But with the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan criteria, it’s actually quite the ultimate honor for area high school players.

The organization that most Michigan high school coaches belong to will name any team to the All-State Academic Team list who achieves a squad-wide 3.00 grade-point average.

But for the Academic All-State Individual listing, a player not only had to be a junior or senior, not only have a 3.50 GPA, but also made one of the major all-state teams that were chosen based purely on performance — either the BCAM Best, The Michigan Sports Writers (former Associated Press listing), the Detroit Free Press or the Detroit News.

The BCAM stresses that only players on teams whose coaches are members are eligible for the multitude of awards presented each spring. But in Marquette and Baraga counties, all schools have both girls and boys coaches as members, as does Munising in Alger County.

Ishpeming’s Mya Hemmer, right, leaps to make a steal of a Bark River-Harris pass during their high school girls basketball game played at the Hematites’ gym in Ishpeming on Feb. 24. (Photo courtesy of Cara Kamps)

Looking at the girls lists — we’ll look at the boys in a few days — the only two area players making it were from MHSAA Division 4 champion Ishpeming, seniors Mya Hemmer and Jenessa Eagle.

Hemmer had a 3.715 GPA, just a tad ahead of Eagle’s 3.674.

Including Mackinac Island, there were another five Upper Peninsula players making the same list.

They include with perfect 4.00 GPAs Forest Park senior Elsie Williams and Ewen-Trout Creek senior Emma Besonen. And another player, St. Ignace senior Avery Visnaw, was even better than “perfect” at a 4.063 GPA, generally because her school grants bonus grade points for elite academic classes.

Not slouching at all were E-TC senior Irelynd McGeshick at 3.794 GPA and Mackinac Island senior Lakelyn Bunker at 3.70 GPA.

Ishpeming’s Mya Hemmer, top center, takes a shot over several defenders during a high school girls basketball game played against Bark River-Harris at the Hematites’ gym in Ishpeming on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

The entire list include around 150 or 160 players statewide, actually pretty elite considering the thousands and thousands of high school girls playing basketball each year.

In the team honors category, a half-dozen squads made the All-State Academic Teams listings, with teams earning “all state” for having a 3.30 or better GPA and “honorable mention” if they are at least 3.00 but below 3.30 GPA.

Tops from the area — in fact for the whole U.P. — both by raw GPA and ranking in their division, is Negaunee, ranked sixth in the state in Division 2 with a 3.9177 GPA.

Westwood came in at 3.7959 in Division 3, ranked 36th among those teams.

Munising comes in at 3.6503 in Division 4, with Ishpeming right with the Mustangs at 3.5879, also in Division 4. Munising ranked right around 44th and Ishpeming just about 50th.

Marquette checked in with a 3.5207 GPA in Division 1, right around 63rd, while Baraga made it as an honorable mention team in Division 4 at 3.0328 GPA.

There was quite a competition statewide for the highest grades among teams, each division’s top team at least registering 3.95 — in Division 1 was Birmingham Seaholm at 3.9764 GPA, beating out two other schools at least at 3.97, in Division 2 the state’s leading team GPA, Petoskey, at 3.9847; in Division 3 was Grass Lake at 3.9507; and in Division 4 was Leland at 3.9696.

Another dozen U.P. squads made these honor lists. In Division 2 was Escanaba at 3.8629, Houghton at 3.7034 and Gladstone at 3.6591. Division 3 included Menominee at 3.6293 and Calumet at 3.6100.

Division 4 had seven U.P. teams. Forest Park led the way and was second to Negaunee for all U.P. teams, by one-thousandth of a point at 3.9167. Like the Miners, the Trojans ranked sixth among their similar-sized D-4 teams.

Then came Rapid River at 3.8813, St. Ignace at 3.8005, Mackinac Island at 3.7344, Bessemer at 3.7328, Norway at 3.7283 and Engadine at 3.0603.

Story contents based on an examination of the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan website, bcam.org. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.