The Metro Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year, formerly called the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year, is an award given to the men's basketball player in the Metro Conference voted as the most outstanding player. The award was first presented following the 1981–82 season, the first season, through voting by the league's head coaches. The award was first given to William Brown of Saint Peter's.
The conference was rebranded as the Metro Conference on July 1, 2026. It should not be confused with the other Metro Conference which operated from 1975 to 1995 before merging with the Great Midwest Conference to form the current Conference USA.
Lionel Simmons of La Salle won the award a league record three times in his career. Simmons, along with winning his third MAAC Player of the Year award, was also the consensus national player of the year in 1990. As of 2024, three players have won the award twice in their career: Steve Burtt of Iona, Luis Flores of Manhattan and Justin Robinson of Monmouth.
There has been one tie in the award's history, in 2017–18 when the award was shared between the two MAAC Buffalo-based schools, with Jermaine Crumpton of Canisius and Kahlil Dukes of Niagara both sharing the honor. Iona has produced the most players in the league to win the award with 10. Siena is a close second, with seven players winning. The only current Metro members without a winner are Mount St. Mary's, which joined the conference in 2022–23, and Sacred Heart, which joined in 2024–25.
Key † Co-Players of the Year* Awarded a national player of the year award that same season: UPI College Basketball Player of the Year (1954–55 to 1995–96)Oscar Robertson Trophy (1958–59 to present) 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 Metro Player of the Year award at that point
Winners
Season Player School Position Class Reference 1981–82 Saint Peter's G 1982–83 Iona PG 1983–84 (2) Iona PG 1984–85 Army G 1985–86 Fairfield G 1986–87 Army PG/SG 1987–88 La Salle SF 1988–89 (2) La Salle SF 1989–90 * (3) La Salle SF 1990–91 Siena PG 1991–92 La Salle PG 1992–93 Manhattan F 1993–94 Siena PG 1994–95 Canisius F 1995–96 Canisius F 1996–97 Iona SF 1997–98 Iona C/PF 1998–99 Niagara SG 1999–00 Iona SG/SF 2000–01 Niagara SG 2001–02 Rider SF 2002–03 Manhattan PG 2003–04 (2) Manhattan PG 2004–05 Niagara C/PF 2005–06 Saint Peter's PG 2006–07 Marist PG 2007–08 Rider C 2008–09 Siena SG 2009–10 Siena SF 2010–11 Siena PF 2011–12 Iona PG 2012–13 Iona SG 2013–14 Canisius PG 2014–15 Iona PF 2015–16 Monmouth PG 2016–17 (2) Monmouth PG 2017–18† Canisius SF Niagara PG 2018–19 Quinnipiac SG 2019–20 Siena PG 2020–21 Siena SG/SF 2021–22 Iona SG 2022–23 Iona PG 2023–24 Quinnipiac SG 2024–25 Quinnipiac SF 2025–26 Merrimack PG
Winners by school School (year joined) Winners Years Iona (1981) 10 1983, 1984, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2022, 2023 Siena (1989) 7 1991, 1994, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2020, 2021 Canisius (1989) 4 1995, 1996, 2014, 2018† La Salle (1981) 4 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992 Niagara (1989) 4 1999, 2001, 2005, 2018† Manhattan (1981) 3 1993, 2003, 2004 Quinnipiac (2013) 3 2019, 2024, 2025 Army (1981) 2 1985, 1987 Monmouth (2013) 2 2016, 2017 Rider (1995) 2 2002, 2008 Saint Peter's (1981) 2 1982, 2006 Fairfield (1981) 1 1986 Marist (1995) 1 2007 Merrimack (2024) 1 2026 Loyola (MD) (1989) 0 — Mount St. Mary's (2022) 0 — Sacred Heart (2024) 0 —
See also Metro Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year Metro Conference Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year
References