Atlanta Tipoff Club Announces 2026 Georgia College Basketball Honorees

Georgia College Player and Coach Award Winners Enjoyed Impressive Seasons Including Leading Team to National Championship

ATLANTA (March 31, 2026) – The Atlanta Tipoff Club (ATOC) today announced the 2026 Georgia Women’s and Men’s Player of the Year and Whack Hyder Women’s and Men’s College Coach of the Year award winners.

The Whack Hyder Men’s Coach of the Year is Emory’s Jason Zimmerman, who has guided his Eagles to the Division III National Championship game this Sunday (April 5) against the University of Mary Washington. The title game is the first in school history and caps the program’s most successful year as Zimmerman has led his team to a school-record 27 wins. This is the fourth time he has won this award after doing so in 2013, 2016 and 2020.

In just her second season at the helm, Hana Haden led Georgia Southern to a 23-8 record, a school-best mark that earned the program its first-ever Sun Belt regular season championship and her recognition as the Whack Hyder Georgia Women’s College Coach of the Year. She led the team to a school-record 23 wins.

Georgia’s Dani Carnegie is the 2026 Georgia Women’s College Player of the Year after a standout season that also earned her First Team All-SEC honors. She averaged 17.8 points per game—the highest by any Bulldog since 2006—ranking among the SEC’s top scorers and distributors,and became the first Georgia player since Hall of Famer Katrina McClain (1987) to record consecutive 30-point games.

Georgia’s Somto Cyril is the 2026 Georgia Men’s College Player of the Year after earning SEC All-Defensive Team honors and national recognition on the Naismith Men’s College Defensive Player of the Year Presented by MOLECULE Late-Season Team. One of the nation’s premier rim protectors, he ranked second in the SEC with 2.3 blocks per game, totaled 74 blocks on the year, and led the country with 81 dunks.

Georgia Women’s College Player of the Year – Dani Carnegie, University of Georgia

• 2026 Southeastern Conference (SEC) First Team

• Averaged 17.8 ppg, the highest season average of any UGA player since Tasha Humphrey in 2006

• Ranked eighth in scoring (17.8 ppg) & 19th in assists (3.2 apg) in SEC

• 28th player in program history to earn First Team conference honors

• Had 26 double-figure scoring contests and 13 games with 20 points or more points while becoming the first Georgia player since Hall of Famer Katrina McCain (1987) to record consecutive 30-point games (32 against No.16 Ole Miss and 31vs. Arkansas)

• Named Miss Georgia Basketball by the ATOC in 2024.

Georgia Men’s College Player of the Year – Somto Cyril, University of Georgia

• Named to the 2026 Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Defensive Team

• Selected to the 2026 Naismith Men’s College Defensive Player of the Year Presented by MOLECULE Late-Season Team

• Ranked first in blocks in SEC (2.2 bpg)

• Ranked 14th in NCAA in blocks per game and total blocked shots in the nation after recording 74 this season

• Recorded 81 dunks, leading the nation

Whack Hyder Georgia Women’s College Coach of the Year – Hana Haden, Georgia Southern University

• 2026 Sun Belt Conference (SBC) Coach of the Year

• Finished the season 23-8 and were first place in the Sun Belt with a mark of 16-2 after being projected to finish 10th in preseason poll

• In her second year as head coach, she led the Eagles to their first Sun Belt regular season championship

• The 23 wins set a school record for wins in a season and tied a school record for most home wins with 14. This was only the second time in school history the program recorded more than 20 wins in the last 23 seasons

• The Eagles were one of two teams in the conference with four players averaging double-digits in scoring with a team field goal percentage of 45%, ranking first in the SBC and were one of the SBC’s top defensive teams, allowing 59.7 ppgagainst league opponents

• Second time in award history the winner has come from Georgia Southern (Drema Greer, 1994).

Whack Hyder Georgia Men’s College Coach of the Year – Jason Zimmerman, Emory University

• Has led the team to the postseason 12 times in the last 14 seasons.

• Team is 27-3 and posted a conference best record of 12-2

• The 12 conference wins are tied for the most by an Eagle team under Zimmerman, matching Emory’s 2021-22 squad

• 2026 University Athletic Association (UAA) Coach of the Year

• Led the 2026 Coaching Staff of the Year and earned his second career NABC District Coach of the Year award after previously winning in 2013

• Led the Eagles to their second straight Elite Eight appearance, entering this year as the 2nd overall seed, and 7th championship under his leadership, going to the postseason for the 12th time in his 13 seasons

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Media Contact:
Jordan De La Cruz
Atlanta Tipoff Club
[email protected]
(770) 617-2222

ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB

Founded during the 1956-57 season, the Atlanta Tipoff Club is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club administers the Naismith Awards, the most prestigious national honors in all of college and high school basketball. Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, the Naismith Awards family, annually recognizes the most outstanding men’s and women’s college and high school basketball players and coaches. Other Naismith Awards are presented to the men’s and women’s college basketball defensive players of the year, as well as lifetime achievement awards to basketball officials and outstanding contributors to the game. UCLA’s Lew Alcindor received the first Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy in 1969, while the late Anne Donovan (Old Dominion) was the inaugural women’s recipient in 1983. Corporate partners of the Naismith Awards include AXIA Time, Jersey Mike’s, MOLECULE, and Werner Ladder.