The Northeast Conference (NEC) Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Year is an award given to the basketball player in the Northeast Conference voted as the best defensive player. The award was first given after the 1999–2000 season. Wagner has won the award the most, at six times and Kenneth Ortiz of Wagner has won the award the most of any individual, at three times. In addition, three players have won the award twice: Mychal Kearse of Mount St. Mary's, Tristan Blackwood of Central Connecticut, and Amdy Fall of St. Francis Brooklyn.
Key † Co-Defensive Players of the Year Player (X) Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year award at that point
Winners
Year Player School 2000 Rick Mickens Central Connecticut 2001 Greg Nunn St. Francis Brooklyn 2002 Courtney Pritchard Wagner 2003 Kevin Owens Monmouth 2004 Nigel Wyatte Wagner 2005 DeEarnest McLemore Wagner 2006 Mychal Kearse Mount St. Mary's 2007† Tristan Blackwood Central Connecticut Mychal Kearse (2) Mount St. Mary's 2008 Tristan Blackwood (2) Central Connecticut 2009 Bateko Francisco Robert Morris 2010 Mezie Nwigwe Robert Morris 2011 Akeem Bennett St. Francis Brooklyn 2012 Kenneth Ortiz Wagner 2013 Kenneth Ortiz (2) Wagner 2014 Kenneth Ortiz (3) Wagner 2015 Amdy Fall St. Francis Brooklyn 2016 Amdy Fall (2) St. Francis Brooklyn 2017 Josh Nebo Saint Francis 2018 Chris Wray Mount St. Mary's 2019 Jare’l Spellman Sacred Heart 2020 Juvaris Hayes Merrimack 2021 Nana Opoku Mount St. Mary's 2022 Alex Morales Wagner 2023 Jordan Minor Merrimack 2024 Jordan Derkack Merrimack 2025 Abdul Momoh Central Connecticut 2026 Greg Gordon LIU
Winners by school
School (NEC participation) Winners YearsWagner (1981–present) 7 2002, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2022Mount St. Mary's (1989–2022) 4 2006, 2007, 2018, 2021St. Francis Brooklyn (1981–2023) 4 2001, 2011, 2015, 2016Central Connecticut (1997–present) 4 2000, 2007, 2008, 2025Merrimack (2019–2024) 3 2020, 2023, 2024Robert Morris (1981–2020) 2 2009, 2010Long Island (1981–present) 1 2026Monmouth (1985–2013) 1 2003Sacred Heart (1999–2024) 1 2019Saint Francis (1981–present) 1 2017Fairleigh Dickinson (1981–present) 0 Le Moyne (2023–present) 0 Stonehill (2022–present) 0 Award was shared.
References