KANSAS CITY, Mo.- Five Franklin & Marshall men's basketball players were named to the 2025-26 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court, representing achievement in the classroom by men's college basketball teams and individual players. Asad Syed, Dylan Cormac, Kevin Nowoswiat, Kola Lysynecky, and Vakaris Grauslys claimed the award, while the team claimed the NABC Team Award.

The NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards recognize programs that completed the 2025-26 academic year with a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. The NABC Honors Court, meanwhile, 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.

The NABC's academic awards are presented annually to teams and athletes from all levels of college basketball.

This marks the first time that Asad Syed was named to the NABC Honors Court. Syed was F&M's primary point guard option from the bench, as he appeared in all 28 games and Syed totaled 59 points, 22 rebounds, 26 assists, 12 steals, and three blocked shots while averaging 8.8 minutes per game, while he totaled a career-best ten points against Dickinson on February 18.

Dylan Cormac is also a second-time representative on the NABC Honors Court. For the Diplomats. Additionally, he was named to the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll for the third-consecutive year. Cormac appeared in all 26 games, averaging 14.2 minutes per contest. Cormac was a big three-point threat in this role, ranking fourth in the team with 32 triples and the 18th-most threes per game (1.2) among Centennial Conference players. 

Kevin Nowoswiat adds to his extensive list of accolades with back-to-back NABC Honors Honors Court selections. So far in 2025-26,  Nowoswiat was named to the NABC All-District 5 First Team, D3hoops.com All-Region 5 Second Team, and All-Centennial Conference First Team. He wrapped up an impressive 2025-26 season where he led the Diplomats to a second-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, and a third-straight season with 20-plus victories and an appearance in the Centennial Conference Tournament Semifinal. Among Centennial Conference players, he ranked third in double-doubles (6), in points per game (16.4), fourth in rebounds per game (7.3), fifth in field goal percentage (48.4%), seventh in free-throw percentage (74.4%), 11th in three-point field goals per game (1.4), 11th in assists per game (2.5), and second in minutes per game (34.2). He ended his career as the 40th Diplomats to join the 1,000-point club, and he is just one of nine players in program history with a combined 1,300 points and 500 rebounds. The former College Sports Communicators Second Team Academic All-American was a Jostens Trophy Finalist this season, while he also claimed a spot on the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll for the third-straight year. 

Kola Lysynecky also earned a spot on the Honors Court for the second-straight season. The three-time Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll representative made 12 appearances from the bench with one start last season. 

Vakaris Grauslys claimed his second selection to the NABC Honors Court as well. Grauslys concluded his collegiate career by claiming a third-straight All-Centennial Conference selection with a spot on the first time, while 2025-26 marked the third-straight year of earning three academic awards including the CSC Academic All-District® Team, Academic All-Centennial Conference Team, and Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll. Among Centennial Conference players, Grauslys ranked second in assists per game (3.5), fourth in free-throw percentage (75.3%), fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.3), eighth in steals per game (1.5), ninth in points per game (13.0), ninth in triples per game (1.4), and fourth in minutes per game (32.0). He became F&M's 39th player to join the 1,000-point club, while he is one of ten players in program history with 1,000 points, 250 assists, and 150 steals. 

"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."

The Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team concluded 2025-26 with a 22-6, 10-3 Centennial Conference record, securing the program's third-straight season with 20-plus victories and an appearance in the Centennial Conference Tournament Semifinal. This marked the program's 27th time playing in the NCAA Tournament, and it is the first time the team has earned back-to-back tournament bids since the team's four-peat from 2009 through 2012. F&M ended the 13-game home slate with a perfect record at the Mayser Center, marking the first undefeated season at home since 2017-18 and the 15th overall time the team has stayed undefeated in Lancaster. A season-best winning streak of 12 games from November 11th through January 10th is tied for the 13th-longest winning streak in program history. F&M will enter the new year with Tim Sweeney as head coach following a seven year stint as head coach at Connecticut College.