Tyler Thomas of Hofstra University has been selected the Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award winner for 2023-24 as announced Wednesday by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association.

Presented annually since 1936 by the MBWA, the Haggerty Award denotes the area’s Division I Men’s Player of the Year. The Met realm encompasses 21 Division I programs, and 69 colleges and universities across all divisions.

Thomas, who also was named to the All-Met First Team, will be honored along with the All-Met teams from Divisions I, II and II, on Thursday, April 18, during the 91st MBWA Haggerty Awards dinner 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 6-3 graduate guard from New Haven, CT, Thomas --- who also was named the Coastal Athletic Association player of the year --- represents the seventh player and ninth time overall that an athlete from Hofstra has won the Haggerty Award, including the second such honor in a row for the Pride following Aaron Estrada’s accolade last season.

Named to the NABC All-District 10 Second Team, Thomas led the Pride (20-13) and the CAA this past season and was fourth in the nation with 25.2 points per game, and his 742 total points ranked No. 1 in the conference and No. 8 nationally. As a guard, he pulled down 171 rebounds (5.2 rpg), while registering 110 assists and 44 steals. He also led the CAA and ranked second in NCAA Division I with 3.8 3-pointers made per game. He holds the CAA and Hofstra single-season record with 125 treys and his 86.1% accuracy at the free throw line ranked No. 2 in the conference.

Thomas played the past two seasons for the Pride after transferring from Sacred Heart, where he played for three seasons. He was named as a sophomore to the All-Northeast Conference Second Team for 2020-21, as well as being tabbed as the circuit’s Most Improved Player, and was selected to the All-NEC Third Team for 2021-22. Having scored 1,001 points at Sacred Heart and 1,320 at Hofstra, Thomas’ 2,321 career points rank 19th all-time on the Met area men’s scoring list.

Prior to college, Thomas was twice named to the Connecticut High School All-State First Team (2017-18) playing for Amity Regional HS in Woodbridge, CT.

In addition to Thomas and Estrada, other Haggerty Award winners from Hofstra include: Bill Thieben, 1956; Rich Laurel, 1977; Speedy Claxton (current Pride head coach), 2000; Norm Richardson, 2001; and Charles Jenkins, 2009-10-11, one of only three players to win the Haggerty Award three times.

The Haggerty Award arguably is the oldest and most prestigious honor given to a Met area college basketball player. The award is named in memory of Lt. Frank J. Haggerty, a shortstop in baseball and co-captain/forward on the basketball team who was the first student from St. John’s killed in World War II.

For a list of previous Men's Division I Awards:
Year-by-Year Haggerty Award Winners Bios • List of Haggerty Award Winners

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