Davis earns academic All-America honors after all-around season at Itawamba

DJ Davis turned a strong junior-college season into national recognition on July 8, when Itawamba Community College placed him on the 2025-26 Academic All-America first team. The nod matched the production: Davis was first-team All-Region 23 and first-team All-MACCC after giving ICC 11.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

His numbers made the honor read like a complete season rather than a classroom-only award. Davis finished with 351 points, 170 rebounds, 84 assists and 42 steals, and he hit a career high with 34 points in ICC’s 80-69 road win over Pearl River on Jan. 31. That kind of line shows why he stood out in the NJCAA game: he scored, rebounded and created, instead of living in one role.

The national recognition also followed a broader path that started in the district round. ICC had named Davis one of nine student-athletes on its June 17 Academic All-District College Division At-Large list, and those honorees were eligible for Academic All-America advancement. By July 8, he had moved from district recognition to first-team national status, a quick climb that reflected how well his season traveled across the classroom and the floor.

That matters in the College Division, where College Sports Communicators limits eligibility to two-year institutions, Canadian schools and others outside the NCAA and NAIA. The program has honored student-athletes since 1952, and the 2025-26 men’s at-large teams were announced July 8 after the nomination window ran May 26 through June 2. Davis’s selection landed in that structure as a clean example of the scholar-athlete standard junior-college coaches say they want but rarely get in one player.

Itawamba’s release framed Davis as part of a stronger institutional picture, not a solo note. Madden Butler was named the College Division Team Member of the Year, while Ramsey Montgomery joined Davis on the Academic All-America honors list. Montgomery and Butler both carried 4.0 GPAs, and Butler paired his classroom work with a .441 batting average, 60 RBIs, 12 home runs and seven stolen bases.

For ICC men’s basketball, Davis’s honor sat beside a winning season. The Indians captured the MACCC championship and finished runner-up in the Region 23 Tournament, then sent Davis to Jackson State University as part of a five-player move to the next level on June 22. In a program that can point to titles, transfers and academic awards in the same breath, Davis became the clearest example of how Itawamba is building players for both the scoreboard and what comes after it.