# Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year

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.
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. In 1998, Smits was named an Eastern Conference All-Star. 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. Robert Morris, which left the NEC for the Horizon League in 2020, is tied for second with current member Central Connecticut with six. 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

| Season | Player | School | Position | Class |
| 1982–83 | Steve Smith | Marist | SG | Senior |
| 1983–84$^†$ | Chipper Harris | Robert Morris | SG | Senior |
| 1983–84$^†$ | Robert Jackson | St. Francis (NY) | F | Senior |
| 1983–84$^†$ | Carey Scurry | Long Island | PF | Junior |
| 1984–85 | Carey Scurry (2) | Long Island | PF | Senior |
| 1985–86 | Terrance Bailey | Wagner | SG | Junior |
| 1986–87 | Rik Smits | Marist | C | Junior |
| 1987–88 | Rik Smits (2) | Marist | C | Senior |
| 1988–89 | Vaughn Luton | Robert Morris | G | Senior |
| 1989–90 | Desi Wilson | Fairleigh Dickinson | F | Junior |
| 1990–91 | Mike Iuzzolino | Saint Francis (PA) | PG | Senior |
| 1991–92 | Myron Walker | Robert Morris | SG | Sophomore |
| 1992–93 | Darrick Suber | Rider | SG | Senior |
| 1993–94 | Izett Buchanan | Marist | SF | Senior |
| 1994–95 | Joe Griffin | Long Island | PF | Senior |
| 1995–96 | Chris McGuthrie | Mount St. Mary's | PG | Senior |
| 1996–97 | Charles Jones | Long Island | PG / SG | Junior |
| 1997–98 | Charles Jones (2) | Long Island | PG / SG | Senior |
| 1998–99 | Ray Minlend | St. Francis (NY) | PG | Senior |
| 1999–00 | Rick Mickens | Central Connecticut | SG | Senior |
| 2000–01 | Rahsaan Johnson | Monmouth | PG | Junior |
| 2001–02 | Corsley Edwards | Central Connecticut | F | Senior |
| 2002–03 | Jermaine Hall | Wagner | SF | Senior |
| 2003–04 | Ron Robinson | Central Connecticut | F | Senior |
| 2004–05 | Blake Hamilton | Monmouth | PF | Senior |
| 2005–06 | Chad Timberlake | Fairleigh Dickinson | SG | Senior |
| 2006–07 | Javier Mojica | Central Connecticut | SG / PG | Senior |
| 2007–08 | Tony Lee | Robert Morris | PG | Senior |
| 2008–09 | Jeremy Chappell | Robert Morris | SG | Senior |
| 2009–10 | Justin Rutty | Quinnipiac | PF | Junior |
| 2010–11 | Ken Horton | Central Connecticut | SF | Junior |
| 2011–12 | Julian Boyd | Long Island | PF | Junior |
| 2012–13 | Jamal Olasewere | Long Island | PF | Senior |
| 2013–14 | Karvel Anderson | Robert Morris | SG | Senior |
| 2014–15 | Jalen Cannon | St. Francis Brooklyn | PF | Senior |
| 2015–16 | Cane Broome | Sacred Heart | SG | Sophomore |
| 2016–17 | Jerome Frink | Long Island | SF | Senior |
| 2017–18 | Junior Robinson | Mount St. Mary's | PG | Senior |
| 2018–19 | Keith Braxton | Saint Francis (PA) | PG | Junior |
| 2019–20 | Isaiah Blackmon | Saint Francis (PA) | PG | Senior |
| 2020–21 | Alex Morales | Wagner | SG | Senior |
| 2021–22 | Alex Morales (2) | Wagner | SG | Graduate |
| 2022–23 | Josh Cohen | Saint Francis (PA) | PF | Junior |
| 2022–23 | Jordan Minor | Merrimack | PF | Senior |
| 2023–24 | Jordan Derkack | Merrimack | G | Sophomore |
| 2024–25 | Jordan Jones | Central Connecticut | G | Senior |

## Winners by school

| School (year joined) | Winners | Years |
| LIU (1981) | 8 | 1984$^†$, 1985, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2012, 2013, 2017 |
| Central Connecticut (1997) | 6 | 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2025 |
| Robert Morris (1981) | 6 | 1984$^†$, 1989, 1992, 2008, 2009, 2014 |
| Marist (1981) | 4 | 1983, 1987, 1988, 1994 |
| Saint Francis (PA) (1981) | 4 | 1991, 2019, 2020, 2023$^†$ |
| Wagner (1981) | 4 | 1986, 2003, 2021, 2022 |
| St. Francis Brooklyn (1981) | 3 | 1984$^†$, 1999, 2015 |
| Fairleigh Dickinson (1981) | 2 | 1990, 2006 |
| Merrimack (2019) | 2 | 2023$^†$, 2024 |
| Monmouth (1985) | 2 | 2001, 2005 |
| Mount St. Mary's (1989) | 2 | 1996, 2018 |
| Quinnipiac (1998) | 1 | 2010 |
| Rider (1992) | 1 | 1993 |
| Sacred Heart (1999) | 1 | 2016 |
| Bryant (2008) | 0 | — |
| Chicago State (2024) | 0 | — |
| Le Moyne (2023) | 0 | — |
| Loyola (MD) (1981) | 0 | — |
| Mercyhurst (2024) | 0 | — |
| Siena (1981) | 0 | — |
| Stonehill (2022) | 0 | — |
| UMBC (1998) | 0 | — |

## Footnotes

* ↑ The Northeast Conference was founded in 1981 as the ECAC Metro Conference, but member schools changed the name beginning with the 1989–90 school year.
* ↑ 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 College was a charter member in 1981, but left in 1997 to join the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
* ↑ St. Francis College discontinued its athletic program after the 2022–23 season.
* 1 2 Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University left in 2024 for the MAAC.
* 1 2 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.
* ↑ Mount St. Mary's University left in 2022 for the MAAC.
* ↑ Rider University, which had spent five seasons in the NEC, left in 1997 to join the MAAC.
* ↑ 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 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.