By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Playing an instrumental role in delivering the second Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season title to Central Washington, sophomore guard Cavin Holden was voted by the coaches as the 2025 GNAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year.
 
Holden, from Apple Valley, Calif., averaged 14.9 points per game, ranked second in the GNAC with 2.8 made threes per game, third in 3-point shooting at 45.4%, sixth in assists per game with 4.0 and added 1.5 steals per game. Holden reached 20 points in a game on eight occasions, including the final three of the regular season as he finished the campaign strong. His signature performance of the year was a 35-point outburst on 12-for-18 shooting on Jan. 9 against Alaska Fairbanks. Holden is the third player in Central Washington history to garner the league’s top honor, joining 2022 GNAC Player of the Year Xavier Smith and 2007 GNAC co-Player of the Year Lance Den Boer.
 
Brandon Rinta was selected by his peers as the GNAC Coach of the Year, after bringing the Wildcats their first regular-season trophy since the 2010-11 campaign. The eighth-year head coach lived up to the hype of being the GNAC preseason favorites, leading the Wildcats to a 14-4 conference record and the No. 1 berth into this week’s GNAC Championships tournament. Rinta is the second man in program history to win the GNAC Coach of the Year award, joining 2011 co-Coach of the Year Greg Sparling.
 
GNAC runner-up Northwest Nazarene featured a pair of major award winners, in GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Yaru Harvey and GNAC Newcomer of the Year Kye Dickson. In his first season after transferring from North Carolina Central, Dickson led the GNAC in scoring with 19.3 points per game and ranked third in rebounding with 8.2 boards per game. Harvey meanwhile ranked fifth in the league with 1.7 steals per game and ninth with 3.6 assists per game to help lead the Nighthawks to a 13-5 record in conference play. Dickson joined 2019 GNAC Newcomer of the Year Adonis Arms as the second in school history, while Harvey became the first-ever Nighthawk to win the league’s top defensive award.
 
GNAC Freshman of the Year honors went to Western Washington’s Grant Kepley, who was a mainstay on a Viking team that tied for third at 11-7 in conference play. Kepley ranked fourth in the GNAC in 3-point shooting at 45.2%, fourth in assists per game with 4.1 and averaged 14.7 points per game. Kepley joined teammate Tijan Saine, who was the 2024 GNAC Freshman of the Year, as the only other Viking to claim that honor.
   

2024-25 GNAC Men's Basketball Special Awards
GNAC Player of the Year	Cavin Holden, Central Washington
GNAC Defensive Player of the Year	Yaru Harvey, Northwest Nazarene
GNAC Newcomer of the Year	Kye Dickson, Northwest Nazarene
GNAC Freshman of the Year	Grant Kepley, Western Washington
GNAC Coach of the Year	Brandon Rinta, Central Washington

 

First-Team All-Conference
Player	School	Position	Height	Year	Hometown
*Kye Dickson	Northwest Nazarene	F	6-7	Jr.	Toronto, Ont.
*Cavin Holden	Central Washington	G	6-2	So.	Apple Valley, CA
*Kael Robinson	Montana State Billings	F	6-7	Sr.	Hamilton, NZ
*Garrett Anderson	Central Washington	G	6-6	Jr.	Phoenix, AZ
Tijan Saine	Western Washington	G	5-11	So.	Everett, WA
Jaxon Nap	Seattle Pacific	G	6-7	Jr.	Newcastle, WA

 

Second-Team All-Conference
Player	School	Position	Height	Year	Hometown
Isaiah Saams-Hoy	Alaska Fairbanks	G	6-4	Jr.	San Jose, CA
@ Will Wilson	Western Washington	G	6-4	Sr.	Lorton, VA
Irish Coquia	Simon Fraser	G	6-1	So.	Vancouver, BC
Trace Evans	Seattle Pacific	F	6-9	Jr.	New South Wales, Aus.
$ Jalen Tot	Montana State Billings	G	6-0	Sr.	Dallas, TX
Myles Samuels	Saint Martin's	G	6-5	Sr.	West Palm Beach, FL

 

Honorable Mention All-Conference
Player	School	Position	Height	Year	Hometown
Tyler Burraston	Alaska Anchorage	G	6-4	Jr.	Draper, UT
Bishop Tosi	Alaska Anchorage	F	6-6	Jr.	Anchorage, AK
Paul Johnson	Alaska Fairbanks	G	6-0	Sr.	Seattle, WA
Chris Lee	Alaska Fairbanks	G	6-1	Jr.	Ketchikan, AK
Jordan Clark	Central Washington	G	6-2	So.	Renton, WA
Maverick Sanders	Central Washington	F	6-6	So.	Spokane, WA
# Ryzin Bergersen	Northwest Nazarene	G	6-4	Sr.	Boise, ID
Yaru Harvey	Northwest Nazarene	G	6-3	Sr.	Sacramento, CA
Briggs Ranstrom	Northwest Nazarene	F	6-6	So.	Eagle, ID
@^& Jaden Nielsen-Skinner	Saint Martin's	G	5-10	Sr.	Salem, OR
Marcel Stevens	Saint Martin's	G	6-2	Sr.	Beverly Hills, CA
Diego Trejo-Delgado	Saint Martin's	F	6-7	Fr.	Camargo, Mex.
Owen Moriarty	Seattle Pacific	G	6-2	Jr.	Seattle, WA
Luke Howard	Simon Fraser	F	6-9	Jr.	Abbotsford, BC
@ Jason Gallant	Western Oregon	G	6-4	Sr.	Simi Valley, CA
Grant Kepley	Western Washington	G	6-4	Fr.	Bellingham, WA
* - Unanimous Selection | $ - 2023-24 First-Team All-GNAC | # - 2023-24 Second-Team All-GNAC @ - 2023-24 Honorable Mention All-GNAC | ^ - 2022-23 First-Team All-GNAC | & - 2021-22 Honorable Mention All-GNAC

