ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (Mar. 4, 2026) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), today announced the 2026 Men’s Basketball Major Award honorees, as voted on by the league’s 13 head coaches.
Headlining major awards was Merrimack College, securing four out of the five accolades. Merrimack sensational freshman guard, Kevair Kennedy garnered the MAAC Player of the Year and MAAC Rookie of the Year awards, KC Ugwuakazi claimed MAAC Defensive Player of the Year and head coach Joe Gallo won MAAC Coach of the Year. Merrimack becomes the second program in MAAC history to win four major awards in one season, joining only the 2020 Saint Peter’s squad which won Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Sixth Player of the Year and Coach of the Year. Additionally, Rhyjon Blackwell from Marist University was the final award recipient, winning MAAC Sixth Player of the Year.
Kennedy becomes the first men’s freshman in conference history to win both MAAC Player of the Year and MAAC Rookie of the Year in the same season, earning both awards unanimously. He becomes just the second player in league history to achieve the feat, joining former Quinnipiac women’s player Gal Raviv who swept both awards last year on the women’s side. Kennedy is also the first unanimous Player of the Year in the MAAC since 2019, when Cameron Young of Quinnipiac won the award unanimously. Kennedy had a breakout freshman campaign for the Warriors, winning a MAAC-leading nine weekly honors, which included seven Rookie of the Week awards – the most in the conference – and a pair of Player of the Week selections. He averaged 18.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.9 steals in 36:40 minutes per game. Kennedy ranked first in the MAAC in scoring and minutes per game, and he was the top free throw shooter, logging the most free throw attempts (260) and free throws made (212). Additionally, Kennedy was third in steals, fourth in assists, fifth in field goal percentage (46.7) and sixth in field goal attempts (375).
Ugwuakazi, the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, was named to the MAAC All-Defensive Team earlier today. He was the conference leader in blocked shots and blocks per game this season, swatting 60 total shots and averaging 2.1 blocks per game. Both marks were in the nation’s top 25, with his total blocks ranked 21
st and his average blocks ranking 23
rd. Moreover, he was the only player in the league during the regular season to average above two blocks. Ugwuakazi added 5.0 rebounds per game and scored 5.6 points.
The MAAC Sixth Player of the Year, Blackwell, appeared in 29 games for the Red Foxes, coming off the bench in 24 of the contests. He averaged 12.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists this season. Blackwell was the most efficient free throw shooter in the conference, making 93.1 percent of his free throws. He also ranked 25
th in the MAAC in scoring, 24
th in three point field goal percentage, and 20
th in three point field goals per game.
In the program’s second season in the MAAC and in his 10
th season at the helm of the Merrimack Warriors, Gallo was named as MAAC Coach of the Year by his peers. Gallo anchored the Warriors to its first MAAC Regular Season title in 2025-26 after compiling a MAAC-best 17-3 record and going an overall 21-10. The 17 league wins are the most by a Merrimack team since joining Division I in 2019-20 and the 21 overall wins matches the team’s most wins in a season at the DI level. Gallo’s squad is relentless on the defensive side, leading the MAAC in blocks and turnover margin, while ranking second in steals and third in scoring defense.
| 2026 Men’s Basketball Major Awards |
| Awards |
Player |
School |
| Player of the Year |
Kevair Kennedy* |
Merrimack |
| Defensive Player of the Year |
KC Ugwuakazi |
Merrimack |
| Sixth Player of the Year |
Rhyjon Blackwell |
Marist |
| Rookie of the Year |
Kevair Kennedy* |
Merrimack |
| Coach of the Year |
Joe Gallo |
Merrimack |
*Denotes unanimous selection
The 2025-26 MAAC basketball season culminates with the 2026 Air Force Reserve MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships from March 5-10 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. 2026 will be the seventh consecutive year Boardwalk Hall will host the annual championship dating back to 2020. For the second straight season, the championship field will feature the conference's top 10 teams. Additionally, with the shift of the basketball championship schedule to a week earlier, the women’s championship game will be a standalone contest on Monday, March 9, while the men’s championship game will air live nationally on ESPN2 on Tuesday, March 10.
For all information regarding the 2026 Air Force Reserve MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, please visit
MAACSports.com/basketball and by following @MAACHoops and #MAACHoops on X.
Air Force Reserve
The mission of the Air Force Reserve is to provide combat-ready forces to fly, fight, and win in air, space, and cyberspace, whenever and wherever needed. As a critical component of the United States Air Force, the Air Force Reserve supports global operations while remaining ready to respond to domestic emergencies and humanitarian efforts. It is responsible for organizing, training, and equipping Reserve Citizen Airmen to execute a wide range of missions that contribute to national defense and global security.
The Air Force Reserve offers part-time and full-time service options, enabling individuals to serve while maintaining civilian careers or pursuing higher education. Each year, the Reserve recruits thousands of enlisted and officer personnel across core specialties including Aviation, Maintenance, Intelligence, Cyber, Medical, Security Forces, and Logistics. This flexibility allows members to develop valuable skills, gain leadership experience, and serve their country with pride.
More information about Air Force Reserve careers and opportunities is available at:
https://www.airforce.com/ways-to-serve/air-force-reserve.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 13 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 45th year of competition during the 2025-26 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan University, Marist University, Merrimack College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Sacred Heart University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena University.
Stay up to date with the MAAC on social media by following @MAACSports on
X,
Facebook,
Instagram and LinkedIn or visit
MAACSports.com for all the latest MAAC news.