KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mercy University Men's Basketball Team has earned the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence Award and student-athletes Derek Long (Milford, Conn./Deerfield Academy), Christopher Nana (Stamford, Conn./Sacred Heart University) and Thomas Mandell (Southern Pines, N.C./Penn State-Berks) have been tabbed to the NABC Honors Court, as announced by the organization earlier today.

The NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards recognize men's basketball 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.

Over 2,300 student-athletes earned a spot on the NABC Honors Court and over 400 programs received NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards for 2025-26. The Mavericks posted a 3.25 GPA throughout the 2025-26 academic year. Mercy earned the ECC Academic Team of Excellence Award for Men's Basketball for the first time last month.

Long receives Honors Court recognition for the first time. The junior has a 3.6 GPA Finance major. The guard appeared in six games and averaged 8.7 points per game. Long scored a season-high 16 points at Goldey-Beacom on December 18th.

Nana takes home Honors Court honors for the first time. The junior has a 3.48 GPA as a Data Analytics major. The forward appeared in 22 games making seven starts, averaging 3.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Nana scored a season-high 10 points at Staten Island on December 3rd.

Mandell is tabbed to the Honors Court for the second straight year. The graduate student had a 3.71 GPA as an Organizational Leadership major. The guard appeared in nine games, averaging 1.7 points per game before serving as a student assistant coach. Mandell scored a season-high six points against Jefferson (Nov. 15) and Chestnut Hill (Nov. 22).