KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Oregon Tech standout Jackson Cooper earned the highest honor by a Hustlin’ Owl men’s basketball player in a single-division NAIA, as the forward was named a second-team NAIA All-American, announced by the national office.
The NAIA operated as a single division from its origin in 1937 to 1992, when the association moved to two divisions, and moved back to a single division in 2021. During that 60-year window, 10 OIT players were selected as honorable mention All-Americans and Jamison Guerra earned third-team honors in 2024 – with Cooper the first to claim a higher honor.
The Portland product was a terror on the court throughout the season, leading the Hustlin’ Owls in scoring average (17.7), rebounds per game (7.7) and assists per game (5.8), while converting a team-best 57% of his field goal chances.
Cooper, the 2026 Cascade Conference Player of the Year, led the circuit in assists per game (ranking No. 7 in the NAIA with 174 assists), while ranking No. 3 in both scoring average and rebounds per game.
The junior scored a career-high 38 points in a November win against The Master’s, while posting a triple-double with 28 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in a home win over College of Idaho. He surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his OIT career during the CCC Championships.
He becomes the 11th player in program history to be selected a first-team or second-team All-American, joining Mitchell Fink, Bobby Hunter, Joseph Foster, Justin Parnell, Jguwon Hogges, Ryan Fiegi, Lavell Hesia, LaMont Swinson, Saif Abdur-Rahman and Rafid Kiti in the exclusive club.
