Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina redshirt junior Cord Stansberry earned third-team All-Southern Conference honors as the league announced its 2025-26 awards on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the 2026 Ingles Southern Conference Tournament set to begin on Friday in Asheville.
Stansberry was selected to the 15-member all-conference team by the league's 10 head coaches. He is the first WCU player to be selected to the conference's all-league teams since the 2023-24 season, when Vonterius Woolbright earned first-team and Malcolm U. Pitt Player Award honors.
A mainstay at the top of the scoresheet throughout the 2025-26 season, Stansberry scored 395 points with an average of 14.1 to lead the squad. He upped his scoring in conference play to 15.7, which included five of his seven 20-point performances and double-figure showings in all but one of the league games.
Stansberry scored in double figures 22 times, led by a career-high 29 points in a mountain rivalry victory over UNC Asheville. He's one of 13 players in the SoCon to eclipse the 20-point plateau seven or more times. Stansberry posted his first career double-double in a late-season 81-62 victory over VMI, where he finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists, making 6-of-10 field goals and 3-of-5 from deep.
Stansberry finished second on the team with 125 made field goals overall, including a career-best nine makes in a season-opening matchup against Big 12 counterpart Cincinnati. He was also second on the squad with 53 3-pointers, connecting on 30.1% of his made triples. He buried 80.7% (8th in the SoCon) of his free throws with a 66-of-80 (82.5%) of his shots at the charity stripe coming in conference play. Throughout the 2025-26 season, Stansberry recorded 108 rebounds, 60 assists, and 24 steals.
The Catamounts enter the weekend on a six-game win streak. Stansberry is averaging 16.5 points per game with a pair of 20-point performances and shooting 43%, while burying 12 threes and 25-of-28 at the free throw line. He's also averaging 5.8 rebounds per game and dished out 16 assists and nine steals.
Wofford and regular-season champions ETSU both placed a league-high three players on the postseason All-SoCon team, followed by Mercer and Samford with two apiece. Those four teams combined for 10 of the 15 honorees. VMI, UNCG, Furman, and Chattanooga joined WCU with one player on each of the four honorary teams to round out the postseason awards.
Samford graduate student guard Jadin Booth was dubbed both the Malcolm U. Pitt Player of the Year and the Newcomer of the Year, while ETSU's junior guard Jaylen Smith earned Sixth Man of the Year honors. ETSU's graduate forward Cam Morris III and Mercer's redshirt junior forward Armani Mighty earned Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors, as the Bucs Brooks Savage garnered Anton Foy Coach of the Year recognition.
Winners of six-straight – the longest active win streak in the league at the end of the regular season – Western Carolina (14-15, 10-8 SoCon) now turns its attention to the 2026 Ingles Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship set to begin on Friday, March 6, at the Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville. WCU begins its pursuit of a championship on Saturday, March 7, against fourth-seeded Mercer with tip-off slated for approximately 8:30 p.m.
All tournament games will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with Saturday's quarterfinal to also appear on South Carolina Education Television (SCETV). Live stats for each game will be available via a link on CatamountSports.com.
The Catamount Sports Network will provide live audio coverage throughout the tournament and is available online at CatamountSports.com and on 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC "The River" in Sylva (WRGC.com).
The Catamount Club's Catamount Central (RSVP link) will again be at The Bier Garden (46 Haywood St.) in Asheville ahead of the men's first game.
SoCon Tournament Central
Keep track of everything related to Catamount men's basketball and WCU Athletics through our social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@catamountmbb @wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@CatamountMBB @catamounts).
2025-26 Southern Conference Postseason Awards
Malcolm U. Pitt Player of the Year: Jadin Booth, Gr., G, Samford
Newcomer of the Year: Jadin Booth, Gr., G, Samford
Sixth Man of the Year: Jaylen Smith, Jr., G, ETSU
Defensive Player of the Year: Cam Morris III, Gr., F, ETSU and Armani Mighty, RJr., F, Mercer
Anton Foy Coach of the Year: Brooks Savage, ETSU
All-SoCon First Team
Baraka Okojie, Jr., G, Mercer
Justin Neely, Gr., F, UNCG
Jadin Booth, Gr., G, Samford
Dylan Faulkner, Jr., F, Samford
Kahmare Holmes, So., G, Wofford
All-SoCon Second team
Cam Morris III, Gr., F, ETSU
Brian Taylor II, Sr., G, ETSU
Alex Wilkins, Fr., G, Furman
Armani Mighty, RJr., F, Mercer
Nils Machowski, Jr., G, Wofford
All-SoCon Third team
Blake Barkley, RSo., F, ETSU
Jordan Frison, Jr., G, Chattanooga
TJ Johnson, Jr., F, VMI
Cord Stansberry, RJr., G, Western Carolina
Cayden Vasko, Jr., G, Wofford
SoCon All-Defensive team
Cam Morris III, Gr., F, ETSU
Allen Strothers, RSr., G, ETSU
Ben Vander Wal, Sr., F, Furman
Armani Mighty, RJr., F, Mercer
Dylan Faulkner, Jr., F, Samford
