COSTA MESA -- Vanguard basketball has received two huge honors today, as Kaylee Byon and Erik Howlin were selected to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) First Team All-Region.  These are the first two D2CCA regional selections in both programs, and the duo now go back into the ballot box for further consideration for All-American status.
 
Byon was named as the Pacific West Conference Player of the Year and a First-Team All-PacWest player, both firsts in her career.  She enters the NCAA Division II Tournament with averages of 14.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game.  While she missed one game of the PacWest Tournament, Byon has started all of the 28 games she has played in and has a 30.1 minute per game average on the year.  She collected 17 games with 10-plus points this season, while in 10 of those, she had 15 or more.  Her benchmark for scoring this year was 25 against her old team, Point Loma, while she had a perfect 10-for-10 day from the free-throw line against Hawaii Pacific as one of a few players in the PacWest to go perfect from the line in a contest. While her ability to drive, pivot, and score with her patented jumper was always a threat, her biggest achievement was being the orchestrator behind the fifth-best offense in the West Region.  She has the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the PacWest at +2.83, which is second in the region and third in the NCAA Division II.  She was second in the league in the assist categories, second in the region, and fifth in the nation entering the Tournament. Byon has tallied at least three assists in every game this season until she had two in the PacWest title game, and has 18 games with five or more helpers.  Her 12 assists against Dominican on January 29 were tied for the second-most by a PacWest player in a game in 2025-26.  The VU women's program has plenty of legendary records, and it is a strong testament to her passing ability that she placed 13th for most assists in a single season, while her per game mark puts her in a tie for ninth with Carrie Burt (1996-97).  She is 12th in scoring in the conference, has the 13th-best field goal shooting rate (44.7%), and has the fourth-best free throw percentage (83.6%).  Her career year guiding the Blue and Gold gets her back to the NCAA Tournament as the lineup prepares to face Cal State LA tomorrow night.

Offered Byon from Washington, " "I'm just blessed to have such amazing teammates and coaches who believe in me. I would not be receiving this accolade without them. But it is not really about the award- I am just excited to keep going and fight with them in pursuit of a Natty!"
 
Howlin was nothing short of magical for the Lions in men's campaign, as he never had a game with under 10 points scored.  He averaged 19.2 points, with his 10 against San Francisco State and Seattle Pacific in back-to-back games being his lowest contests of the year.  He had 15 games where he topped 20 points, with his 33 at Azusa Pacific being his career high.  He made at least five shots from the floor in 25 of his 29 games and shot 51.9% from the floor this season, going 193-for-372.  As the leading scorer in the PacWest, Howlin was rewarded with his first All-Conference placement and was named to the First Team, a first for VU.  His ability to get to the rim allowed him to rack up points, but also fouls, as he paced the conference in free-throw attempts and was second in free throws made in the league.  He ended 136-for-177 for a 76.8% clip from the foul line, and his 16 attempts at home against CUI were the third-most in a single game in the conference this season.  Howlin connected from deep at a 35.6% rate, had 36 steals, contributed 38 assists, and averaged 4.8 rebounds per contest.  He had at least three rebounds in his final 10 games, and he led all scorers in the PacWest Tournament game against Hawaii Pacific.  His 558 points put him inside the top 10 all-time for points in a single season, and his 19.2 points tie him with Rick Witmer (1991-92) in sixth on the single-season list.  His free-throw attempts and conversions land inside the top 10 as well, in addition to his 958 minutes and 33 minutes per game place him inside the top 10 for a single season.

Said Howlin after hearing of the award, "Shoutout to Coach Soliday and my teammates for believing in me. Any award I get is really a team award because they help me be successful. I'm truly thankful to God for instilling a great work ethic in me throughout my life. This is a huge honor, and I am honored to see that my hard work has led me to this accolade."