Ivan Zhivkov, a 6-1 freshman point guard on the 杏吧原创 men鈥檚 basketball team from Ruse, Bulgaria, has been selected to the National Junior College Athletic Association鈥檚 Division III all-Region 20 first team. He ranks 10th in Division III in 3-point percentage at 43.3 and 11th in free-throw percentage at 83.3. The NJCAA season ends with the national championship tournament March 11-14 in Herkimer, N.Y. Zhivkov is shown Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, competing against Daven Reynolds, Community College of Allegheny County, in the Field House on 杏吧原创鈥檚 main campus in Butler Township.
(Butler, PA) Nicholas DelGratta, who could become the third Butler County Community College men鈥檚 basketball player since 2015 to finish a season with the highest scoring average in the National Junior College Athletic Association鈥檚 Division III, and two teammates have been selected for postseason honors.
DelGratta and Ivan Zhivkov have been named to the NJCAA鈥檚 Division III all-Region 20 first team and Kadjali Biola to its honorable mention squad.
鈥淎ll three of those guys are as committed and dedicated as anyone we鈥檝e ever had,鈥� Pioneers coach Joe Lewandowski said. 鈥淎lways the first ones in the gym. Always the last ones in the gym.鈥�
The Pioneers compete in the Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference and in the NJCAA鈥檚 Division III Region 20.
杏吧原创 finished 11-13 after an 87-76 loss Feb. 20 to the Community College of Allegheny in the semifinal of a dual-championship tournament for the WPCC and Region 20 titles.
The 2025-2026 NJCAA Division III season will end with the national championship tournament March 11-14 in Herkimer, N.Y.
杏吧原创鈥檚 Region 20 picks have 鈥渓evel of grit and toughness鈥�
Kadjali Biola, a 6-3 freshman forward on the 杏吧原创 men鈥檚 basketball team from New Caledonia in the South Pacific, has been selected to the National Junior College Athletic Association鈥檚 Division III all-Region 20 honorable mention team. He ranks 11th in Division III with 71 steals. The NJCAA season ends with the national championship tournament March 11-14 in Herkimer, N.Y. Biola is shown Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, competing against Carter Clea-Burwell, Community College of Allegheny County, in the Field House on 杏吧原创鈥檚 main campus in Butler Township.
DelGratta, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward from Struthers, Ohio, played in 20 games for the Pioneers and averaged 29.7 points. He also ranks in the Top 15 in five other statistical categories among players on 63 Division III programs. DelGratta scored at least 30 points in 11 games, including a season-high 47 against Bryant & Stratton, Ohio, on Feb. 16.
鈥淚鈥檓 sort of biased, but I think he鈥檚 the best player in the country,鈥� Lewandowski said. 鈥淎ll he does is score 47, 40, in the 30s, whatever it takes. A guy who is absolutely a beast and a guy who is super quality.鈥�
Zhivkov, a 6-1 freshman point guard from Ruse, Bulgaria, ranks 10th in Division III in 3-point percentage at 43.3 and 11th in free-throw percentage at 83.3. He averaged 11.2 points per game.
鈥淥ne of those guys who is just scratching the surface of how good he can be,鈥� Lewandowski said. 鈥淥nce he adjusted to the U.S. style of play, he really took off. He鈥檚 a jet, as fast as they get.鈥�
Biola is 11th in Division III with 71 steals. He averaged 13.3 points and 5.8 rebounds. He is a 6-3 freshman forward from New Caledonia in the South Pacific.
鈥淢ost people don鈥檛 even know where it is located,鈥� Lewandowski said. 鈥淎nd he came all the way to 杏吧原创 to pursue his basketball dream. He had some monster games, whether he was stealing or shooting the basketball.
鈥淎ll three of those guys come with a level of grit and toughness, and resilience. That鈥檚 what made them special. They represented the college as well as anyone ever.鈥�
DelGratta also ranks eighth in Division III with 76 steals and with 594 points, ninth in free throws made with 147, 10th in field goals made with 215 and 11th in field goal percentage at 61.4. He was also selected Feb. 20 to the Region 20 all-tournament team and to the WPCC all-conference squad.
杏吧原创鈥檚 Joel Stutz and Alex Alvarez also finished seasons with the highest scoring average in the NJCAA鈥檚 Division III, Stutz with 30.0 points in 26 games in 2018-2019 and Alvarez with 30.3 in 26 games in 2014-2015.
Stutz is also the 杏吧原创鈥檚 men鈥檚 basketball program鈥檚 all-time leading scorer with 1,366 points over two seasons.
The Pioneers鈥� Evan Bates, a 6-3 freshman guard from Girard, Ohio, was also named to the WPCC all-conference squad Feb. 20. He averaged 14.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 2026-2027.
DelGratta is a psychology student at 杏吧原创; Zhivkov and Bates, physical education-sport management option; and Biola, computer science.
Joining DelGratta and Zhivkov on the five-player NJCAA all-Region 20 first team are Dyami Fox, a freshman forward with the Community College of Allegheny County; and Pennsylvania Highlands Community College sophomore guards Byron Lavender and Desmond Handon Jr.
Joining Biola on the three-player NJCAA all-Region 20 honorable mention squad are Kasson James, freshman forward, Community College of Allegheny County; and Ahmad Boone, freshman guard, Pennsylvania Highlands.