KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Whitworth Pirates have not only made a habit of winning Northwest Conference basketball titles, but they have also made a habit of excelling in the classroom. The team, and six individuals, have been recognized by National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for academic excellence during the 2025-26 season.
The men's basketball squad received a NABC Team Academic Excellence Award after achieving a cumulative 3.40 team grade point average during the 2025-26 academic year. At the same time the Pirates won their third straight NWC regular season championship and fourth in the last five seasons. To be selected for a NABC Team Academic Excellence Award, teams must complete the academic year with a cumulative 3.0 GPA or higher.
Led by back-to-back honorees Caden Bateman, Stephen Behil, Colton Looney and Ben Nyquist, six Pirates were named to the NABC Honors Court. Brian Caldera and Dylan Westermeyer joined those four on the list for the first time as Pirates. The NABC Honors Court includes junior, senior, and graduate student players who finished the year with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher.
Looney, a senior who is in his first year of Whitworth's MBA program, claimed the honor for a third straight year. He had reached junior status by his second year as a Pirate due to college credit accumulated in high school. The 2025-26 season was Looney's first as a starter. He averaged 11.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Nyquist, a senior business management major, also earned third team Academic All-America status from the College Sports Communicators earlier in the year. The 2025-26 NWC Defensive Player of the Year averaged 11.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and set a school record with 94 steals.
Bateman, a senior business administration major, averaged 12.5 points and 7.9 rebounds as Whitworth's starting post player. He led the team in field goal percentage (54.9%) and earned second team All-NWC.
Behil, a senior business management major, was a first team All-NWC selection this season after averaging 17.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest. He is a two-year starter for the Bucs.
Brian Caldera, a graduate transfer in the Master of Business Leadership program, averaged 3.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 25 games. He played previously at Seattle Pacific University.
Dylan Westermeyer, who completed his second athletic year at Whitworth, is a junior academically due to credits earned in high school. He appeared in all 28 games and averaged 4.0 points.
Whitworth won the NWC regular season title with a 14-2 conference record and took home the league tournament championship to reach the NCAA Division III tournament for the 18th time.
