Tennessee State senior guard Aaron Nkrumah was named 2025-26 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year while his coach, Nolan Smith, was named OVC Co-Coach of the Year, sharing the award with Morehead State’s Jonathan Mattox. SIUE senior center Arnas Sakenis earned OVC Defensive Player of the Year while UT Martin’s Matas Deniusas was tabbed OVC Freshman of the Year in voting by league head coaches and communications directors.
Nkrumah got it done on both ends of the court, leading the OVC in steals and ranking second in scoring in helping Tennessee State to its first OVC regular season championship since 1994-95. The senior had 87 steals (2.9/game) which ranks second among all Division I players (six behind the leader). He averaged 17.67 points/game which helped the Tigers averaged an OVC-best 80.53 points/game as a team. The guard scored in double figures in 28 of 31 games, including a season-high 30 points against co-champion Morehead State in January. In a December victory over UNC Asheville he set a TSU single-game record with nine steals, a mark that was the second-most in a game nationally this season. Nkrumah is just the second TSU player to earn the award, joining Carlos Rogers who won back-to-back OVC Player of the Year awards in 1992-93 and 1993-04.
Smith, a former star player at Duke, got his first head coaching job after assistant stints at his alma mater, Louisville and Memphis, took over the program in July and despite the late start led the Big Blue to its first OVC Championship since 1994-95. The Tigers won nine of its last 11 OVC contests to finish at 15-5 overall, its most ever OVC wins in a season. Overall TSU has 21 victories entering the postseason, which established a new program record at the Division I level. Nationally the team ranked 10th nationally in steals (9.5/game) and 17th in forced turnovers per game (14.83) while leading the OVC in scoring (80.53 points/game). The Tigers won a non-conference game at UNLV and enter the postseason with the top NET ranking among OVC teams. Smith is the second Tennessee State coach to earn the honor, joining Frankie Allen who won the award in 1992-93 and 1994-95.
Mattox, in his second year as Morehead State’s coach, helped the Eagles improve from a fifth-place OVC finish (and 10-10 Conference mark) to a 15-5 OVC mark and a share of the OVC regular season championship. It marked the third title for Morehead State in the past four years. The Eagles led the OVC in field goal percentage (46.7%) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.16). After a loss on February 5 that left the team in the middle of the OVC standings, MSU rolled off seven victories in a role to earn a share of the OVC crown. Mattox is the first Morehead State coach to earn the award since Preston Spradlin in 2022-23.
Sakenis becomes the first SIUE player to earn the Defensive Player of the Year award since the honor began in 2008-09. He swatted 72 shots this season, a mark that ranks 10th nationally. The senior had a season-high five blocks twice and four blocks seven different times. He has a season-high 16 rebounds against Southeast Missouri in February, the highest rebound total by a player in an OVC game this season. His play was essential in helping the Cougars rank second in the OVC in scoring defense (64.3 points/game allowed), field goal defense (39.1%) and 3-point defense (29.8%). That field goal defense ranks ninth nationally entering the week.
Deniusas was named OVC Freshman of the Week 11 times during the year (out of 17 weeks), one off the OVC record. He played a key part in helping UT Martin register 21 overall victories, one off equaling the program record at the Division I level. The team was stout on defense, ranking in the top five nationally in scoring defense, field goal defense and 3-point defense; the team is on pace to lead the OVC in scoring defense for just the second time since entering the League in 1992. Deniusas led UTM in scoring 13 times this season, finishing the year averaging 12.5 points/game. He had a career-high 25 points against Charleston Southern and on January 17 against Lindenwood he tallied 14 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, three assists and three steals, only the 11th time since the 2004-05 season that a freshman had reached that stat line against a fellow Division I opponent. He is the fourth UT Martin player to be named OVC Freshman of the Year and first since Myles Taylor in 2011-12.
ALL-OVC TEAMS
This year’s first and second-team All-OVC squads included 16 players from eight different OVC schools. Lindenwood, Southeast Missouri and Tennessee State had three selections apiece while Morehead State and UT Martin had two honorees. The first and second teams included one graduate student, seven seniors, five juniors and one freshman.
Nkrumah, the OVC Player of the Year, was the top vote getter and highlighted the eight-person All-OVC team. He was joined on the first-team by teammate Travis Harper II (17.4 ppg, 72 made 3-pointers). Lindenwood had two selections in senior guard Anias Futrell (17.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.0 spg) and sophomore Jadis Jones (15.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 58.8 FG%). The team also included Morehead State senior George Marshall (13.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.9 apg), Little Rock senior Johnathan Lawson (16.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.0 apg), UT Martin junior Andrija Bukumirovic (13.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg) and Southeast Missouri junior Luke Almodovar (14.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg).
The All-OVC second-team included UTM’s Deniusas, the OVC Freshman of the Year. He was joined by a pair of players from Southeast Missouri in senior Brendan Terry (11.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg) and junior BJ Ward (11.5 ppg, 3.7 apg). The second-team also included Lindenwood sophomore Dontrez Williams (15.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.6 spg), Morehead State junior Jon Carroll (11.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg), Eastern Illinois senior Zion Fruster (14.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg), Tennessee State graduate Dante Harris (11.7 ppg, 4.6 apg, 3.5 rpg) and SIUE junior Tyler King (9.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg).
Each of the five All-Newcomer Team selections were also All-OVC picks and included Almodovar, Deniusas, Williams, Carroll and Harris.
2025-26 All-OVC Men’s Basketball Teams and Award Winners
OVC Player of the Year: Aaron Nkrumah, Tennessee State
OVC Defensive Player of the Year: Arnas Sakenis, SIUE
OVC Freshman of the Year: Matas Deniusas, UT Martin
OVC Co-Coaches of the Year: Jonathan Mattox, Morehead State & Nolan Smith, Tennessee State
ALL-OVC FIRST TEAM
Aaron Nkrumah, Tennessee State
Anias Futrell, Lindenwood
Travis Harper II, Tennessee State
George Marshall, Morehead State
Johnathan Lawson, Little Rock
Andrija Bukumirovic, UT Martin
Jadis Jones, Lindenwood
Luke Almodovar, Southeast Missouri
ALL-OVC SECOND TEAM
Dontrez Williams, Lindenwood
Matas Deniusas, UT Martin
Brendan Terry, Southeast Missouri
Jon Carroll, Morehead State
BJ Ward, Southeast Missouri
Zion Fruster, Eastern Illinois
Dante Harris, Tennessee State
Tyler King, SIUE
ALL-NEWCOMER TEA
Luke Almodovar, Southeast Missouri
Matas Deniusas, UT Martin
Dontrez Williams, Lindenwood
Jon Carroll, Morehead State
Dante Harris, Tennessee State
