LEXINGTON, Ky. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced Monday afternoon that Saints junior Michael Shelley has been named to the AVCA All-American Honorable Mention team. Shelley received the same honor from the AVCA last season and becomes Emmanuel's first-ever student-athlete named to two All-American teams on an athletic basis.

Shelley became eligible for the AVCA All-America ballot after being named to the AVCA All-Region I Team last week. The 14 players from each of the AVCA's four regions moved on to the All-America voting, making 56 student-athletes eligible for an All-American nod.

The Saints outside hitter was once again one of the best in the nation in 2025, averaging 3.95 kills per set, good for 21^st in NCAA Division III. Within the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), Shelley's kills per set led the league while his 324 kills were the third-most in the GNAC.

With his additional skills in serving and blocking, the San Francisco native averaged 4.76 points responsible for per set, good for the top spot in the GNAC and 11^th in all of NCAA Division III.

Shelley is one of the GNAC players to earn a spot on the AVCA All-American Squad. Lasell's Theo Zaharewicz earned a spot on the First Team, while Wentworth's Nicolai Bell joins Shelley on the AVCA Honorable Mention list.

Class of 2011 graduate Curtis Abram is the only other Saints men's volleyball player in team history to be recognized as an All-American by the AVCA. Abram was named to the All-American Second Team in his senior season.

Through three seasons with Emmanuel, Shelley has 773 career kills while hitting .296 from the floor. He adds 100 career aces and 110 total blocks, amounting to 938.5 points responsible for in his career.

The Saints finished the season at 19-12, including 10-4 in the GNAC. The .714 winning percentage in GNAC play is the best percentage since 2013 when the Saints finished 12-2 (.857) in conference action.