BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. -- West Liberty's Bryce Butler has been selected as the Mountain East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year, while Alderson Broaddus' Jalen Knott (Freshman of the Year) and WLU's Ben Howlett (Coach of the Year) also received top honors from the league.
Butler, a sophomore from Latrobe, Pa., is the MEC Player of the Year after helping lead West Liberty to the MEC regular season title by averaging 18.6 points on 64.0 percent shooting from the field to go with 7.3 rebounds per game. Butler ranks in the top 15 in the conference in seven different categories: scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, assists, steals, blocks and assist/turnover ratio. He's posted eight double-doubles this year and has scored 20 points or more in 11 games. He had a season-high 30 points in a win over Fairmont State. Butler was named MEC Player of the Week twice this season.
Knott, a native of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, is the Freshman of the Year after 9.7 points and shooting 43 percent from the floor in his first season with the Battlers. Knott has worked his way into the starting rotation and has reached double figures in scoring in 13 games this season, including each of his last five games. He had a season-high 25 points last week against Wheeling.
Howlett earns MEC Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his career after earning the recognition in 2018. Howlett has coached the Hilltoppers to a 26-2 overall record and has WLU ranked No. 2 in the country. The Hilltoppers collected a fourth Mountain East Conference regular season title under Howlett's leadership this season after posting a 20-2 record in league play. Howlett has West Liberty poised for a 13th-straight bid to the NCAA Tournament as the Hilltoppers are No. 1 in the most recent edition of the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings which are used to determine the NCAA Tournament Field. West Liberty is the defending regional champion.
The league also announced the 2021-22 all-conference teams. Five players are repeat selections from last year in Glen Abram (W.Va. State), Anthony Pittman (W.Va. State), Pat Robinson (West Liberty), Isaiah Sanders (Fairmont State) and John Williams (Glenville State). That group is joined by Butler, Keith Williams (Charleston) and Jaedon Willis (Notre Dame) on the first team.
Wheeling's duo of Jarett Haines and Jordan Reid earned second-team recognition, along with Fairmont State's Zyon Dobbs and Cole VonHandorf. They were joined on the second team by Lamont McManus (Charleston), Jeremiah Moore (W.Va. State), Sam Rolle (Davis & Elkins), KJ Walker (Alderson Broaddus) and Matt Weir (Concord).
Eddie Colbert (Charleston), Agyei Edwards (Frostburg State), Jayden Hibbitt (W.Va. Wesleyan), Marlon Moore (West Liberty) and Adrian Scarborough (Glenville State) earned honorable mention accolades.
All 12 institutions are represented on the All-MEC teams. The All-MEC teams are selected by a vote of the league's coaches.
| 2022 All-MEC First Team |
| Name |
School |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown |
| Glen Abram** |
W.Va. State |
Gr. |
G |
6-1 |
Chicago, Ill. |
| Bryce Butler |
West Liberty |
So. |
G |
6-5 |
Latrobe, Pa. |
| Anthony Pittman* |
W.Va. State |
Jr. |
F |
6-5 |
Charleston, W.Va. |
| Pat Robinson* |
West Liberty |
Sr. |
G |
6-3 |
Chesterfield, N.J. |
| Isaiah Sanders* |
Fairmont State |
Sr. |
G/F |
6-5 |
Sicklerville, N.J. |
| John Williams* |
Glenville State |
Sr. |
G |
6-5 |
Augusta, Ga. |
| Keith Williams |
Charleston |
Sr. |
G |
6-2 |
Sandusky, Ohio |
| Jaedon Willis |
Notre Dame |
Jr. |
G |
6-0 |
Baltimore, Md. |
| * First team in 2021 ** First team in 2020 and 2021 |
| 2022 All-MEC Second Team |
| Name |
School |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown |
| Zyon Dobbs |
Fairmont State |
Jr. |
G |
6-4 |
Fairmont W.Va. |
| Jarett Haines |
Wheeling |
Sr. |
G |
5-11 |
Bronx, N.Y. |
| Lamont McManus |
Charleston |
Sr. |
C |
6-6 |
Waldorf, Md. |
| Jeremiah Moore |
W.Va. State |
Gr. |
F |
6-6 |
West Orange, N.Y. |
| Jordan Reid |
Wheeling |
Gr. |
G |
6-1 |
Silver Spring, Md. |
| Sam Rolle |
Davis & Elkins |
So. |
G |
5-11 |
Riviera Beach, Fla. |
| Cole VonHandorf |
Fairmont State |
Gr. |
G |
6-2 |
Covington, Ky. |
| KJ Walker |
Alderson Broaddus |
Sr. |
G |
5-10 |
Reynoldsburg, Ohio |
| Matt Weir |
Concord |
Sr. |
G |
6-0 |
Nashport, Ohio |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2022 All-MEC Honorable Mention |
| Name |
School |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown |
| Eddie Colbert |
Charleston |
Jr. |
G/F |
6-6 |
Toledo, Ohio |
| Agyei Edwards |
Frostburg State |
Jr. |
G |
5-11 |
Washington, D.C. |
| Jayden Hibbitt |
W.Va. Wesleyan |
So. |
G/F |
6-6 |
Woodbridge, Va. |
| Marlon Moore |
West Liberty |
Sr. |
F |
6-5 |
Cleveland, Ohio |
| Adrian Scarborough |
Glenville State |
Sr. |
F |
6-3 |
Raleigh, N.C. |
|
|
|
|
|
Player of the Year: Bryce Butler (West Liberty)
Freshman of the Year: Jalen Knott (Alderson Broaddus)
Coach of the Year: Ben Howlett (West Liberty) |
Previous Winners
Player of the Year
2014: Cedric Harris (West Liberty)
2015: Seger Bonifant (West Liberty)
2016: Seger Bonifant (West Liberty)
2017: Matt Bingaya (Fairmont State)
2018: Haywood Highsmith (Wheeling Jesuit)
2019: Will Vorhees (Notre Dame)
2020: Dalton Bolon (West Liberty)
2021: Dalton Bolon (West Liberty)
2022: Bryce Butler (West Liberty)
Freshman of the Year
2014: Thomas Wimbush (Fairmont State)
2015: Pat Moseh (Wheeling Jesuit)
2016: David Dennis (West Liberty)
2017: Luke Layhew (West Virginia Wesleyan)
2018: Dalton Bolon (West Liberty)
2019: Will Yoakum (West Liberty)
2020: Dale Bonner (Fairmont State)
2021: Sam Rolle (Davis & Elkins)
2022: Jalen Knott (Alderson Broaddus)
Coach of the Year
2014: Jim Crutchfield (West Liberty)/Dwaine Osborne (Charleston)
2015: Kent McBride (Concord)
2016: Dan Sancomb (Wheeling Jesuit)
2017: Jerrod Calhoun (Fairmont State)
2018: Ben Howlett (West Liberty)
2019: Tim Koenig (Notre Dame)
2020: Dwaine Osborne (Charleston)
2021: Dwaine Osborne (Charleston)
2022: Ben Howlett (West Liberty)