Columbia University senior guard Kenny Noland has been named to the 2025-26 Lou Henson Award Early Season Watch List, according to an announcement from CollegeInsider.com. The Lou Henson Award is given each year to the top player in Division I mid-major college basketball.
Noland is currently leading Columbia in several categories, including points per game with an average of 17.7. He also tops the team in assists, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, and minutes played per game. His 195 points so far this season place him fourth among Ivy League scorers, and his 31 three-pointers are the second-highest total in the league.
The Apex, North Carolina native has already surpassed his previous career-high point total twice this season and has posted five games with at least 20 points. On November 21, he scored a career-best 27 points in a win against Lehigh, making 11 of his 18 shots from the field.
Noland remains perfect from the free-throw line this season, converting all 36 attempts. He is currently the only qualified player nationwide with a flawless mark at the charity stripe.
Earlier this week, Noland was named Ivy League Player of the Week. Columbia holds a record of nine wins and two losses and will play California on Sunday at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.
Lou Henson served as head coach for Illinois and New Mexico State over a span of 41 seasons, accumulating a total of 775 victories. He remains Illinois’ winningest coach with 423 wins during his tenure from 1975 to 1996 and led teams to multiple postseason appearances including a Final Four run in 1989. Henson also achieved success at New Mexico State with another school-record number of victories and is one of only eleven coaches to guide two different programs to NCAA Final Four appearances.
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