University of Maine women’s basketball power forward Adrianna Smith and hockey defenseman Brandon Holt had remarkable playing careers, but they were also exceptional students and contributors to the local community.
For their contributions, they were each given the “M” Club’s Dean Smith Award, which goes to UMaine’s top senior male and female student-athletes.
The award is based on athletic and academic achievement, character and being a contributor and leader within the community.
It is named after Dean Smith, who, in 1990, had the school’s top grade-point average among electrical engineering majors and was the North Atlantic Conference’s leading scorer in basketball.
Adrianna Smith, who was a graduate student this season, became the only basketball player in America East history, male or female, to surpass 1,000 points (1,887), 1,000 rebounds (1,052) and 400 assists (431) in a career. This past season, she was the only player in Division I to average 20-plus points (22.8), 10-plus rebounds (10.7) and four-plus assists (4.7).
She led America East in all three categories and became just the 11th player in league history to be named the Player of the Year twice. She was a three-time America East first team selection and was also named to the league’s All-Defensive team this season.
The Reston, Virginia, native was one of five finalists for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award and one of 10 finalists for the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award.
Her 22.8 points per game average was eighth among players at 359 Division I schools, her 20 double-doubles tied her for ninth and her 10.7 rebounds were 15th.
As a student, she will earn a master’s degree in business administration with a 3.93 GPA after compiling an undergraduate GPA of 3.79 in kinesiology and physical education with a food science minor. She also completed 150 observational hours as an intern at County Physical Therapy in Bangor.
She was the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete Engagement Group chair for 2025-26 after serving on the Student-Athlete Engagement Committee the previous year. She was a student-athlete tutor from 2024-26 and volunteered throughout the area at the Asa Adams Elementary School in Orono, Old Town Elementary School, the Dirigo Pines Senior Living Center, the YMCA, Ronald McDonald House and the Bangor Homeless Shelter.
Holt, a native of Grand Forks, North Dakota, was named Hockey East’s Best Defensive Defenseman, after being the runnerup a year ago, and was an All-Hockey East first team selection. He was named a first team All-American, becoming the first UMaine defenseman to earn All-American honors since Ben Hutton in 2014 and the first to garner first team accolades since David Cullen in 1999.
His 26 assists tied him for first among defensemen at the 63 Division I schools, and his 32 points tied him for fourth. It marked the first time a UMaine defenseman had reached the 30-point plateau since the 2011-12 campaign.
His 47 blocked shots were second most on the team, and he was tied for fourth in plus-minus at plus-12.
Players receive a plus-one if they are on the ice when their team scores an even-strength or shorthanded goal and a minus-one if the opponent scores one.
He was also the recipient of Hockey East’s Len Ceglarski Sportsmanship Award.
He finished his 126-game career with 78 points on 18 goals and 60 assists. He was also plus-34. And he was assessed only 40 penalty minutes.
Holt was a senior with a double major in accounting and finance and compiled a 3.96 GPA. He was a finalist for the 2026 Maine Business School Faculty Award.
Holt and Adrianna Smith both earned several academic awards throughout their careers.
In the community, Holt volunteered for several activities including the Champion the Cure Challenge run to help raise funds for local cancer care. competing in Orono’s Pie in the Sky Race to support arts programs and scholarships and being involved in the Old Town-Orono YMCA’s Haunted Y event during Halloween season.
Smith and Holt have both already begun their professional careers.
Smith signed with the Dandenong Rangers of Australia’s National Basketball League and, through her first three games, she has averaged 25 points, 11 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. She has shot 25-for-51 from the floor and 4-for-8 from 3-point range.
Holt signed with the American Hockey League’s Tucson Roadrunners, the top minor league affiliate of the NHL’s Utah Mammoth, and had a goal and an assist in five games and was plus-five in plus-minus.
He will return to the Roadrunners next season.
