RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team learned on Wednesday that Koree Cotton, Filip Brankovic, Marvin McGhee III, and Julien Gomez were named to the Southland Conference (SLC) 2025-26 Men's Basketball All-Academic Team. 
 
To be eligible for the All-Academic Team, student-athletes must have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better with at least one semester completed at the nominating institution and must have played in at least 50% of the team's games. To be eligible for Student-Athlete of the Year, the minimum GPA is 3.50 along with the other requirements. 
 
Cotton was an automatic selection to the All-Academic team after being named to the All-Conference First Team at the end of the season and met the academic standards. 
 
Cotton played and started in all 33 games this season and led the team with 13.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on his way to earning Southland Conference First Team and All-Defensive Team honors. 
 
Cotton shot 47.4% from the floor while shooting 40.3% from three-point range. He ranked sixth in the SLC with 38 blocks and has recorded 34 steals this season. Cotton scored in double-figures in 27 games, including seven games of 20 or more points.
 
Brankovic played and started in 32 games for the Vaqueros as he averaged 13.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. Brankovic shot 52.6% from the floor, which ranked second in the SLC, while shooting 33.3% from three-point range and 83.6% from the free throw line en route to All-Conference Second Team honors. 
 
McGhee III played and started in all 33 games for the Vaqueros as he averaged 10.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. McGhee III shot 45.3% from the floor and made a team-high 78 three-pointers while shooting a SLC best 43.3% from three-point range.  
 
Gomez played in all 33 games while starting in 21 of them. Gomez averaged 7.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. He shot 48.8% from the floor while shooting 43.7% from three-point range and scored in double-figures 10 times last season. 
 
The SLC All-Academic honorees helped the Vaqueros finish with a 19-14 record while helping the team set a program record with 14 Southland Conference wins en route to a No. 3 seed in the SLC Tournament. 
 
2026 Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year - Noah Pagotto, East Texas A&M, Jr.
 
2026 Southland Men's Basketball All-Academic Team
Noah Pagotto, East Texas A&M, Jr.
London Fields, East Texas A&M, Jr.
 
Ryan Bartley, HCU, Gr.
Mamborou Mara, HCU, Gr.
 
Love Bettis, UIW, Gr.
Lewis Row, UIW, Gr.
Mihael Tomic, UIW, Fr.
Amani Drummond, UIW, Sr.
Esteban Mann, UIW, Jr.
 
Janko Bulajic, Lamar, Sr.
 
Larry Johnson, McNeese, So.
Javon Garcia, McNeese, Gr.
Garwey Dual, McNeese, Jr.
 
Coleton Benson, UNO, Jr.
Irish Coquia, UNO, Jr.
Kedrick Osby, UNO, Jr.
 
Christian Winborne, Sr., Nicholls, Jr.
 
CJ Booker, SLU, R-So.
Garrett Shoemaker, SLU, Fr.
 
Nick Shogbonyo, TAMUCC, Sr.
Mason Gibson, TAMUCC, Gr.
Leo Torbor, TAMUCC, Sr.
Sheldon Williams, TAMUCC, Sr.
 
Koree Cotton, UTRGV, Jr.
Filip Brankovic, UTRGV, Jr. 
Marvin McGhee III, UTRGV, Gr. 
Julien Gomez, UTRGV, Fr.

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