Yellow Jacket athletes and coaches are once again ranked first in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) with impressive accolades that showcase the grit and glory of what it means to wear the Brown & Gold.
And while there were successes across all winter sports this year, including 36 winter sports student-athletes earning an Academic All-OAC Honor*, there were standout achievements for women's basketball, men's wrestling, men's track and field, and men's volleyball.
March Madness had Brown & Gold flair as women's basketball made its 20th NCAA Tournament appearance. The team, which had earned a No. 8 national ranking, became the first in school history to have back-to-back undefeated Ohio Athletic Conference seasons. They ended the season with an overall record of 25-4.
Head coach Cheri Harrer, who is no novice to national playoffs, earned her own spotlight in being named OAC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.
The accolade builds on a succession of achievements that include being the winningest coach, male or female, in OAC basketball history, sixth among active Division III coaches and 49th all-time of all NCAA coaches at any level.
The men's wrestling team captured its sixth consecutive OAC championship, another top honor for a program that's been awarded the conference title for 10 years since 2016 and has been nationally ranked.
In March, seven Yellow Jacket student-athletes competed at the NCAA Division III National Championships, where BW has had ongoing success in recent years in finishing in the top 10 and having a three-time national champion.
This year, junior All-American 165-pounder Andrew Supers was the National Runner-Up. In other weight divisions, BW wrestlers placed fourth, fifth and seventh. Overall, BW finished in seventh place out of 70 teams. The Yellow Jackets have now finished in the top 10 for the fifth straight season.
Adding to the team's success is a 2026 recognition of being named OAC men's wrestling Coaching Staff of the Year for head coach Jamie Gibbs, associate head coach Jason Zastrow and their assistant coaches. Gibbs and his staff have received the conference top spot for this recognition for five straight seasons and nine times previously.
Head coach Joe Eby and three members of the BW men's indoor track and field team headed to the 2026 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships. The NCAA selected the top 20 declared student-athletes in each individual event to participate in the national championships.
Junior All-American Amari Waddy earned All-American honors at the event. He placed seventh out of 20 student-athletes competing in the high jump. It was his first appearance on the national stage.
In addition, junior weight thrower Kitar Olsen earned his first career All-American honor at the national indoor championships. He finished top-10 out of 18 competitors
Since its inception in 2021, men's volleyball has been building a strong reputation as a team on the rise. Under the leadership of head coach Kyle Mars, the team is nationally ranked No. 18 and has reached a ranking of No. 9, which was the highest in school history.
*In order to be selected as Academic All-OAC, a student-athlete must be a sophomore or higher in class standing, maintain varsity status and have at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA. The 36 student-athletes earning this honor during the winter season include six from men's basketball, two from men's swimming and diving, five from men's wrestling, 12 from women's basketball and 11 from women's swimming and diving.
