2026 D3hoops.com All-America Teams

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Senior guard Reem Welch (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson) of the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team earned D3hoops.com All-America Fifth Team honors, as announced Tuesday. The selection marks the second All-America recognition of Welch's career, adding to his earlier honor as a National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division III All-America Third Team selection. He becomes the program's first D3hoops.com All-American since Jonathan Patron received Honorable Mention recognition in 2018.

Welch recently collected NABC All-America Third Team and NABC Division III All-District III First Team honors. He was also named to the D3hoops.com All-Region III First Team, earned State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Player of the Year accolades, and secured a spot on the All-SUNYAC First Team.

Throughout the season, Welch led the Cardinals in points per game (PPG), rebounds per game (RPG), and assists per game (APG). The senior guard was an offensive catalyst, leading the conference and tying for second in Division III at 26.1 PPG. He eclipsed the 30-point mark 10 times, highlighted by a program-record and career-high 49-point performance against Morrisville on Feb. 7, which included the game-winning layup in a 100-98 victory. On the glass, he pulled down a league third-best 8.2 rebounds per game and recorded six double-doubles, including a career-high 15 rebounds against Morrisville on Jan. 16.

The Brooklyn native was an efficient scorer all year, shooting 53.5% from the field (fourth in the conference) and 81.4% from the free-throw line (first in the conference). Serving as the team's primary ball handler, he also averaged a league-high 4.2 assists per game, tallying five or more assists in nine contests. That included two nine-assist performances against Oswego State on Jan. 30 and Buffalo State on Feb. 13. Defensively, Welch led the team with 1.6 steals per game (tied for eighth in the league) and recorded at least three steals in six games, including a season-high four against Norwich on Nov. 11, Potsdam on Jan. 13, and Fredonia on Feb. 14.

Welch earned three SUNYAC Athlete of the Week honors and became the first men's basketball player in program history to be named USBWA Division III National Player of the Week on Feb. 10 after averaging 42.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.