Kansas City, Mo. - Alex Sherwood of Ave Maria (Fla.) made history last week en route to earning the Gared Performance Sports Systems NAIA Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week Honors. The junior transfer shattered the program record for blocks in a game for the second time this season.

Over two games last week, Sherwood, a native of Neenah, Wis., determined there was a no-fly zone in effect, recording 13 total blocks. Nine of those blocks came against Coastal Georgia on the road. In the same game, he was one block away from setting yet another program record after scoring 15 points and grabbing 16 boards. Should he have gotten one more block, he would have been just the second player in program history with a triple-double.

Over the week, Sherwood was locked in, playing 73 minutes, with 26 total boards, three assists, one steal, and, of course, his 13 blocks. The Gyrenes are in the midst of their hottest winning streak in program history at 9-0, as Sherwood is the first Ave men's basketball player to be awarded the national recognition and the third player across all sports this season for the Gyrenes.

Gared Performance Sports Systems NAIA Men's Basketball Defensive Players of the Week are announced every Tuesday throughout the season, with the final player of the week for the first half of the season being released on December 9. Check out more on the 2025-26 player of the week honors and past winners at naia.org.