University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Tristan Smith named to watch list for 2026 State Farm College Slam Dunk Championship
2/12/2026 11:05:00 AM | Men's Basketball
INDIANAPOLIS --- UNI men's basketball's Tristan Smith has been selected to the watch list for the Slam Dunk Championship as part of the 2026 State Farm College Slam Dunk and 3-Point Contest, as announced by Intersport on Thursday.
The event, which invites a collection of the nation's elite men's and women's college basketball players to compete for slam dunk and three-point shooting bragging rights, will be held on Friday, Apr. 3 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, site of this year's NCAA Men's Final Four. The event will be broadcast on ESPN on Sunday, Apr. 5.
A graduate student from Elizabeth, Colorado, Smith is in his first season with the Panthers after a breakout NAIA career at Concordia University in Nebraska. In 17 games for UNI this season, he has averaged 9.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks per game in his first year at the Division I level, helping bring a spark to the Panthers on both ends of the floor. Smith has scored in double figures ten times this season, including a season-high 18 points against Northern Illinois (11/18/25), while also notching his 27th career double-double against Oakland (12/13/25) with 15 points and a season-high 11 rebounds.
Prior to his arrival at Northern Iowa, Smith was a three-time All-Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) at Concordia (NE), as well as the GPAC's Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in 2024-25. Helping his team to four NAIA Tournament appearances and a pair of conference regular season championships, he was also a three-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete and College Sports Communicators (CSC) First Team Academic All-American as a senior.
The complete roster of participants will be announced in the days leading up to the event. For more information, visit CollegeSlam.com.
ABOUT INTERSPORT
Intersport is an award-winning agency that fills the empty space between marketing campaigns and consumers - helping brands make more meaningful connections. Its industry-leading team offers expert insights in content marketing, experiential marketing, hospitality, partnership consulting and platform development.
The Chicago-based agency also owns and operates events across the professional and collegiate sports landscape, including basketball, football, golf, pickleball and volleyball. Intersport has been headquartered in Chicago since its inception in 1985 and has an additional office in Detroit.
UNI men's basketball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Men's Basketball), X (@UNImbb) and on Instagram (@uni_basketball). Schedule and roster information, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
