Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
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The Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual award given to the Northeast Conference's (NEC) most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1982–83 season, when the league was known as the ECAC Metro Conference.[a]
| |
| Awarded for | the most outstanding basketball player in the Northeast Conference |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| History | |
| First award | 1983 |
| Most recent | Darin Smith Jr., Central Connecticut |
The most well-recognized NEC Player of the Year is Marist's Rik Smits, who won the award in both 1987 and 1988. Smits went on to have a successful National Basketball Association (NBA) career for 12 seasons (1988–2000), all with the Indiana Pacers.[1] In 1998, Smits was named an Eastern Conference All-Star.[1] In 2021–22, Alex Morales of Wagner became just the fourth NEC player to be named player of the year for two consecutive seasons, and the first since Charles Jones of Long Island University in 1997 and 1998.
LIU has the most winners with eight, all of whom represented Long Island University's Brooklyn campus before the school merged the athletic programs of its Brooklyn and Post campuses in July 2019. Central Connecticut is second with seven. All charter members of the Northeast Conference that are still members have had at least one winner.
Key
| † | Co-Players of the Year |
| * | Awarded a national player of the year award: UPI College Basketball Player of the Year (1954–55 to 1995–96) Naismith College Player of the Year (1968–69 to present) John R. Wooden Award (1976–77 to present) |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the NEC Player of the Year award at that point |
Winners
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Winners by school
| School (year joined) | Winners | Years |
|---|---|---|
| LIU (1981)[b] | 8 | 1984†, 1985, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2012, 2013, 2017 |
| Central Connecticut (1997) | 7 | 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2025, 2026 |
| Robert Morris (1981)[c] | 6 | 1984†, 1989, 1992, 2008, 2009, 2014 |
| Marist (1981)[d] | 4 | 1983, 1987, 1988, 1994 |
| Saint Francis (PA) (1981)[e] | 4 | 1991, 2019, 2020, 2023† |
| Wagner (1981) | 4 | 1986, 2003, 2021, 2022 |
| St. Francis Brooklyn (1981)[f] | 3 | 1984†, 1999, 2015 |
| Fairleigh Dickinson (1981) | 2 | 1990, 2006 |
| Merrimack (2019)[g] | 2 | 2023†, 2024 |
| Monmouth (1985)[h] | 2 | 2001, 2005 |
| Mount St. Mary's (1989)[i] | 2 | 1996, 2018 |
| Quinnipiac (1998)[h] | 1 | 2010 |
| Rider (1992)[j] | 1 | 1993 |
| Sacred Heart (1999)[g] | 1 | 2016 |
| Bryant (2008)[k] | 0 | — |
| Chicago State (2024) | 0 | — |
| Le Moyne (2023) | 0 | — |
| Loyola (MD) (1981)[l] | 0 | — |
| Mercyhurst (2024) | 0 | — |
| New Haven (2025) | 0 | — |
| Siena (1981)[m] | 0 | — |
| Stonehill (2022) | 0 | — |
| UMBC (1998)[n] | 0 | — |
Footnotes
- From 1981 to 2019, Long Island University was represented in the Northeast Conference by its Brooklyn campus, known for athletic purposes as "Long Island" through the 2012–13 season and "LIU Brooklyn" from 2013–14 forward. After the 2018–19 season, LIU merged the athletic programs of its Brooklyn and Post campuses into a single program, now competing as the LIU Sharks, that inherited the NCAA Division I and Northeast Conference memberships of the Brooklyn campus.
- Robert Morris University was a charter member in 1981, but left in 2020 to join the Horizon League.
- Marist University (then a "College") was a charter member in 1981, but left in 1997 to join the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), now known as the Metro Conference.
- Saint Francis University left the NEC and Division I in 2026 to join the NCAA Division III Presidents' Athletic Conference.
- St. Francis College discontinued its athletic program after the 2022–23 season.
- Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University left in 2024 for the MAAC/Metro.
- Monmouth University and Quinnipiac University left in 2013 for the MAAC. Monmouth has since moved to the Coastal Athletic Association, while Quinnipiac remains in the MAAC/Metro.
- Mount St. Mary's University left in 2022 for the MAAC/Metro.
- Rider University, which had spent five seasons in the NEC, left in 1997 to join the MAAC/Metro.
- Bryant University left in 2022 for the America East Conference.
- Loyola University Maryland (then Loyola College in Maryland), also a charter member, left in 1989 to join the MAAC, and is now in the Patriot League.
- Siena University (then a "College"), also a charter member, left in 1984 to join the MAAC.
- The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) left in 2003 to join the America East Conference.
In addition, one charter member, Towson University (then Towson State University), left after the conference's first season of 1981–82, before the player of the year award was created. The Tigers left for the East Coast Conference, and are now in the Coastal Athletic Association.