2023 MBWA AWARDS MEN'S DIVISION II Molloy's Fergus Named Top Player; Capell (STAC), Johnson (Caldwell) Share Coach of the Year Honors

NEW YORK (April 20, 2023) –  Darren Fergus of Molloy University has been named the All-Met Division II men’s college basketball Player of the Year for 2022-23 as announced Thursday by the Met Basketball Writers Association.

First-year head coaches Matt Capell of St. Thomas Aquinas and Dean Johnson of Caldwell were selected Co-Coaches of the Year.

The rest of the All-Met First Team: Isayas Aris, Alliance; Darnell Evans, Caldwell; Andres Fulgencio, Bloomfield; DeVante Jamison, St. Thomas Aquinas; Wahaad Johnson, Domincan; Brandon Powell, Pace; Ronnie Silva, Adelphi.

The All-Met Second Team: Tyler Carey, Queens; Messiah Mallory, Staten Island; Josh Morris, Bloomfield; James Patterson, St. Thomas Aquinas; Bryan Powell, Pace.

The 2022-23 All-Met teams will be honored at the 90th MBWA Haggerty Awards dinner on Thursday, April 27, at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel & Conference Center in Tarrytown, NY. The Haggerty dinner is the longest running, media-managed college basketball awards program in the United States.
 
A 6-1 sophomore guard from Freeport, NY, Fergus --- who also was selected East Coast Conference player of the year and was named to the NABC All-East District Second Team --- ranked in the Top 50 nationally in 12 statistical categories for the Lions (11-18, 10-6 ECC). His 57 steals placed him 30th in NCAA Division II and his 596 points were 31st.

Fergus averaged 20.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game this past season, while he shot 44.8% from the field. He scored in double figures in every outing, including 15 games with 20 or more points.

Surpassing 1,000 career points during the season, Fergus now has 1,148 points overall  

Capell, who also is an Assistant Athletics Director at St. Thomas Aquinas, assumed the men’s basketball helm after serving as an assistant and then associate head coach for the last nine years. In his first season, he guided the Spartans (26-5, 15-1 ECC) to their third consecutive East Coast Conference regular season title (sixth in the last nine seasons), fourth straight ECC Tournament championship (seventh in eight years) and a berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament for an eighth straight occasion.

The Spartans offense this past season ranked first in the ECC with 85.3 points per game and placed second in defense at 72.2 ppg.

A native of Gasport, NY, Capell earned a Bachelors degree in 2002 from Alfred and a Masters degree at Mercyhurst. Prior to STAC, he was on the staffs at Mercyhurst, Hamilton, Clarkson and Alfred. He resides in Rockland County, NY. 

Johnson, who also serves as Associate Director of Athletics at Caldwell, was an assistant for 30 seasons prior to taking the head coaching reins for 2022-23. Picked in the preseason to finish fifth in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference North Division and out of the playoffs, Johnson directed the Cougars (22-10, 14-4 CACC) to the North regular season title, posting the best conference record and gaining the top seed for the playoffs.

Just prior to capturing the CACC Tournament crown and gaining an automatic bid in the NCAA Division II Tournament, Johnson was named conference coach of the year. Seeded eighth in the East Region, the Cougars upended top seed and host Saint Anselm in the opening round to reach the DII regional semifinals for only the second time in team history. For the season, the team’s 22 victories are the most by Caldwell since it joined the NCAA ranks in 2002.

A native of Belgrade Lakes, ME, Johnson holds a Bachelors degree from the University of New England --- where he played basketball and finished as that program’s all-time leading scorer --- and a Masters from Caldwell. He and his wife, Christine, reside in Denville, NJ, and have a married daughter, Katelyn.

For a list of previous Men's Division II Awards:
Players of the Year - Coaches of the Year