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CLINTON NAMED CACC COACH OF THE YEAR; J. HONIS, I. HONIS AND SMITH EARN ALL-CACC ACCOLADES
March 4, 2025

CLINTON NAMED CACC COACH OF THE YEAR; J. HONIS, I. HONIS AND SMITH EARN ALL-CACC ACCOLADES

New Haven, Conn. (3/4/25)  University of Bridgeport junior guard/forward Aliou Cisse has been selected as the 2024-25 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year. Cisse, who was also chosen to the All-CACC First Team, headlines the all-conference teams and major award winners announced today by CACC Commissioner Dan Mara. The voting was conducted by the conference's 12 head coaches.

Bloomfield College freshman guard Ethan Maynard was voted the 2024-25 CACC Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year, while Bloomfield senior forward Edward Ngene repeated as the Defensive Player of the Year. Ngene was also elected to the All-CACC Second Team. Dominican University New York head coach Joe Clinton earned the honor of Coach of the Year and Holy Family University is the winner of the 2024-25 Men's Basketball Team Sportsmanship Award.

Dominican's Jaden Honis was named to the All-CACC First Team for the first time in his career, while Isaiah Honis and Emmanuel Smith were both named to the All-CACC Third Team for the first time.  J. Honis ranks fourth in the CACC in scoring while Smith is 18th.  Smith sits second in blocked shots, fourth in field goal percentage and 10th in rebounding, while J. Honis is 14th in three-point field goal percentage and assists and 12th in free throw percentage.  I. Honis is eighth in steals and  13th in scoring.

Cisse, from Yonkers, N.Y., is the CACC's second-leading scorer at 20.1 points per game. He also averages 6.2 rebounds, 1.69 steals and 0.65 blocks, and is seventh in the conference with a .539 field-goal percentage. Cisse and the Purple Knights are 16-12 overall and the North Division's No. 3 seed for this week's CACC Championship tournament.

Maynard's 14.6 points per game are 11th in the CACC and first among rookies. The Morris Plains, N.J., resident made 65 three-pointers, third in the league, and tops the conference with a .455 shooting percentage from distance. He also averages 2.7 assists. Maynard was a five-time CACC Rookie of the Week.

Ngene, of Lindenwold, N.J., leads the CACC and is second nationally in Division II with 3.41 blocked shots per game. He became the conference's NCAA-era career leader in blocks with 294. Ngene is also second in the CACC in both overall rebounding (10.7 per game) and defensive rebounding (7.5).

Clinton, selected by the league's directors of athletics communications, is the CACC Coach of the Year for the fifth time, and the first since 2013. He has guided this year's Chargers (19-7, 14-2 CACC) to the North Division regular-season title and the overall No. 1 seed for the conference tournament. Clinton is second in CACC history with 545 career victories, all at Dominican.

Holy Family, led by head coach Ryan Haigh, was the coaches' choice for demonstrating class and character throughout the regular season.

The 2024-25 CACC men's basketball major award winners and all-conference teams are listed below.


2024-25 CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Aliou Cisse (University of Bridgeport)

2024-25 CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Ethan Maynard (Bloomfield College)

2024-25 CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Edward Ngene (Bloomfield College)

2024-25 CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH OF THE YEAR
Joe Clinton (Dominican University)

2024-25 CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Holy Family University

2024-25 CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL FIRST-TEAM ALL CONFERENCE
Aliou Cisse (University of Bridgeport)
Deng Deang (Post University)
Cam Edmonds (Georgian Court University)
Justin Hawkins (Thomas Jefferson University)
Jaden Honis (Dominican University)

2024-25 CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL SECOND-TEAM ALL CONFERENCE
Bol Akot (Post University)
DeAngelo Horn (Caldwell University)
Zakari McQueen (Goldey-Beacom College)
Ashton Miller (Thomas Jefferson University)
Edward Ngene (Bloomfield College)

2024-25 CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL THIRD-TEAM ALL CONFERENCE
Alejandro Cybak (Chestnut Hill College)
Starrell Hearns (Bloomfield College)
Isaiah Honis (Dominican University)
Marcus Pierce (Felician University)
Emmanuel Smith (Dominican University)

The aim of Dominican University New York is to promote educational excellence, leadership, and service in an environment characterized by respect for the individual and concern for the community and its needs. Founded by the Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt, the university is an independent institution of higher learning, Catholic in origin and heritage. In the Dominican tradition, it fosters the active, shared pursuit of truth and embodies an ideal of education rooted in the values of reflective understanding and compassionate involvement.  Committed to building its programs upon a strong foundation in the liberal arts and sciences, the university maintains a student-centered climate and serves a diverse community of students in undergraduate and graduate programs. The university empowers this community of learners to excel, lead and serve with integrity and to engage responsibly in the pursuit of a more just, ethical and sustainable world.  Dominican also sponsors 18 varsity intercollegiate sports that compete at the NCAA Division II level.  To learn more about Dominican University New York, please visit www.duny.edu.