BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – West Liberty’s Bryce Butler highlighted the 2022-23 Mountain East Conference Men’s Basketball postseason awards and all-conference teams by being named the league’s Player of the Year for the second-consecutive season on Tuesday afternoon. Butler is the third player in league history to repeat as Player of the Year, joining Seger Bonifant (2015, 2016) and Dalton Bolon (2020, 2021).
Charleston’s CJ Meredith was voted the MEC Freshman of the Year for the 2022-23 season, while Davis & Elkins head coach Daniel Mondragon was named the Coach of the Year.
Butler is joined on the All-MEC first team by Wheeling’s John Korte, Concord’s Daniel Rahama, Davis & Elkins’ Sam Rolle IV, Fairmont State’s Isaiah Sanders, Glenville State’s Jordan Turbo Smith, Charleston’s Keith Williams, and Notre Dame’s Jaedon Willis.
Butler, a junior guard from Latrobe, Pa., led the MEC in scoring (22.5) and ranked fifth in the league in rebounding (7.25) during the 2022-23 campaign. He also ranked fourth in the league in shooting percentage (.592) and was eighth in the league in assists per game (3.64). Butler finished the regular season with three 30-point scoring performances, 21 20-point scoring performances and seven double-doubles. Butler was also a five-time MEC Player of the Week this season and ranks 11
th in the nation in scoring and 25
th in field goal percentage.
Meredith, from Huntington, W.Va., was voted the Freshman of the Year after averaging 9.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game for the Golden Eagles. He shot 52.6 percent from the floor and made 27 3-pointers on the season. Meredith also added 43 assists, 22 blocked shots and 16 steals to his stat line during the 2022-23 season.
Davis & Elkins fourth-year head coach Daniel Mondragon is the MEC Coach of the Year after leading the Senators to an 18-10 overall record and the No. 6 seed in this week’s MEC Tournament. D&E enters this week’s tournament on a four-game winning streak and earned its highest seed in program history. This season, Davis & Elkins reached the 18-win mark for the first time since the 1954-55 season. The Senators also have a winning record for the first time since the 1980-81 season.
In addition to the All-MEC first team and postseason award winners, the conference also recognized second team and honorable mention all-conference teams (listed below). The MEC postseason awards and all-conference teams are selected following a vote of the league’s head coaches.
| 2023 All-MEC First Team |
| Name |
School |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown |
| Bryce Butler |
West Liberty |
Jr. |
G |
6-5 |
Latrobe, Pa. |
| John Korte |
Wheeling |
Sr. |
F |
6-6 |
Watertown, Mass. |
| Daniel Rahama |
Concord |
Gr. |
F |
6-5 |
Newport News, Va. |
| Sam Rolle IV |
Davis & Elkins |
Jr. |
G |
5-11 |
Riviera Beach, Fla. |
| Isaiah Sanders |
Fairmont State |
Gr. |
G/F |
6-5 |
Sicklerville, N.J. |
| Jordan Turbo Smith |
Glenville State |
Jr. |
G |
6-1 |
Titusville, Fla. |
| Keith Williams |
Charleston |
Sr. |
G |
6-2 |
Sandusky, Ohio |
| Jaedon Willis |
Notre Dame |
Sr. |
G |
6-0 |
Baltimore, Md. |
| 2023 All-MEC Second Team |
| Name |
School |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown |
| Tyler Eberhart |
Charleston |
So. |
F |
6-7 |
Springfield, Ohio |
| Samier Kinsler |
West Virginia St. |
So. |
G |
6-2 |
Philadelphia, Pa. |
| Jalen Knott |
Alderson Broaddus |
So. |
G |
6-2 |
Cleveland Heights, Ohio |
| George Mangas |
Fairmont State |
So. |
G/F |
6-4 |
Lima, Ohio |
| Malik McKinney |
West Liberty |
Sr. |
G |
6-3 |
Bowie, Md. |
| Christian Montague |
West Liberty |
Jr. |
G |
6-1 |
Dayton, Ohio |
| Jason Murphy |
Frostburg State |
R-Jr. |
C |
6-9 |
Baltimore, Md. |
| Malik Whitaker |
West Virginia St. |
Jr. |
G/F |
6-6 |
Humble, Texas |
| Freddie Word |
Glenville State |
Jr. |
G |
6-1 |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
| 2022 All-MEC Honorable Mention |
| Name |
School |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown |
| DeAirius Barker |
Notre Dame |
R-So. |
G |
6-0 |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Eddie Colbert III |
Charleston |
Jr. |
F |
6-6 |
Toledo, Ohio |
| Zyon Dobbs |
Fairmont State |
Sr. |
G |
6-4 |
Fairmont, W.Va. |
| JJ Harper |
Concord |
Jr. |
G |
6-5 |
Gotha, Fla. |
| Anthony Pittman |
West Virginia St. |
R-Jr. |
F |
6-5 |
Charleston, W.Va. |
| Breland Walton |
Davis & Elkins |
R-Sr. |
F |
6-5 |
Beckley, W.Va. |
Player of the Year: Bryce Butler (West Liberty)
Freshman of the Year: CJ Meredith (Charleston)
Coach of the Year: Daniel Mondragon (Davis & Elkins) |
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)
2023: 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)
2023: CJ Meredith (Charleston)
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)
2023: Daniel Mondragon (Davis & Elkins)