KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The NAIA has announced that Emma Yost of Dakota Wesleyan University is the recipient of the 2025-26 Women’s Emil S. Liston Award, presented to a women’s basketball student-athlete who has shown high athletic and academic achievement.
Yost is a forward and top contributor for the Dakota Wesleyan Women’s Basketball team, earning First Team All-GPAC honors for three consecutive years and the conference’s Freshman-of-the-Year award following the 2023-24 season. She was named Third Team NAIA All-American as a sophomore, and her junior season saw her reach Second Team All-American status from the NAIA, recording 545 points with a 50.8 shooting percentage and 27 made threes. Yost also recorded 160 rebounds, 114 assists, and 13 blocks en route to a GPAC Tournament Championship and a semifinals appearance at the 2026 NAIA Women’s Basketball Championships.
Yost, originally from Wagner, South Dakota, matches her impressive on-court abilities with an equally impressive academic career. She has achieved a 3.80 GPA in Dakota Wesleyan’s rigorous and highly touted nursing program, where she engages in both coursework and hands-on clinical work. She is a multiple-time scholar-athlete and was named CSC Academic All-District during the 2025-26 season. Yost’s ability to impressively balance an extensive course load while remaining one of the institution’s top athletes has been noted by peers, coaches, faculty, and staff alike. Yost also volunteers through the American Legion, supports activities within the Mitchell community, serves through her church, reads to local elementary students, and volunteers as a judge for youth poster and essay contests.
Director of Athletics, Ross Cimpl, noted Emma’s impressive tenure at DWU:
“Emma is one of the most consistent athletes I have ever seen. She is the same on our home court as she is on the biggest stage. She is one of the hardest-working and most encouraging teammates I have ever witnessed. She doesn’t just set a tremendous example for our team; she sets a tremendous example for the entire NAIA. Emma’s resume as a student and athlete is incredibly impressive. Emma is a once-in-a-lifetime type of student-athlete, and it has been an absolute pleasure watching her career. She has left a tremendous legacy, and we look forward to the impact she will make this season.”
Faculty Athletic Representative Joel Reinesch also noted her accolades and accomplishments while in Mitchell:
“Emma checks all of the boxes for the criteria of this award. A multiple-time all-American, first-team all-GPAC in her first three years here, and this year very possibly will reach hallowed ground and join Randi Morgan and Kynedi Cheeseman as the only 2,000-point scorers in program history. But this award is not won on basketball acumen alone. Emma has the kindest spirit of maybe any person I’ve ever met. Her dedication to all things, especially her community and her academics, is next level. She’s such a great ambassador of our University, and I couldn’t be any prouder of Emma. She’s earned this recognition.”
This achievement marks the fourth time ever that a Dakota Wesleyan student-athlete has been awarded the Emil S. Liston Award, and Yost marks the first woman to earn such recognition in school history. She is one of two DWU athletes to earn national awards, with Lizzie Tyler being named the A.O. Duer Award winner for the 2025-26 school year simultaneously.
Read the full list of the NAIA’s 2025-26 award winners here.