KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - The NABC has announced the recipients of the 2024-25 NABC NABC Honors Court, representing achievement in the classroom by men's college basketball players. The NABC Honors Court includes junior, senior, and graduate student men's basketball players who finished the 2024-25 year with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher.
 
Included among these stellar scholars are five Pioneers who displayed a high level of success on and off the court. Each of these players excelled in the classroom this past academic year, while also contributing to the second-straight Empire 8 Tournament Championship and NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament Appearance for the Utica men's basketball program. Here are the five NABC Honors Court honorees for the Pioneers:
 
#2 Griffin Barasa (Clearwater, FL/Calvary Christian) | Senior
 
#5 Ryan McCardle (Hurley, NY/Kingston) | Junior
 
#10 Levi Spina (Frankfort, NY/Frankfort Schuyler) | Graduate Student
 
#12 Ben Wittman (Sherrill, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) | Junior
 
#15 Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) | Graduate Student
 
In addition to these awards, Ben Wittman (Sherrill, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) also captured this year's Empire 8 Men's Basketball Torchbearer Award as the athlete with the highest GPA who participated in this past season's Empire 8 Championship. Wittman and the Pioneers will gear up for another highly anticipated campaign this upcoming year, with hopes of an illustrious three-peat surrounding the Utica men's basketball program and community.