NEW YORK (Feb. 17, 2026) ---
Dylan Darling of St. John's University has been named Division I Men’s Player of the Week by the Met Basketball Writers Association.
The designation, for games played Feb. 9-15, is unique in that it encompasses players from 21 Met area schools in Division I.
This marks the first career MBWA Player of the Week award for Darling.
A 6-1 junior guard from Spokane, WA, Darling --- who was named to the Big East Conference weekly Honor Roll --- averaged 19.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in a 2-0 week for the Red Storm (20-5, 13-1), who sit in second place in the league, a half-game behind UConn (14-1).
St. John’s, ranked No. 17 in the nation in this week's A.P. poll, defeated Xavier 87-82 in overtime last Monday at home in Madison Square Garden, then went on the road Saturday, conquering Providence 79-69.
Darling shot 55.0% (11-of-20) from the field while burying 14-of-20 attempts at the free-throw line in the two games.
On Monday, Darling recorded 16 points, five rebounds and four assists coming off the bench in the OT victory over Xavier.
He then helped lift the Johnnies at Providence with a game-high 23 points, 18 coming after intermission, as St. John’s extended its win streak to 11 games. In 27 minutes off the bench, Darling nailed 6-of-11 shots from the field and was 8-of-9 at the free-throw line. He also grabbed eight rebounds and made three steals against the Friars.
Players receiving MBWA Division I Honorable Mention for the week: Budd Clark, Seton Hall; Cruz Davis, Hofstra; Anquan Hill, Sacred Heart; Kavion McClain, Monmouth.
Previous MBWA 2025-26 Division I Men’s Players of the Week: Dec. 9,
Cruz Davis, Hofstra; Dec. 16,
Cruz Davis, Hofstra; Dec. 23,
Stephon Payne, Seton Hall; Jan 13,
Cruz Davis, Hofstra; Jan. 20,
Erik Pratt, Stony Brook; Jan. 27,
Dillon Mitchell, St. John's; Feb. 3,
Budd Clark, Seton Hall; Feb. 10,
Zuby Ejiofor, St. John's