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CLEVELAND – High Point University finished a historic year in the top 25% of all NCAA Division I schools in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup.
The Panthers placed No. 88 out of 365 DI schools with a total of 236.50 points – leading the Big South Conference and ranking fourth among DI-AAA institutions (non-football divisions/101 schools).
This is the second-highest finish for High Point after claiming a school-record 16 conference championships and nine NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Panthers were fourth in the DI-AAA standings behind only Denver (Summitt/No. 66), Pepperdine (WCC/No. 68) and St. John's (Big East/No. 76). High Point was fifth in the state behind North Carolina (No. 4), Duke (No. 11), NC State (No. 22) and Wake Forest (No. 54).
The Panthers' highest finish was in 2020-21, when they reach No. 77 (237.00 points).
KELLY NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
HIGH POINT – High Point University baseball player Frank Kelly selected College Sports Communicators Second Team All-America. He is the first Big South player since 2024 to be named an Academic All-American in baseball.
Kelly, from Lexington, South Carolina, started in 54 of the 57 games he played in. As a Big South First Team All-Conference player, he ranked in the Top five of 10 major statistical categories in the Panthers lineup, including on-base percentage (.449 – first), doubles (15– second), runs (45 – third), stolen bases (13 – third), walks (33 – third) and batting average (.319 – five). He also had three home runs. At second base he recorded a .963 fielding percentage and was named to the D1 Baseball's Week 12 No. 41 Second Basemen on May 5. In the classroom he boasted a 3.99 GPA in business administration.
HPU ATHLETES NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
HIGH POINT – Nineteen athletes from the men's and women's track/cross country teams, men's lacrosse team and women's rowing team have been named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Teams.
For men's track, Reid Holloway, Shaun Thomas and Cole Wilson were selected. For women's track, Ashlyn Giles, Lily Houston, Emily Romano, Brianna Malone, Zamesha Myle and Mya Hines were named.
Weston Benson, Ryan Hynes, Robby Lang, Matt Lutzel, Scott Moore and Cole Motter were selected from men's lacrosse. Madelyn Cummings, Caitlin Enright, Audrey Houle and Riley Verner were named from rowing.
MONTES DE OCA PICKED BIG SOUTH MEN'S FIELD AOTY
CHARLOTTE – High Point University pole vaulter Ricardo Montes de Oca has been named the Big South Conference Men's Field Athlete of the Year.
The awards are voted on by the Big South track & field head coaches as part of their annual June meeting and encompass both the indoor track & field and outdoor track and field seasons.
Montes de Oca, a sophomore, earned All-America status in both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships. He clinched First-Team All-America honors in the indoor season with a seventh-place finish (5.60m), while his vault of 5.68m at the Doc Hale Invitational on Feb. 6 established the overall Big South record.
He won the Big South indoor title with a Championship Meet record of 5.37m. Montes de Oca earned Second-Team All-America with a 10th-place finish (5.50m) at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He recorded seven consecutive pole vault victories during the outdoor season – including the Big South title (5.50m). He later improved upon that mark with a conference record of 5.70m.
Montes de Oca also participated for the first time in the long jump at the Big South Championships, taking third (7.43m).
This is the third straight season that High Point has had a men's field athlete of the year and the fourth time overall. In the last eight seasons (not including 2020 pandemic season), HPU has had a male or female athlete recognized as an athlete of the year.
AQUINO SIGNS WITH SPANISH PRO TEAM
ANDORRA LA VELLA, Andorra. – Former High Point University men's basketball standout Owen Aquino has signed with the Morabanc Andorra professional basketball team in Spain. He will join the league for the 2026-27 season as a small forward.
Aquino helped guide the Panthers to their second straight Big South regular-season and tournament titles and their first-ever NCAA Tournament win with an upset over fifth-seeded Wisconsin. Aquino, a post player, averaged 9.3 points per game while shooting 54% from the field and 5.8 rebounds per game. He led the team in blocks with 60. He was named to the Second Team All-Conference.
The team plays in the Liga ACB and the Champions League with home games played at the Poliesportiu d'Andorra.
HPU'S ESPOSITO EARNS REGIONAL COACH HONORS
NEW ORLEANS – High Point University track and field coach Mike Esposito has been named the Men's Southeast Regional Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
During Esposito's final season as the Panthers' head coach, he helped guide them to their sixth straight Big South Championship team title after winning five events and scoring 263.5 points. Following the Big South Championships, the staff was named the Coaching Staff of the Year. The Panthers had 11 qualifiers go to the NCAA DI East First Rounds, and after qualifying three athletes to the NCAA DI Championships, two athletes earned All-American honors.
