Men's Basketball | 2/17/2026 10:00:00 AM

Northbrook, Illinois – As announced by Allstate and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), Oberlin College men's basketball junior, JJ Gray has been named to the Allstate NACDA Good Works Team for Winter 2025-26.
 
"Ever since JJ got to Oberlin, he's made a profound impact on not only the program but the community as a whole." Head Men's Basketball Coach Shiva Senthil says, "Everyone sees the on court performances and tangible impact he's made to help our program reach unprecedented successes, but I'm really happy he's finally getting the recognition for what he's done off the floor as well. Congrats to JJ for winning this incredible award."
 
An economics major with a 3.9 cumulative GPA, Gray has co-founded the Asian Student-Athlete Group (ASAG) at Oberlin in 2024. As the Chair, Gray works with the ASAG Board to support and spotlight Asian student-athletes both in the Oberlin community and beyond. The organization has brought several Hall of Famers back to campus to speak to current students, and hosts various events throughout the year.
 
"Starting the Asian Student Athlete Group taught me that meaningful impact happens when you build something bigger than yourself." Gray adds, "Community engagement and service are important because they allow us to use our platforms to uplift others and strengthen the communities around us."
 
In conjunction with the rest of the men's basketball team, Gray volunteers with Sleep In Heavenly Peace (SHP), a local, non-profit organization dedicated to building, assembling, and delivering bunk beds to children and families in need. To date, SHP has built more than 373, 428 beds for children, and accounted for more than 1.2 million hours of volunteer service. In the last two years, Oberlin has clocked 265 hours building beds for children in the Northeast Ohio community.
 
Gray, the 2024 North Coast Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year and a 2x All-Conference student-athlete, has been instrumental for the Yeomen's success. Recently eclipsing the 1,000+ career-points mark, the guard is one of the winningest players in Oberlin's history.
 
"He's been a campus leader, a role model, and someone who is going to leave Oberlin in a better place than when he found it. As his coach, I am just proud to see him shine"
 
Captaining the Winter Team is Audi Crooks, a junior center on the Iowa State women's basketball team. Crooks launched the Audi Crooks Foundation last year to provide financial assistance and resources to youth engaged in education, athletics, and arts programing. The foundation supports the Boys & Girls Club of Story County, and Feed Our Kids Emmetsburg, organizations local to the Iowa State community and Crooks hometown, respectively.
 
The final team was voted on by the program's esteemed Selection Committee from an impressive pool of nearly 200 nominees nationwide. These student-athletes represent nine winter sports and five collegiate divisions, demonstrating the far-reaching impact of student- athletes in their communities.
 
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