While enjoying a great deal of on-court success with a relatively young team this past season, Franklin College men's basketball also proved that it could get the job done in the classroom.

The Grizzlies were among the collegiate squads honored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches on Wednesday as a recipient of the 2025-26 NABC Team Academic Excellence Award, reflecting a high level of work across the entire roster. The award recognizes squads that finished the academic year with a collective grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.

2025-26 NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards and NABC Honors Court, representing achievement in the classroom by men's college basketball teams and individual players.

"College basketball student-athletes do incredible things on the court, but their achievements in the classroom are equally worthy of celebration," NABC executive director Craig Robinson said. "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."

In addition, three Grizzlies — recently graduated seniors Connor McNabb and Will Spellman as well as junior Kaden Temple — were selected for the NABC Honors Court, which 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.

McNabb graduated with a 3.49 GPA, while Spellman wrapped up his degree in just two years with a 3.3. Both majored in finance. Temple, a business major, owns a GPA of 3.89.

Franklin men's basketball begins the 2026-27 season on Nov. 6 at Olivet.