Arkansas Wrestle (All images via obutigers.com)
ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita Baptist University Department of Athletics held its annual awards ceremony on Tuesday night at the Jones Performing Arts Center to celebrate the accomplishments of the 2025-26 season and to name its annual award winners.
The awards portion of the ceremony started the announcement of the 2025-26 All-Ouachita athletic and academic teams, which include the top athlete and the top scholar athlete from each team as selected by the head coaches.
Ouachita women’s basketball repeated as the winner of the Sharp Cup, presented annually since 2023 by the Ouachita Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to the team that won the year-long competition with points awarded based on campus activities involvement, community service, and attendance at other athletic events. The award is named for Ouachita Director of Athletics David Sharp, who has served the university since 1975 as a student-athlete, coach, instructor, and administrator.
The ceremony ended with the naming of the outstanding male and female athletes and scholar athletes of the year for the 2025-26 seasons.
Volleyball senior Courtney Hanson repeated as Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year. Men’s basketball graduate student Devon Hancock was picked for Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year. Cross country senior Elise Knight was selected as the Outstanding Female Scholar Athlete of the Year. Swimming & diving senior Tyler Andruss earned the title of Outstanding Male Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Hanson led Ouachita volleyball to one of its most successful seasons ever, including winning the 2025 GAC regular season championship. She was named the GAC Setter of the Year and was picked for the All-GAC First Team and the GAC Championship All-Tournament Team. The Arlington, Texas native was GAC Setter of the Week five times this past season and was named to three different all-tournament teams during the regular season. She led the GAC in assists, was fifth in the league in service aces, and was 10th in digs. In her final match, she totaled a career-high 60 assists.
Hancock was a key factor in the Tiger men’s basketball team recording a NCAA-era school record 23 wins in the 2025-26 season. He was named the GAC Newcomer of the Year and was a unanimous selection to the All-GAC First Team. He was selected to the GAC Championship All-Tournament Team and was later picked for the NABC All-District Second Team. Hancock led the Tigers in scoring this year with a total of 519 points for an average of 17.3 points per game. The Dallas, Texas native ranked in the top 10 in the GAC in 11 different statistical categories.
Knight carries a 4.0 cumulative GPA and will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in biophysics and chemistry. She has two first-author publications, including an honor’s program thesis. Throughout her career, she has earned academic and athletic honors in both cross country and track & field at the university, conference, regional, and national levels. The Jonesboro, Arkansas native is provisionally qualified for nationals in steeplechase and was a second-team All-GAC selection this past fall in cross country. She has earned the GAC Elite Scholar Athlete Award six times – three for track and three for cross country.
Andruss carries a 4.0 cumulative GPA and will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in finance and business administration. He has served as a member of the student advisory board for Ouachita’s Hickingbotham School of Business. He is a four-time NSISC All-Scholar Team honoree and was named an Academic All-American as a junior in 2025. This season, he made the All-NSISC First Team as a member of the conference champion 800 freestyle relay team. The Fort Worth, Texas native finished the season with 132 individual points, 18 top three finishes, and eight event wins. He is a three-time all-conference swimmer for his career and holds two school records in the 1,000 freestyle and the 1,650 freestyle.
2025-26 ALL-OUACHITA ACADEMIC TEAM
2025-26 ALL-OUACHITA ATHLETIC TEAM
