By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Helping deliver his team’s third Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball title in the last five seasons, Saint Martin’s sophomore guard Kaden Hansen was voted by the leag

ues coaches as the 2025-26 GNAC Player of the Year.
 
Hansen led the league with 20.0 points per game, helping the Saints go 15-3 to win their fourth GNAC regular-season championship in program history. SMU head coach Aaron Landon was voted the GNAC Coach of the Year, after leading the 21st-nationally-ranked Saints to a record of 23-5 during the regular season and the top seed into this week’s GNAC Championships tournament.
 
Alaska Anchorage had two of the other major award winners in GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Hasaan Herrington and GNAC Newcomer of the Year Sylas Williams. GNAC Freshman of the Year honors went to Western Washington’s Dennis Johnson III.
 

2025-26 GNAC Men's Basketball All-Conference Team
Player of the Year	Kaden Hansen, Saint Martin’s University
Coach of the Year	Aaron Landon, Saint Martin’s University
Defensive Player of the Year	Hasaan Herrington, Alaska Anchorage
Newcomer of the Year	Sylas Williams, University of Alaska Anchorage
Freshman of the Year	Dennis Johnson III, Western Washington University

 

First-Team All-Conference
Player	School	Position	Height	Year	Hometown (Previous School)
*Kaden Hansen	Saint Martin's	Guard	6-2	SO	Auburn, WA (Auburn)
*Easton Reagan	Northwest Nazarene	Guard	6-5	JR	Scottsdale, AZ (Desert Mountain)
*@ Jordan Clark	Central Washington	Guard	6-2	JR	Seattle, WA (Seattle Christian)
*Hasaan Herrington	Alaska Anchorage	Guard	6-3	SR	Anchorage, AK (Bettye Davis East/UT Tyler)
@ Diego Trejo-Delgado	Saint Martin's	Forward	6-7	SO	Camargo, Mexico (Balboa Prep)
Mason Landdeck	Montana State Billings	Guard	6-3	SR	Cashmere, WA (Desert Hills/Seattle Pacific)
Second-Team All-Conference
Player	School	Position	Height	Year	Hometown (Previous School)
Mike Miller	Alaska	Guard	6-4	JR	San Bernardino, CA (San Bernardino Valley Coll.)
Aidan Rice	Western Washington	Guard	6-3	SO	Beaverton, OR (Beaverton)
# Trace Evans	Seattle Pacific	Forward	6-9	GR	New South Wales, Aus. (Lambton/UM-K.C.)
Sylas Williams	Alaska Anchorage	Forward	6-7	JR	Bothell, WA (Jackson/Skagit Valley Coll.)
Jadin Penigar	Western Oregon	Guard	6-5	SR	Logan, UT (Logan/UT Tyler)
Dae’Kwon Watson	Saint Martin’s	Guard	6-2	SR	Auburn, WA (Auburn/MSU Northern)
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Player	School	Position	Height	Year	Hometown (Previous School)
Davis Crilly	Alaska	Guard	6-5	JR	Casper, WY (San Jose City Coll.)
@ Bishop Tosi	Alaska Anchorage	Forward	6-6	SR	Anchorage, AK (Bartlett/Bellevue Coll.)
Bradley Swillie	Central Washington	Guard	6-3	JR	Tacoma, WA (Bella Vista College Prep)
Brandon Tchouya	Montana State Billings	Forward	6-7	SR	London, England (Central Methodist)
Jaden Byers	Northwest Nazarene	Guard	6-2	SR	Riverside, CA (Rancho Christian/W.V. State)
Garrett Hawkes	Northwest Nazarene	Guard	6-3	SR	Ashton, ID (North Fremont/Eastern Ore.)
Theo McMillan	Seattle Pacific	Guard	6-2	JR	Camas, WA (Camas/Clark Coll.)
Mikyle Malabuyoc	Simon Fraser	Guard	5-11	JR	Vancouver, BC (Western)
Zach Stone	Simon Fraser	Forward	7-0	SR	Ottawa, Ont. (Louis Riel)
Dennis Johnson III	Western Washington	Guard	6-3	FR	Seattle, WA (Renton/Phoenix Prep)
Nehemiah Pollard	Western Washington	Guard	6-4	JR	Tacoma, WA (Mount Tahoma/South Puget Sound CC)
* - Unanimous Selection    # - 2024-25 Second-Team All-GNAC   @ - 2024-25 Honorable Mention All-GNAC

