COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Even before Texas A&M were crowned winners of the Overall Team Championship at last month's 2026 HotelPlanner Collegiate Target Nationals, many of the fine student-athletes on display had already enjoyed success of their own.
Prior to the finals day, the USA Archery Collegiate Archery Program had recognized the outstanding dedication shown by athletes with an evening of awards. And while team triumphs were noted, so too were athletes named to the All-American Team and those who stood out enough to receive USA Archery’s Collegiate All-Around Archer of the Year Award.
The top coaches were also honored. Regional Coaches of the Year included:
Derek Davis was ultimately named National Coach of the Year, an accolade he has received previously but admits it is always a special award.
“I feel like the team that I’m coaching at the time is a big part of my success, and each team is different, so it means a lot,” Coach Davis began.
“It’s a big honor, because the level of collegiate coaching is so strong, and what’s cool is we all respect each other and we support each other, and that’s one of the things that I love about the sport.”
To be in the running for National Coach of the Year meant that all recipients of the regional awards were nominated by their athletes, something which adds even greater weight to the honor.
“That means a lot, too,” said Coach Davis, before breaking into a smile and adding, “That means they’re thinking about it, and knowing college students, they don’t always get paperwork in, so somebody took the time to write something up and get it in, and that feels good.”
The All-American Team is composed of the top 25% of archers (rounded up to nearest whole number) in each Division and Class that participated at both USA Archery Indoor Nationals and USA Archery Collegiate Target Nationals in the same division. It is calculated by taking the combined arrow average from the Indoor Nationals and the qualification round of Collegiate Target Nationals.
Of those making the All-American Team, a number did so in their senior year, including Samantha Lum (University of California, Davis), Ryan Booth, Venugopal Kunnavakkam (both Texas A&M), Lillian Han, Sydney Sullenberger (both Columbia University), Kyle Coffey (Union Commonwealth University), Nate Harper (University of Pikeville) and Erin Heyob (University of the Cumberlands).
USA Archery’s Collegiate All-Around Archer of the Year Award recognizes outstanding collegiate archers based on placement at U.S. National 3D Collegiate Championships, U.S. National Indoor Championships, and U.S. National Collegiate Target Nationals (Qualification Round). Participation in all three events is required to be eligible. The award is based on these three events within the same academic year.
The award was presented to the following athletes in each gender and division, with many making the All-American Team as well:
USA Archery's Collegiate Archery Program is a program of USA Archery for students enrolled in a college or university. You can find more details about eligibility, collegiate grants and how to start your own team. The Collegiate Archery Program offers barebow, recurve, compound, and fixed pins divisions.
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