INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA announced its 2026 NCAA Honors award winners on Wednesday afternoon, with a pair of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference graduates earning recognition. Millersville University's Dr. Lauren Witmer is a Silver Anniversary honoree, while Slippery Rock University's Brayden Long has earned the newly re-imagined Impact Award (formerly Today's Top 10.) The NCAA Honors process recognizes extraordinary current and former student-athletes, coaches, and administrators whose achievements exemplify the spirit and values of collegiate athletics. 

The Silver Anniversary Award recognizes individuals on the 25th anniversary of the conclusion of their college athletics careers. Nominated by administrators at their undergraduate schools and selected by a panel of former student-athletes and representatives from NCAA member schools and conferences, this award celebrates the achievements and contributions of former student-athletes who have excelled in their professional lives and continue to exemplify the values of collegiate athletics. 

Dr. Lauren Witmer followed an impressive college tennis career at Millersville with a remarkable career in medicine. As a student-athlete at MU, Witmer was a two-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Athlete of the Year and four-time conference singles and doubles champion. She led her team to four PSAC titles and four NCAA championships appearances, setting a school record with 107 doubles wins. After earning her medical degree, she became a board-certified urogynecologist and now serves as division chief and managing physician at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, where she was named a 2024 Physician of the Year. Her commitment to global health is evident in her medical mission work in Guatemala, and her legacy in tennis continues through her induction into the Lancaster County Tennis Hall of Fame and recognition by the U.S. Tennis Association.

The NCAA Impact Award celebrates the very best of college athletics by honoring one exceptional male and one exceptional female senior student-athlete from each division. These distinguished honorees, selected from the prior academic year, exemplify the highest standards of athletic excellence, academic achievement, and service to their campuses and communities. Chosen by the NCAA Awards Committee — composed of leaders from NCAA member schools and conferences, as well as nationally renowned figures including past award recipients — the NCAA Impact Award represents the pinnacle of student-athlete recognition.

Brayden Long was a two-time national finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy and the 2025 College Sports Communicator Division II Academic All-American of the Year. Long also led the football team as a two-time captain, setting school records in career completions and completion percentage. He became the only football player in PSAC history to win both the Champion Scholar and Athlete of the Year awards. Off the field, he maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA and served his community through youth sports, the Special Olympics and campus ministry.

A complete list of 2026 NCAA Honors recipients is below. All honorees will be celebrated at the upcoming NCAA Convention in January of 2026 in the Washington, D.C., area.
 

Theodore Roosevelt Award	Dikembe Mutombo, Georgetown (posthumous)
Gerald R. Ford Award	Charlene Curtis, Radford (posthumous)
Pat Summitt Award	Nikki Franke, Temple
Award of Valor	Alex Guerra, Radford
Inspiration Award	Francesca Loiseau, Marymount
Silver Anniversary	Nick Ackerman, Simpson
Silver Anniversary	Drew Brees, Purdue
Silver Anniversary	Tamika Catchings, Tennessee
Silver Anniversary	Dr. Lauren Witmer, Millersville
Impact Award	Mia Levy, Yale
Impact Award	Micaylon Moore, Nebraska
Impact Award	Aino Martikainen, Franklin Pierce
Impact Award	Brayden Long, Slippery Rock
Impact Award	Ella Brissett, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Impact Award	Matthew Wrather, John Carroll
Woman of the Year	Sam Schott, University of Texas at Tyler