league.
Lewis has totalled 2 games of 20 or more points on the year.
His 28 points against the MACU were the most he scored in the 25 26 season.
He was selected to the All-SSAC First Team in 2025.
Morris Williams, forward from the Mid-America Christian University, was selected to the First Team of National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
He recorded over 16 points and 5 rebounds per game over the season in the league.
Williams' 36 points against the Ozark Christian were the most he scored in the 25 26 season.
Williams' team was the regular season runner-up in the NCCAA Division I in 2025.
Rico Yarbrough, forward from the Wayland Baptist University, was chosen to the First Team at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
He was also named to the Defensive Team.
Yarbrough averaged almost 15 points and 7 rebounds per game in the league.
He has totalled 4 games of 20 or more points and registered double-doubles in 5 games on the year.
Yarbrough's 29 points against the SW Christian were the most he scored in the 25 26 season.
All-Tournament MVP:  Jonas Carlisle (6'4''-G) of Okla CityPlayer of the Year: Micah Clark (6'7''-F) of NelsonDefensive Player of the Year: Jesse Iweze (6'9''-F) of NelsonFreshman of the Year: Ozavian Buford (6'1''-G) of NelsonNewcomer of the Year: Orlando Thomas (6'2''-G) of LangstonSixth Man of the Year: Brett Leach (6'4''-G) of Wayland BaptistSportsmanship Award: JJ Boling (6'6''-F) of NelsonCoach of the Year: Delton Deal of Nelson All-SAC First Team 2026  Carlisle  Clark  Lawrence  Lewis  Thomas  Williams  Yarbrough Jonas Carlisle (6'4''-G) of Okla City Micah Clark (6'7''-F) of Nelson Jamari Lawrence (6'2''-G) of Wayland Baptist Antonio Lewis (6'2''-G) of Langston Orlando Thomas (6'2''-G) of Langston Morris Williams (6'8''-F) of MACU Rico Yarbrough (6'7''-F) of Wayland BaptistAll-SAC Second Team 2026  Alexander  Boling  Hamilton  Iweze  Oetting  Whitten Brian Alexander (6'3''-G) of Okla City JJ Boling (6'6''-F) of Nelson Daylan Hamilton (6'3''-G) of TxWes Jesse Iweze (6'9''-F) of Nelson Trae Oetting (5'11''-G) of John Brown Chris Whitten (6'3''-G) of CCCAll-SAC Third Team 2026  Ammad  Campbell  Green  Henry  Turner  Young Jr.  Mohand Ammad (6'6''-G-2003) of USAO Christian Campbell (6'4''-G) of OPSU Trelin Green (5'9''-PG) of Nelson Omarion Henry (6'7''-F) of Langston Khalil Turner (6'8''-G) of TxWes Montez Young Jr. (6'5''-F) of TxWesAll-SAC Honorable Mention 2026  Clarke  Crosby  Green  Leach  Perez  Snyder  Strickland  Williams  Wooldridge Trey Clarke (6'6''-F) of Langston Clance Crosby (6'9''-F) of MACU Marcus Green (6'4''-SG) of Wayland Baptist Brett Leach (6'4''-G) of Wayland Baptist Julian Perez (6'0''-G) of Wayland Baptist Garrett Snyder (6'3''-G) of Coll.of the Ozarks Shannon Strickland (6'5''-G) of MACU JaColby Williams (6'5''-F) of SW Christian Michal Wooldridge (6'9''-C-2003) of SW ChristianSAC All-Defensive Team 2026 Carlisle  Cave Iweze  Oravbiere Yarbrough Jonas Carlisle (6'4''-G) of Okla City Tajahri Cave (6'0''-PG) of Langston Jesse Iweze (6'9''-F) of Nelson Danny Oravbiere (6'7''-F) of TxWes Rico Yarbrough (6'7''-F) of Wayland BaptistSAC All-Freshman Team 2026  Buford  Cowns  Sosa Williams  Williams Ozavian Buford (6'1''-G) of Nelson Bryce Cowns (6'2''-G) of USAO Maliq Sosa (6'4''-G) of John Brown JaColby Williams (6'5''-F) of SW Christian Jaden Williams (6'4''-G) of LangstonSAC All-Tournament Team 2026 Carlisle Alexander Clarke Thomas Clark Lawrence Jonas Carlisle (6'4''-G) of Okla City Brian Alexander (6'3''-G) of Okla City Trey Clarke (6'6''-F) of Langston Orlando Thomas (6'2''-G) of Langston Micah Clark (6'7''-F) of Nelson Jamari Lawrence (6'2''-G) of Wayland Baptist | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CIpRlijd
