VALDOSTA, Ga.  – Valdosta State women's basketball junior Erin Whalen earned Gulf South Conference All-Academic honors, the league office announced Friday.  In addition, the 2026 GSC Winter Academic Honor Roll was announced with ten women's basketball players and six men's basketball players were named to the GSC Academic Honor Roll.

Click here for the GSC Academic Honor Roll and All-Academic Teams.
 
Whalen, a native of Cumming, Ga., completed another outstanding season as she earned first team all-conference honors and second team all-region accolades in 2025-26.  She was the only player on the team to start all 29 games this season and led the team by averaging 14.0 points per game. Whalen finished 156 of 354 from the field (.441), while she was a team-best 42 of 120 from distance (.350) and 51 of 70 from the line (.729).
 
She averaged a team-high 8.6 rebounds per game, while she was second on the team to Hicks in assists (61) and led the team with 70 steals, while registering four blocked shots for fourth on the team. She is fourth in the GSC this season and 28th nationally in double-doubles with 11 while she is sixth in the league in field goals attempted (354), sixth in field goal percentage (.441) and seventh in made field goals (156), while she is seventh in minutes played (33:25) and eighth in points (405).
 
Her 14.0 points per game puts her eighth in the league, while she is third in the league in total rebounds (249) and fifth in the league in rebounds per game (8.6). Whalen is second in the GSC in steals with 70, while she is tops in the league in steals per game at a 2.41 clip.
 
For her career, Whalen has scored 772 points on 312 of 727 from the field (.429), while she is 76 of 227 from distance (.335) and 72 of 106 from the line (.679). She is averaging 6.4 rebounds per game, while she has 135 assists, 143 steals and ten blocks.
 
This marks Whalen's first academic all-conference honor and third time on the GSC Academic Honor Roll.  She has a 3.31 grade point average in biology.  Joining Whalen on the all-academic team are Lili Wilken of UAH, Bailey Burgess and Anna Muhonen of Lee, Nia Coleman of Mississippi College and Olivia Lee of Union.