KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Northwestern men’s basketball was honored as a recipient of the 2025-26 NABC Team Academic Excellence Award, the NABC announced Wednesday morning.
Five Wildcat graduates from the 2025-26 roster — Blake Smith, Gus Hurlburt, Jordan Clayton, Justin Mullins and Nick Martinelli — earned spots on the NABC Honors Court, representing academic achievement in the classroom by individual players.
Excellence in the classroom 🎓 pic.twitter.com/bdf2uy2aj8
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) July 16, 2026
“College basketball student-athletes do incredible things on the court, but their achievements in the classroom are equally worthy of celebration,” said NABC Executive Director Craig Robinson. “Education is one of the NABC’s core values, and the hundreds of programs and thousands of athletes represented on these awards reinforce the commitment to academic success that exists across all levels of our sport.”
At least one Wildcat has been included in the Honors Court in each of the past five seasons. NU has garnered 12 Honors Court selections in the past two years.
The NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards recognize programs that completed the 2025-26 academic year with a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. Northwestern is one of nine Big Ten programs to receive the honor
The NABC Honors Court includes junior, senior and graduate student men’s basketball players who finished the 2025-26 year with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher.
Smith, Hurlburt, Mullins and Martinelli each made the Honors Court in back-to-back seasons.