BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – Frostburg State’s Trey Simmons headlines the Mountain East Conference Men’s Basketball awards as the 2025-26 Player of the Year, per a vote of the league’s head coaches.
Simmons, a sophomore guard from Gaithersburg, Maryland, led the league in scoring averaging 23.9 point per contest. He was also top 10 in the MEC in assists with 3.3 per contest while leading in league in minutes played, playing 33.9 per game.
Concord’s Boubacar Djigo has been named the MEC Defensive Player of the Year. Djigo, a junior from Cleveland, Ohio, averaged 16.2 points per game while leading the league in rebounding with 13.0 per game. He also is 5th the MEC in blocks, averaging 1.1 per contest.
Wheeling’s Ayden Goll has been named the MEC Freshman of the Year. Goll, a guard from Milton, Wisconsin, was 3
rd in the league in scoring with 18.1 points per game and 3
rd in assists, dishing out 4.6 per contest. He helped the Cardinals earn the No. 3 seed in this week’s MEC Tournament.
While Wheeling’s Chris Richardson has been named the MEC Coach of the Year. The South Charleston, West Virginia native helped the Cardinals to a 19-8 overall record and 14-6 in league play and is the No. 3 seed in the MEC Tournament. He is in his 6
th season at the helm for the Cardinals.
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).
| 2026 All-MEC First Team |
| Name |
School |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown |
| Drey Carter |
Fairmont State |
Jr. |
F |
6-8 |
Bellefontaine, Ohio |
| Trey Simmons |
Frostburg State |
So. |
G |
6-1 |
Gaithersburg, Md. |
| Jalen Knott |
Glenville State |
Sr. |
G |
6-2 |
Cleveland, Ohio |
| Jamie Muldowney |
West Liberty |
Jr. |
F |
6-7 |
Laois, Ireland |
| Ayden Goll |
Wheeling |
Fr. |
G |
6-1 |
Milton, Wis. |
| Boubacar Djigo |
Concord |
Jr. |
F |
6-8 |
Cleveland, Ohio |
| Thomas Hailey |
Charleston |
Gr. |
F |
6-7 |
Monroe, N.C. |
| Aidan Anderson |
Point Park |
Sr. |
G |
6-4 |
Birmingham, Ala. |
| Myles Montgomery |
West Liberty |
Fr. |
G |
5-10 |
Minford, Ohio |
| 2026 All-MEC Second Team |
| Name |
School |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown |
| David Jolinder |
Fairmont State |
Sr. |
F |
6-6 |
Stockholm, Sweden |
| Elijah Redfern |
Glenville State |
So. |
G |
6-3 |
Beckley, W.Va. |
| Braden Chapman |
Charleston |
Jr. |
G |
6-4 |
Beaver, W.Va. |
| DJ Daniel |
Frostburg State |
Fr. |
G/F |
6-6 |
Clinton, Md. |
| Vegas Evans |
Davis & Elkins |
Sr. |
F |
6-7 |
Brampton, Ont. |
| Caleb Murray |
Wheeling |
Sr. |
G/F |
6-2 |
Beallsville, Ohio |
| Rene Diop |
Fairmont State |
Sr. |
F |
6-8 |
Dakar, Senegal |
| 2026 All-MEC Honorable Mention |
| Name |
School |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown |
| Trey Harris |
West Virginia State |
Jr. |
G |
6-7 |
Houston, Tx. |
| Micah Young |
Concord |
Fr. |
G |
6-2 |
Westerville, Ohio |
| Matthew Gray |
Davis & Elkins |
Jr. |
F |
6-7 |
Ashburn, Va. |
| Cameron Williams |
West Liberty |
Fr. |
G |
6-2 |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
Player of the Year: Trey Simmons (Frostburg State)
Defensive Player of the Year: Boubacar Djigo (Concord)
Freshman of the Year: Ayden Goll (Wheeling)
Coach of the Year: Chris Richardson (Wheeling) |
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)
2024: Eddie Colbert III (Charleston)
2025: Kollin Tolbert (Concord)
2026: Trey Simmons (Frostburg State)
Defensive Player of the Year
2025: Rene Diop (Concord)
2026: Boubacar Djigo (Concord)
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)
2024: Kyler D’Augustino (West Liberty)
2025: Ja’Corey Lipkins (Charleston)
2026: Ayden Goll (Wheeling)
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)
2024: Dwaine Osborne (Charleston)
2025: Ben Howlett (West Liberty)
2026: Chris Richardson (Wheeling)