NE10 Earns Six All-Region Selections.
MANSFIELD, Mass. - Coming off a historic campaign as head coach of the Saint Michael's men's basketball program, Eric Eaton was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-East District Coach of the Year on Monday - highlighting All-District honors which saw six players from the Northeast-10 Conference earn recognition.
Eaton led Saint Michael's to one of the biggest turnaround seasons in league history, as the Purple Knights claimed their first NE10 regular season title since the 2000-01 season. At the start of the year, Saint Michael's was picked to finish last in the NE10 Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll. Instead, the Purple Knights went 17-5 in conference play – an 11-game improvement from the 2022-23 season - and earned the top seed in the NE10 Championship. Additionally, the program served as host of the East Regional - a feat accomplished for the first time since 1960.
In his fifth season at Saint Michael's, Eaton was named NE10 Coach of the Year - becoming the first Purple Knights' head coach to win the honor since Tom O'Shea in 1999.
The NE10 filled up the First and Second Team of the All-East District, as six players were honored for their outstanding play this season. Bentley's Zach Laput - the NE10 Player of the Year - joined Saint Anselm's Tyler Arbuckle and Southern New Hampshire's Matt Becht on the First Team, while Adelphi's Dayshaun Walton, Pace's Bryan Powell and Saint Michael's Romar Reid earned Second Team recognition.
Arbuckle, Becht, Laput and Powell were also selected as D2CCA All-Region earlier this month, along with American International's Justice Ellison.
The All-District honors are voted on by NABC-member coaches across NCAA Division II. The full list of honors for the All-East District are available below.
ALL-EAST DISTRICT COACH OF THE YEAR
Eric Eaton, Saint Michael's
FIRST TEAM
Zach Laput, Bentley
Erik Timko, Jefferson
Tyler Arbuckle, Saint Anselm
Matt Becht, SNHU
James Patterson, STAC
SECOND TEAM
Dayshaun Walton, Adelphi
Darnell Evans, Caldwell
Dylan Fasoyiro, Daemen
Bryan Powell, Pace
Romar Reid, Saint Michael's
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 12 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
