ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (Mar. 11, 2024) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), today announced the 2023-24 Men’s Basketball All-MAAC Teams, as voted on by the league’s 11 head coaches.
Headlining the All-MAAC First Team were Matt Balanc of Quinnipiac and Mervin James from Rider, earning unanimous selections to the unit. Also chosen to the first team were Fairfield’s Jalen Leach, Mount St. Mary’s Dakota Leffew, and Saint Peter’s Corey Washington.
One of the five members of the All-MAAC First Team will be honored as the 2024 MAAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year.
A senior guard from Fairfield, Leach earned his first career all-league honors in 2023-24 after posting season averages of 16. 4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.8 steals. His 16. 4 points per game average led the Stags and ranked fifth in the MAAC, while his 476 total points scored this season were the fourth most among conference players. Leach connected on .901 percent of his free throw attempts, which ranked 17
th nationally, his 100 free throws made ranked fourth in the league, and he recorded the third-best assist/turnover ratio in the MAAC (2.00). On the defensive side of the ball, he ranked fifth in steals, averaging 1.79 thefts per game.
After being named to the Preseason First Team, Leffew picked up his first career postseason All-MAAC honor with his first team selection. The senior guard from Hampton, GA, recorded a stat line of 17.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.6 steals while logging 35.5 minutes of action per game, the highest minutes per game average in the league during 2023-24. Leffew’s points per game average was the third best in the conference, he averaged the fifth-most assists per game, and he was tied for sixth in steals average. His 433 field goal attempts led the league and he also ranked sixth in three-pointers made per outing with 2.4 a game.
The leading scorer on the MAAC’s top scoring squad of Quinnipiac, Balanc earned his unanimous spot on the first team after posting 18.5 points per game, the second ranked scoring output in MAAC this season. He added 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists leading to his second-career postseason honor, in addition to his selection on the All-MAAC Second Team in 2021-22 following his redshirt-junior year. An efficient scorer, Balanc was amongst the league leaders in shooting percentages, shooting 44.2 percent from the floor (20
th), connecting on 36.3 percent of his shots from beyond the arc (12
th), and making 87.2 percent of his attempts at the charity stripe (2
nd). Moreover, the graduate student from Silver Springs, MD made 2.7 three-pointers per game, which tied for second on the league-leaderboard.
The MAAC’s top scoring threat in 2023-24, James was the lone repeat All-MAAC honoree this season after having been selected to the second team last year, and beginning this campaign as the Preseason Player of the Year. Hailing from St. Thomas, of the US Virgin Islands, he appeared in all 31 games for the Broncs, making 30 starts, while posting averages 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.0 steals, and just under one block (0.9) per game. James’ scoring average and 589 total points during the regular season both led the conference, while his rebounding average was 11
th in the league, and his 28 total blocked shots ranked sixth. He also shot .841 percent from the free throw line and .525 from the field, ranking fifth and eighth in the MAAC, respectively.
Washington, a sophomore forward from Sherwood, AR, was the lone underclassmen voted to the All-MAAC First Team. The all-league award was the second of his young career, following his All-Rookie selection last year. Washington was Saint Peter’s leader in scoring and rebounding, tallying 16.8 points and 6.4 redounds, marks that ranked fourth and eighth on the MAAC charts. At the free throw line, he converted on .831 percent of his attempts, seventh-best mark in the league and he accounted for 1.3 steals per game, tied for 14
th in the conference.
Highlighting the MAAC All-Rookie Team were the unanimous trio of Seydou Traore from Manhattan College, Josh Pascarelli of Marist College, and De’Shayne Montgomery from Mount St. Mary’s. Joining the three on the team were Iona’s Jeremiah Quigley and Niagara’s Ahmad Henderson II.
One of the five members of the MAAC All-Rookie Team will be chosen as the 2024 MAAC Men’s Basketball Rookie of the Year.
Below is the full list of All-MAAC Teams:
| All-MAAC First Team |
| Player |
Position |
Year |
Institution |
| Jalen Leach |
Guard |
Sr. |
Fairfield |
| Dakota Leffew |
Guard |
Sr. |
Mount St. Mary's |
| Matt Balanc* |
Guard |
Gr. |
Quinnipiac |
| Mervin James* |
Forward |
R-Sr. |
Rider |
| Corey Washington |
Forward |
So. |
Saint Peter's |
| All-MAAC Second Team |
| Player |
Position |
Year |
Institution |
| Frank Mitchell |
Forward |
Jr. |
Canisius |
| Caleb Fields |
Guard |
Gr. |
Fairfield |
| Max Allen II |
Center |
So. |
Marist |
| Savion Lewis |
Guard |
Gr. |
Quinnipiac |
| Amarri Tice |
Forward |
So. |
Quinnipiac |
| All-MAAC Third Team |
| Player |
Position |
Year |
Institution |
| Tre Dinkins |
Guard |
Jr. |
Canisius |
| Brycen Goodine |
Guard |
R-Sr. |
Fairfield |
| Idan Tretout |
Guard |
Gr. |
Iona |
| Allen Powell |
Guard |
R-Sr. |
Rider |
| Latrell Reid |
Guard |
Sr. |
Saint Peter's |
| MAAC All-Rookie Team |
| Player |
Position |
Year |
Institution |
| Jeremiah Quigley |
Guard |
Fr. |
Iona |
| Seydou Traore* |
Guard/Forward |
Fr. |
Manhattan |
| Josh Pascarelli* |
Guard |
Fr. |
Marist |
| De'Shayne Montgomery* |
Guard |
Fr. |
Mount St. Mary's |
| Ahmad Henderson II |
Guard |
Fr. |
Niagara |
*Denotes unanimous selection
In addition to Player of the Year, and Rookie of the Year, the MAAC will also honor a Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Player of the Year, and Coach of the Year, which will be announced this afternoon.
The 2023-24 campaign culminates with the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships from March 12-16 at Atlantic City's Historic Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall for the fifth consecutive year dating back to 2020. For all information regarding the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, please visit
MAACSports.com/basketball and by following @MAACHoops and #MAACHoops on Twitter.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 43rd year of competition during the 2023-24 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College. Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University will join the MAAC as full members in the 2024-25 academic year, expanding the conference to 13 institutions.
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