Fugate and Fairley Named NAIA All-Americans
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - (NAIA Release) The NAIA announced the 2026 men's basketball All-American teams, national player of the year, and national coach of the year awards this morning. Twelve student-athletes are represented as first- or second-team All-Americans, while 17 are represented on the third team. Jaxson Fugate from Indiana Tech and Derek Fairley from Lourdes each earned a place on the teams. Fugate was selected as a second team honoree while Fairley earned a place on the third team.
Fugate had a breakout season in 2025-26. The sophomore was named WHAC Player of the Year and was also named to the WHAC All-Defensive Team.
Fugate averaged 20.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.1 steals, 1.7 blocks, and 1.0 steals in 30 games. He helped Indiana Tech finish 2nd in the WHAC in the regular season and earn a 13 seed in the NAIA Tournament.
Fairley led the team in scoring (23.1 PPG) and assists (106). He was second on the team in steals (48) and free throw percentage (.823). He was also third on the team in rebounding (4.3 RPG) and blocks (11).
Fairley ended his sophomore season just 57 points away from 1,000 in his career.
| First Team | ||
| Bradley Bunch | Pikeville (Ky.) | Big Stone Gap, Va. |
| Jesse Van Kalsbeek | Northwestern (Iowa) | Sheldon, Iowa |
| Tamaje Izuagbe | Oklahoma Wesleyan | Burleson, Texas |
| Cole Bowen | Graceland (Iowa) | Colorado Springs, Colo. |
| Jalen Langsy | Northwestern (Iowa) | Shakopee, Minn. |
| Caedmon Bontrager | Indiana Wesleyan | Fort Wayne, Ind. |
| Ian Raasch | Grace (Ind.) | Nappanee, Ind. |
| Micah Clark | Nelson (Texas) | Dallas, Texas |
| Hayden Brittingham | LSU Shreveport (La.) | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Omari Nesbit | Rocky Mountain (Mont.) | Sacramento, Calif. |
| Nick Hopkins | Hope International (Calif.) | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Ese Onakpoma | Arizona Christian | Nuagatuck, Conn. |
| Second Team | ||
| Camerin James | Keiser (Fla.) | Apopka, Fla. |
| Devontre Chaney | Georgia Gwinnett | Lake Wales, Fla. |
| EJ McQuillan | LSU Alexandria (La.) | Port Allen, La. |
| Foday Sheriff | William Penn (Iowa) | Upper Darby, Pa. |
| Isaiah Crane | Carroll (Mont.) | Portland, Ore. |
| Jackson Cooper | Oregon Tech | Portland, Ore. |
| Jaxson Fugate | Indiana Tech | Fort Wayne, Ind. |
| Kameron Johnson | Loyola (La.) | New Orleans, La. |
| Kenyata Carbon | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | Owensboro, Ky. |
| Kyle Duke | Cumberlands (Ky.) | Toronto, Ontario |
| Michael Klekas | Ave Maria (Fla.) | Elko, Nev. |
| Orlando Thomas | Langston (Okla.) | Chicago, Ill. |
| Third Team | ||
| Avery Jackson | The Master's (Calif.) | Dallas, Texas |
| Derek Fairley | Lourdes (Ohio) | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Hayden Diekhans | Montana Tech | Geraldine, Mont. |
| Delon McCloud | Rio Grande (Ohio) | Grand Rapids, MI |
| Isaiah Howard | Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) | Seattle, Wash. |
| Jonas Carlisle | Oklahoma City | San Antonio, Texas |
| Kaden Johnson | Huntington (Ind.) | Hartford, Mich. |
| Eli Edwards | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | Kokomo, Ind. |
| Khi Wallace | LSU Shreveport (La.) | Nashville, Tenn. |
| Makeem Roberts | William Carey (Miss.) | Meridian, Miss. |
| Mason Lockhart | Johnson (Tenn.) | Atlanta, Ga. |
| Phil Horton | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | Memphis, Tenn. |
| Qualen Pettus | Dalton State (Ga.) | Fort Wayne, Ind. |
| Deion Wesson | Williams Baptist (Ark.) | Jonesboro, Ark. |
| Raymond Reece | Philander Smith (Ark.) | Oakland, Calif. |
| Rico Sain | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | Jackson, Tenn. |
| Timothy Parker | Simpson (Calif.) | Riverside, Calif. |