Howard leads NJCAA Division I men's basketball All-America team

Howard’s championship season ended with the kind of hardware that usually travels together. Terry Copeland, who powered the Hawks to the national title, headlined the NJCAA Division I men’s basketball All-America team as one of six first-team selections posted by the NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee on April 8, 2026.

Copeland was joined on the first team by Ace Reiser of Southern Idaho, Tristan Hankins of Butler, Da'Mori Lytch of Walters State, Trent Lincoln of Gulf Coast State and Taj Au-Duke of Indian Hills. The list doubled as a season-end snapshot of where the best junior college talent sat heading into the offseason, with elite players spread across Texas, Idaho, Kansas, Tennessee, Florida and Iowa.

Howard’s case was the clearest. The Hawks finished 33-4, beat College of Southern Idaho 82-67 in Hutchinson, Kansas, and won their second NJCAA Division I national championship, first since 2010. Copeland produced 23 points and 16 rebounds in the title game and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Two days later, he was named NJCAA Division I Player of the Year, while Howard head coach Kyle Cooper earned Coach of the Year honors on April 9.

Southern Idaho also left Hutchinson with more recognition for one of its key pieces. Reiser, who later transferred to Utah State, was listed by his new program as a first-team NJCAA All-American after one season at College of Southern Idaho, where he averaged 14.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.4 steals per game. That profile helps explain why the first team has become such a reliable measuring stick for four-year programs looking for immediate contributors.

Indian Hills also used the announcement as a marker of program depth. The Warriors said Au-Duke helped them to a 30-3 record, a No. 2 finish in the final national rankings and the program’s 21st trip to the national tournament. He became the 18th player in school history to land first-team All-America honors, and Indian Hills said the program has now produced a first-team All-American in six straight seasons.

For Butler, Walters State and Gulf Coast State, the honor underscored the same point: the junior college level remains a direct route to high-end players, not a detour. With Copeland, Reiser and Au-Duke all tied to postseason runs and next-step opportunities, the All-America team read less like a ceremonial list and more like a map of the sport’s most productive talent pipelines.