BY CHRIS THOMAS | Director of Strategic Communications, Mountain East Conference
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – The Mountain East Conference today unveiled its 2023 Football All-Conference teams and postseason award winners following a vote of the league’s head coaches.
Charleston running back Chavon Wright was voted the league’s Offensive Player of the Year, while UNC Pembroke football’s Jamae Blank and Charleston’s Nick Evans shared Defensive Player of the Year honors for 2023.
UNC Pembroke running back Sincere Baines was voted the MEC Offensive Freshman of the Year, and Frostburg State defensive back Darrell Scott earned Defensive Freshman of the Year recognition. UC head coach Quinn Sanders was voted the league’s Coach of the Year.
—> READ MORE: UNC Pembroke’s official release on its 11 all-conference players
Wright, a redshirt sophomore from Pembroke Pines, Fla., led the MEC in rushing this season with 1,231 yards on 203 carries (6.1 yd/carry). Wright also rushed for a league-high 14 touchdowns and put together five 100-yard rushing performances on the year. He rushed for a season-high 276 yards and three touchdowns on Oct. 14 against Notre Dame.
Blank, a redshirt junior from Durham, N.C., led the league with 12.5 sacks and finished second in the MEC with 21.5 tackles for loss this season. For the season, the defensive end also chipped in 49 tackles, had six pass breakups, and forced and recovered three fumbles. Blank had five multiple sack performances on the season.
Evans, a redshirt senior from Boston, Mass., finished the year with 22 tackles, 9.5 sacks and one forced fumble to lead the Charleston defense. He totaled 12.0 tackles for loss from his defensive end position this season. Evans ranks second in the league in sacks this season. He recorded a season-high six tackles and two sacks in Charleston’s season opener against Gannon. He had four multiple sack performances this season.
Baines, from Fayetteville, N.C., finished fourth in the league with 797 rushing yards on the season. He averaged 7.6 yards per carry and also rushed for 11 TDs on the year. Baines was also a contributor in the UNCP passing game, hauling in 15 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown. Over the final four weeks of the season, Baines had three 100-yard rushing games and nine touchdowns. His best outing of the year was in week 11, when he rushed for 178 yards and five scores against Concord.
Scott, a cornerback from Brandywine, Md., recorded 14 solo tackles, nine pass breakups and one interception in the Frostburg State secondary this season. Scott recorded a season-high four solo stops and four pass breakups against Wheeling back in September. He recorded his lone interception of the year against Charleston on Oct. 28.
Sanders was named the MEC Coach of the Year after leading Charleston to a 9-1 record in 2023, including an 8-1 mark in league play. Charleston is making its first NCAA playoff appearance since 2015. UC also won its first-ever Mountain East Conference Football Championship in 2023 and currently ranks 23rd in the AFCA National Poll.
Charleston earned the No. 2 seed in Super Region 1 and will host New Haven on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Football Playoffs.
In addition to the 2023 award winners, the league also announced its all-conference teams on Tuesday afternoon (listed below).
