Emory University senior guard Ben Pearce became the first Emory Eagle to be selected as a University Athletic Association Athlete of the Week in 2026 as the conference announced its first group of weekly winners for the new year Monday afternoon.
Pearce had a dominating four-game stretch over the holidays as he led the No. 7 ranked Eagles to a 4-0 record in the four games he played in as the Eagles cruised past a pair of squads receiving votes nationally in Christopher Newport (98-65) and TCNJ (95-69) in the Jay Bilas Classic as well as Bates (104-66) and No. 16 Hampden-Sydney (101-73) in the Emory Holiday Classic. Pearce average 24.0 points per game across the four wins as well as averaged 7.0 assists per game, 4.0 rebounds per game and 2.0 steals per game. Pearce tied a career-high with 35 points to go along with a season-best 11 assists in the win over HSC on December 30th and added a stellar 26 points and 8 assists outing earlier in the month over TCNJ in the Jay Bilas finale.
For the season, Pearce is on a torrid pace with 24.4 PPG and 7.0 APG in 10 games as he led the team to a 10-1 non-conference record. He is shooting 50.3% from the floor and is 32-for-78 from long range.
Pearce and the Eagles are set to begin conference play this weekend as they travel to Rochester, New York for the UAA opener on Saturday, January 10th at 12:00 PM against the Yellowjackets.