 
After missing the 2024-25 season with an injury, Hansen became one of his team’s most integral players on his second season on the floor with the Saints. The 6-foot-2 guard from Auburn, Wash., scored in double figures in all but two of SMU’s 25 games this season and reached 30 points in a game three times. One of the highlights of his campaign was a career-high 37 points in a 40-minute effort against Western Washington on Jan. 15. Hansen also averaged 2.8 assists per game, while shooting 42.2% overall and 84.3% from the free-throw line. A workhorse on the court, Hansen ranked sixth in the GNAC with an average of 32.5 minutes per game. Hansen becomes just the second player in program history to earn the conference’s top award, joining 2011 GNAC Player of the Year and Saint Martin’s hall of famer Blake Poole. He is the third player in program history to finish a season as the GNAC’s leading scorer, joining Poole (2010) and Jake Linton (2008 & 2009).
 
Earning his second GNAC Coach of the Year honor, Landon was once again at the root of his team’s championship performance during the regular season. The Saints secured the title by winning six of their final seven regular-season games including four straight leading up to this week’s conference tournament. SMU went a combined 9-1 in the regular season against this year’s GNAC Championships field of teams. Now in his seventh season leading the program, Landon has compiled an overall record of 113-74 (.604) overall and a mark of 62-45 (.579) since taking the reigns in the fall of 2019. He was responsible for SMU’s back-to-back regular-season crowns in 2021-22 and 2022-23, with SMU’s other title coming in 2018-19. The Saints moved one title away from tying Western Washington for the most among GNAC schools since the league was founded in 2001-02.
 
The Seawolves’ 20-9 overall record and tie for second place in the league standings at 12-6 in conference play had a lot to do with their all-conference special award winners Herrington and Williams. Herrington has been one of the best ball handlers in NCAA Division II basketball this season, ranking third nationally with an assist/turnover ratio of 3.29. That figure stands as the sixth-highest in GNAC single-season history, and highlighted the numerous statistical categories in which Herrington was among conference leaders. A 6-foot-3 guard from Anchorage, Alaska, the senior ranked fourth in the conference with 4.6 assists per game and sixth with 1.8 steals per game. Offensively, he contributed 11.4 points per game and shot 45.2% overall, while chipping in 3.8 rebounds per game. Herrington’s double-double of 13 points and 14 assists on Feb. 2 against Central Washington marked the highest single-game assist total by a GNAC player during the 2025-26 campaign. Herrington is the first player in UAA history to claim the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year honor.
 
In his first year on the team after transferring from Skagit Valley College, Williams was equally impactful towards the Seawolves’ success. The 6-foot-7 forward from Bothell, Wash., led the GNAC with 7.6 rebounds per game and led his team with 12.7 points per game. Williams completed nine double-doubles during the regular season, including a season-high 13 rebounds to go with 16 points on Feb. 7 against Northwest Nazarene. His season-high in scoring of 28 points on Jan. 24 against Montana State Billings was another double-double effort, as he grabbed 10 boards in that game while making a season-best six 3-pointers. Williams is the third Seawolf to earn GNAC Newcomer of the Year honors, joining 2016 winner Sekou Wiggs and 2004 winner Kemmy Burgess.
 
Putting together an outstanding statistical season for the Vikings, Johnson III made it four consecutive GNAC Freshman of the Year awards for WWU. He joined Grant Kepley (2025), Tijan Saine (2024) and BJ Kolly (2023) as the fourth player in program history to claim the league’s top award for a first-year player. A 6-foot-3 guard from Seattle, Johnson III averaged 12.9 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game and 2.7 assists per game. His standout freshman campaign was highlighted by a season-best 30 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists on Feb. 5 against Montana State Billings. That came amid a stretch of 10 consecutive games in which he reached double figures in scoring to close the 2025-26 season. Finishing the year on a high note, Johnson III recorded his first collegiate double-double in the Vikings’ final game with 19 points and 10 boards against Northwest Nazarene last Saturday.
 
The 2026 GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships kick off on Thursday evening in Bellingham, Wash. All tournament information, including ticketing, schedules and live coverage, can be found online here.