Joining Holden as a unanimous first-team all-GNAC selection from CWU was newcomer Garrett Anderson who transferred from San Jose State this season. Anderson played an integral role on the Wildcats’ run to the conference title, averaging 15.1 points per game and shooting 42.9% from 3-point range. In addition to their pair of first-team picks, the Wildcats landed sophomore guard Jordan Clark and sophomore forward Maverick Sanders on the honorable mention list.
 
Northwest Nazarene also had four players earn all-conference, including its unanimous first-teamer in Dickson. Harvey, senior guard Ryzin Bergersen and sophomore forward Briggs Ranstrom each received honorable mention recognition for the conference’s No. 2 seed in the championship tournament.
 
Seattle Pacific newcomer Jaxon Nap put his name on the first-team list, leading the GNAC with 9.7 rebounds per game and ranking sixth in the league in field-goal percentage at 56.0. SPU’s Trace Evans, who was second in the league in shooting at 63.1%, took home second-team all-conference honors, and junior guard Owen Moriarty was an honorable mention selection.
 
Saine followed up his memorable freshman campaign in 2023-24 with an even better sophomore season, ranking second in the GNAC with 17.1 points per game to earn first-team all-conference. Saine was also fifth in the conference with 4.0 assists per game and fourth in assist-turnover ratio at 2.7. Viking senior guard Will Wilson earned all-conference for the second straight season, picking up second-team recognition after being an honorable mention in 2023-24. Wilson ranked seventh in the GNAC in scoring at 15.8 points per game and was seventh in assists with 3.6 per game. In addition to his top freshman award, Kepley was voted to the honorable mention list.
 
Montana State Billings senior Kael Robinson was another unanimous first-team all-GNAC pick, after turning heads in his first season with the Yellowjackets. The New Zealand native averaged 16.9 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game to rank fourth in the conference in both categories. Jalen Tot, the 2024 GNAC Player of the Year, picked up second-team all-GNAC honors after ranking eighth in the league with 15.8 points per game and third in the league with 1.9 steals per game.
 
Helping guide the Alaska Nanooks into the GNAC Championships with a burst of five straight wins to close the regular season was second-team all-GNAC selection Isaiah Saams-Hoy. The junior guard ranked sixth in the GNAC with 16.2 points per game and was 10th in the league with 3.6 assists per game. Nanook senior guard Paul Johnson and junior guard Chris Lee were each honorable mentions.
 
Senior guard Myles Samuels of Saint Martin’s earned his first all-conference accolade, appearing on the second team. The second-year Saint averaged 11.8 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game, putting a solid finishing touch to his collegiate career. SMU also had three honorable mention players in senior guard Jaden Nielsen-Skinner, senior guard Marcel Stevens and freshman forward Diego Trejo-Delgado. Nielsen-Skinner finished his storied SMU career with 605 assists, ranking him second all-time in the GNAC.

GNAC Career Assists Leaders (as of March 5, 2025)
Rank	Player	Assists	School	Career
1	Luke Cooper	800	Alaska Anchorage	2004-08
2	Jaden Nielsen-Skinner	605	Saint Martin's	2021-25
3	Kevin Tyner	600	Western Oregon	2002-06
4	Mark White	594	Humboldt State	2000-04
5	David Downs	561	Seattle Pacific	2010-14
6	Ryan Webb	548	Seattle	2003-07
7	Jake Linton	496	Saint Martin's	2005-09
8	Michael Provenzano	482	Simon Fraser	2016-20
9	Tony Binetti	461	Seattle Pacific	2002-06
10	Riley Stockton	444	Seattle Pacific	2011-15

 
Luke Howard of Simon Fraser was one of the most prolific scorers in the league this season, ranking fifth with 16.7 points per game. The junior forward also was ninth in the conference with 6.1 rebounds per game on his way to honorable mention selection. The Red Leafs’ Irish Coquia meanwhile garnered second-team all-conference, after finishing third in the GNAC with 16.9 points per game and second in the league with 4.8 assists per game.
 
Two of the conference’s top efficiency scorers also earned honorable mention selection in Alaska Anchorage’s Tyler Burraston and Bishop Tosi. Burraston led the GNAC with 3.4 made threes per game and was ninth in the league in 3-point shooting at 40.5%. Tosi meanwhile was fifth in the conference in overall field-goal percentage at 56.3%.
 
Earning his second-straight all-conference award was Jason Gallant of Western Oregon, who landed on the honorable mention list once again. The second-year Wolf finished the season ninth in the GNAC in scoring with 15.8 points per game and was fourth in the conference with 34.8 minutes per game. Gallant’s two-year average of 35.53 minutes per game stands as the second-most in conference history.
 
The 2025 GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships kick off on Thursday afternoon at Marcus Pavilion on the campus of Saint Martin’s in Lacey, Wash. Complete tournament information can be found online here.