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2023 MEC Individual Awards Offensive Player of the Year: Chavon Wright (RB, Charleston)
Offensive Freshman of the Year: Sincere Baines (RB, UNC Pembroke)
Defensive Player of the Year (co-): Jamae Blank (DL, UNC Pembroke), Nick Evans (DL, Charleston)
Defensive Freshman of the Year: Darrell Scott (DB, Frostburg State)
Coach of the Year: Quinn Sanders (Charleston)2023 All-MEC First Team Pos. Name School QB Donovan Riddick West Virginia State RB Joel Felder West Virginia State RB Idris Lawrence Notre Dame RB Chavon Wright Charleston WR Kris Copeland Concord WR Trey Dixon UNC Pembroke WR Rashawn Harvey West Liberty WR Tae Marrero Charleston TE James Faulkner Notre Dame FB/HB Niko Kausky Charleston OL Brandon Dillard Frostburg State OL Carson Heidecker Notre Dame OL Donovan McCollister Charleston OL Joe Petryszak Fairmont State OL Ian Pomeroy Glenville State OL Chris Russell UNC Pembroke == DL Jamae Blank UNC Pembroke DL Nick Evans Charleston DL Lavell Gibson Notre Dame DL Cam Rice West Liberty DL Leonard Scott Frostburg State LB Seth Arnold Glenville State LB Brocton Blair Fairmont State LB Willie Floyd Charleston LB Sean Hill UNC Pembroke LB Isaiah Stephens Notre Dame LB Colby Street Frostburg State DB Cashawn Beasley Charleston DB Eltayeb Bushra Fairmont State DB Wylan Harich Frostburg State DB Antoine Holloway Notre Dame DB Jy Martin West Virginia State == K Cam Shirkey Notre Dame P Josh Hutley Concord RS Tae Marrero Charleston 2023 All-MEC Second Team Pos. Name School QB Colin Johnson UNC Pembroke RB Sean Aaron Frostburg State RB Sincere Baines UNC Pembroke RB LeJay Hatcher Fairmont State RB Alfred Menjor Glenville State WR Orion Bonner Glenville State WR Yves Bosmans Charleston WR Chris Charles West Liberty TE Carter Giacomo Fairmont State FB/HB Joe Jones West Virginia State OL Barnabas Baning Charleston OL Ryan Creech West Liberty OL Mike Hudren Frostburg State OL Andres Sagastume West Virginia State OL Peter Schmitt Wheeling OL Zach Slapnicker Notre Dame == DL PK Ackah-Yensu Charleston DL Raydarius Freeman UNC Pembroke DL Caleb Grant Wheeling DL Isaiah Macklin Glenville State DL Jaylen Parks Frostburg State DL Randy Robinson Fairmont State LB Jacob Clark Glenville State LB Jalen Jones West Virginia State LB Saige Ley UNC Pembroke LB Aden Miller Charleston LB Michael Morgan Frostburg State DB Jovon Jackson Fairmont State DB Keshawn Pickett UNC Pembroke DB Isaiah Powell-Major Fairmont State DB Mark Shepherd Glenville State DB Roderick Webb Charleston == K Tim McCutchen Charleston P Dom Buttazzoni Notre Dame P Brennan Schmitt West Virginia State RS Tre Holloway Wheeling 2023 All-MEC Honorable Mention QB (2): Rudy Garcia (West Liberty), Javonte Howard (Charleston)
RB (2): Alex Brink (Charleston), Elijah Young (Wheeling)
WR (3): Nate Garnett (West Va. Wesleyan), Kobe Harris (Fairmont State), Quron Winder (Wheeling)
TE (1): Jayden Smith (UNC Pembroke)
FB/HB (1): Jessie Collins (West Liberty)
OL (7): Justin Collier (Glenville State), Jabari Edwards (Concord), Jon Fitzpatrick (West Virginia State), John Holland (Fairmont State), Isaiah Lewis (Wheeling), Jacob Perry (UNC Pembroke), Ethan Wolford (Charleston)
DL (5): Amir Franklin-Branch (West Va. Wesleyan), Yasir Holmes (Frostburg State), Lane Martinez Beasley (Notre Dame), Nemo Roberts (Fairmont State), Corlyn Witcher (West Virginia State)
LB (5): J.R. Atkinson (Wheeling), Thaxton Gallagher (Charleston), Emarion Perkins (Notre Dame), Nathan Rosario Santos (Notre Dame), Jamari Smith (Concord)
DB (6): Nick Blake (West Virginia State), Aaron Davis (Wheeling), Vincent Nwachi (Frostburg State), Anthony Smith (Frostburg State), Shaun Sterling Jr. (Glenville State), Chris Wilson (West Liberty)
K (1): Emmanuel Richardson (Fairmont State)
RS (1): Max Davis (Frostburg State)
