2025-26 Honors Page

2025-26 Honors Page

The Oklahoma Panhandle State University Aggies picked up numerous honors and surpassed historic milestones in the 2025-26 year. Aggies' teams, too, experienced some incredible successes. Men's soccer, women's soccer and women's volleyball each made it to the SAC Tournament, the first time in OPSU history that all three teams made it in the same year. The men's soccer team broke program records for most consecutive home shutouts and fewest goals allowed per game in a season. Panhandle State women's soccer set the program's single-season wins record and became the first team to earn a point against a ranked opponent, among a host of other single-season records it set. Volleyball tied its longest winning streak since 2021 with a five-match heater early in the SAC season on its way to becoming the first OPSU volleyball team to reach the SAC Semifinals, and it saw the program's first ever NAIA National Athlete of the Week winner. The 2025 Aggie football team became the first since 1990 to win its season-opener on the road, as it upset Peru State College. Women's basketball saw a five-win year-over-year improvement and tied for its most wins since the 2018-19 season. The baseball team defeated a ranked opponent and, separately, won six straight contests for their longest winning streak since 2019. OPSU men's and women's rodeo teams combined for five top-three finishes, including a trio of runner-ups and a team title, plus four occurrences of claiming an individual all-around champion. Furthermore, shooting sports improved in major ways since the fall of 2025, and the equestrian team recorded a program-first after a strong year, sending the same athlete to the West Region Semifinals and IHSA Nationals for back-to-back years. 

Individual honors collected include one NAIA All-American, one NAIA National Athlete of the Week, one CSC Academic All-American, two national championship qualifiers, two SAC Players of the Year, one SAC Champion, 39 All-SAC performers, 24 SAC Athlete of the Week honors, 28 CSC Academic All-District selections and 43 NAIA Scholar-Athletes, while program records fell at rapid pace in both cross country and track & field. Additionally, head rodeo coach Shelbie Rose earned the NIRA's highest coaching honor of National Coach of the Year and was awarded the Central Plains Region Coach of the Year for a sixth consecutive time. Several milestones and program-firsts were also achieved across the board.
 

 
NAIA PROGRAMS

Baseball SEASON COMPLETE: HAD PROGRAM'S LONGEST WINNING STREAK (SIX GAMES) SINCE 2019, DEFEATED NO. 18 MID-AMERICA CHRISTIAN FOR PROGRAM'S FIRST WIN VERSUS A RANKED OPPONENT SINCE 2021, FINISHED SEASON 12-32. 

Men's Basketball SEASON COMPLETE: SET PROGRAM RECORD FOR MOST CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH FEWER THAN 10 TURNOVERS, RECORDED MOST SINGLE-GAME REBOUNDS (65) AND HIGHEST SINGLE-GAME REBOUNDING MARGIN (PLUS-32) SINCE AT LEAST 2017 ON JAN. 17, FINISHED SEASON 6-21.

Women's Basketball SEASON COMPLETE: POSTED A FIVE-WIN YEAR-OVER-YEAR IMPROVEMENT, TIED FOR MOST SINGLE-SEASON WINS SINCE 2018-19, WON CONSECUTIVE SAC GAMES FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2020-21, MADE MOST SINGLE-GAME FREE THROWS (22) SINCE 2019, WON  ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR HIGHEST TEAM GPA IN OPSU ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT, FINISHED SEASON 6-22. 


Men's Cross Country SEASON COMPLETE: TOOK EIGHTH AT SAC CHAMPIONSHIPS, NAMED USTFCCCA NAIA ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM FOR THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR.

Women's Cross Country SEASON COMPLETE: TOOK FIFTH AT SAC CHAMPIONSHIPS, PLACED TWO ALL-CONFERENCE RUNNERS.

Football SEASON COMPLETE: PICKED UP FIRST ROAD WIN IN SEASON-OPENER SINCE 1990, RUSHED FOR MOST SINGLE-GAME YARDS SINCE 2015 IN A 35-14 WIN OVER ARKANSAS BAPTIST, FINISHED SEASON 3-7.

Men's Golf SEASON COMPLETE: RECORDED TWO TOP-FIVE TEAM FINISHES, PLACED SIXTH AT SAC CHAMPIONSHIPS. 

Men's Soccer SEASON COMPLETE: TIED BEST SIX-GAME START IN PROGRAM HISTORY AT 4-1-1, BROKE PROGRAM RECORD FOR MOST CONSECUTIVE HOME SHUTOUTS (FOUR), ALLOWED FEWEST GOALS PER GAME IN PROGRAM HISTORY (1.35), MADE THE SAC TOURNAMENT, FINISHED WITH A 6-6-5 RECORD.

Women's Soccer SEASON COMPLETE: BROKE PROGRAM'S SINGLE-SEASON WINS RECORD, PICKED UP FIRST POINT VERSUS RANKED OPPONENT IN PROGRAM HISTORY, SET SINGLE-SEASON PROGRAM RECORDS IN GOALS PER GAME (1.62) AND FEWEST GOALS AGAINST PER GAME (2.20), EARNED SIXTH SEED IN SAC TOURNAMENT, FINISHED WITH A 6-7-2 RECORD.

Softball SEASON COMPLETE: FINISHED WITH A 10-40 RECORD. 

Men's Track & Field SEASON COMPLETE: ACCOUNTED FOR NINE OUTDOOR ALL-SAC AWARDS, PLACED SEVENTH OUT OF 11 TEAMS AT THE SAC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS.

Women's Track & Field SEASON COMPLETE: ACCOUNTED FOR 12 OUTDOOR ALL-SAC AWARDS AND ONE INDIVIDUAL SAC CHAMPION, PLACED SIXTH OUT OF 12 AT THE SAC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS. 


Volleyball SEASON COMPLETE: TIED LONGEST WINNING STREAK (FIVE GAMES) SINCE 2021, SET SINGLE-SEASON NAIA PROGRAM RECORD (SINCE 2017) IN KILLS AND ASSISTS, EARNED FIFTH SEED IN SAC TOURNAMENT, BECAME FIRST TEAM IN PROGRAM HISTORY TO ADVANCE TO SAC SEMIFINALS, FINISHED WITH 16-15 RECORD.


NON-NAIA PROGRAMS

Cheer SEASON COMPLETE

Equestrian SEASON COMPLETE: SAW 10 DIFFERENT ATHLETES EARN TOP-THREE PLACEMENTS IN AT LEAST ONE SHOW, QUALIFIED TWO ATHLETES TO REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, QUALIFIED ONE ATHLETE TO IHSA NATIONALS.

Men's Rodeo SEASON COMPLETE: CLAIMED FOUR SEPARATE TOP-FIVE TEAM FINISHES, PLACED RUNNER-UP IN TWO RODEOS, CLAIMED THE INDIVIDUAL ALL-AROUND CHAMPION TWICE, FINISHED SIXTH IN CENTRAL PLAINS REGION TEAM STANDINGS. 

Women's Rodeo SEASON COMPLETE: CLAIMED FOUR SEPARATE TOP-FIVE TEAM FINISHES, WON THE FORT HAYS STATE UNIVERSITY RODEO, CLAIMED THE INDIVIDUAL ALL-AROUND CHAMPION TWICE, QUALIFIED ONE ATHLETE TO THE CNFR, FINISHED SIXTH IN CENTRAL PLAINS REGION TEAM STANDINGS. 

Shooting Sports SEASON COMPLETE: PLACED 27TH AT DIVISION 3 ACUI NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.