CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) announced that Gulf South Conference women’s basketball official Wes Smith as a recipient of the 2026 Excellence in Officiating Awards.  

The award is presented to one male and one female official in each NCAA Division II Championship region. Awards are presented by the gender of the official regardless of the sport officiated. The Excellence in Officiating Awards represent a pioneering effort to recognize outstanding referees across NCAA Division II. 

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Last season, Smith finished his fourth year of officiating in the Gulf South and 10th season overall. During the 2025-26 campaign, Smith officiated several key games, including the GSC tournament and the NCAA South Region, where he worked the title games for each. As a result, of his professionalism, integrity and knowledge of the game, Smith was later selected to officiate during the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship.

In addition to his on-court achievements for the GSC, Smith officiates games at the NCAA Division I level and maintains a full-time career. He also provides mentorship and guidance to younger officials and spends countless hours in study groups going over game footage to hone his craft and bring others along with him. 

The D2CCA announcement marks the third consecutive year an official from the GSC was recognized. It is also the second straight year that a women’s basketball was honored and third for GSC basketball overall. 

Conference offices solicited nominations from the conference supervisor of officials and selected one male and one female to submit for the regional award. Upon receipt of all nominees, voting was conducted by the commissioners within each of the following regions – Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, Southeast, South Central and West – to select the following regional winners.