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The Panthers placed No. 88 out of 365 DI schools with a total of 236.50 points – leading the Big South Conference and ranking fourth among DI-AAA institutions (non-football divisions/101 schools).
This is the second-highest finish for High Point after claiming a school-record 16 conference championships and nine NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Panthers were fourth in the DI-AAA standings behind only Denver (Summitt/No. 66), Pepperdine (WCC/No. 68) and St. John's (Big East/No. 76). High Point was fifth in the state behind North Carolina (No. 4), Duke (No. 11), NC State (No. 22) and Wake Forest (No. 54).
The Panthers' highest finish was in 2020-21, when they reach No. 77 (237.00 points).
KELLY NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
HIGH POINT – High Point University baseball player Frank Kelly selected College Sports Communicators Second Team All-America. He is the first Big South player since 2024 to be named an Academic All-American in baseball.
Kelly, from Lexington, South Carolina, started in 54 of the 57 games he played in. As a Big South First Team All-Conference player, he ranked in the Top five of 10 major statistical categories in the Panthers lineup, including on-base percentage (.449 – first), doubles (15– second), runs (45 – third), stolen bases (13 – third), walks (33 – third) and batting average (.319 – five). He also had three home runs. At second base he recorded a .963 fielding percentage and was named to the D1 Baseball's Week 12 No. 41 Second Basemen on May 5. In the classroom he boasted a 3.99 GPA in business administration.
HPU ATHLETES NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
HIGH POINT – Nineteen athletes from the men's and women's track/cross country teams, men's lacrosse team and women's rowing team have been named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Teams.
For men's track, Reid Holloway, Shaun Thomas and Cole Wilson were selected. For women's track, Ashlyn Giles, Lily Houston, Emily Romano, Brianna Malone, Zamesha Myle and Mya Hines were named.
Weston Benson, Ryan Hynes, Robby Lang, Matt Lutzel, Scott Moore and Cole Motter were selected from men's lacrosse. Madelyn Cummings, Caitlin Enright, Audrey Houle and Riley Verner were named from rowing.
MONTES DE OCA PICKED BIG SOUTH MEN'S FIELD AOTY
CHARLOTTE – High Point University pole vaulter Ricardo Montes de Oca has been named the Big South Conference Men's Field Athlete of the Year.
The awards are voted on by the Big South track & field head coaches as part of their annual June meeting and encompass both the indoor track & field and outdoor track and field seasons.
Montes de Oca, a sophomore, earned All-America status in both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships. He clinched First-Team All-America honors in the indoor season with a seventh-place finish (5.60m), while his vault of 5.68m at the Doc Hale Invitational on Feb. 6 established the overall Big South record.
He won the Big South indoor title with a Championship Meet record of 5.37m. Montes de Oca earned Second-Team All-America with a 10th-place finish (5.50m) at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He recorded seven consecutive pole vault victories during the outdoor season – including the Big South title (5.50m). He later improved upon that mark with a conference record of 5.70m.
Montes de Oca also participated for the first time in the long jump at the Big South Championships, taking third (7.43m).
This is the third straight season that High Point has had a men's field athlete of the year and the fourth time overall. In the last eight seasons (not including 2020 pandemic season), HPU has had a male or female athlete recognized as an athlete of the year.
AQUINO SIGNS WITH SPANISH PRO TEAM
ANDORRA LA VELLA, Andorra. – Former High Point University men's basketball standout Owen Aquino has signed with the Morabanc Andorra professional basketball team in Spain. He will join the league for the 2026-27 season as a small forward.
Aquino helped guide the Panthers to their second straight Big South regular-season and tournament titles and their first-ever NCAA Tournament win with an upset over fifth-seeded Wisconsin. Aquino, a post player, averaged 9.3 points per game while shooting 54% from the field and 5.8 rebounds per game. He led the team in blocks with 60. He was named to the Second Team All-Conference.
The team plays in the Liga ACB and the Champions League with home games played at the Poliesportiu d'Andorra.
HPU'S ESPOSITO EARNS REGIONAL COACH HONORS
NEW ORLEANS – High Point University track and field coach Mike Esposito has been named the Men's Southeast Regional Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
During Esposito's final season as the Panthers' head coach, he helped guide them to their sixth straight Big South Championship team title after winning five events and scoring 263.5 points. Following the Big South Championships, the staff was named the Coaching Staff of the Year. The Panthers had 11 qualifiers go to the NCAA DI East First Rounds, and after qualifying three athletes to the NCAA DI Championships, two athletes earned All-American honors.
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