By: Seth Stogsdill, Assistant Director of Athletics Communications
ATLANTA - The Southern Athletic Association released its postseason awards for the 2023-24 season earlier today and the league's coaches named four Centre players to this year's All-Conference squads, highlighted by Rookie of the Year
Riley Mastin.
Mastin is the second straight SAA Rookie of the Year for Centre men's basketball after
Cade Stinnett won the award in 2022-23, and also was an All-SAA Second Team selection. Despite injuries limiting him to 14 games, Mastin made a huge impact on the team, finishing second on the team in scoring and leading the team in rebounding and field goal percentage. He recorded six double-doubles in 14 games and earned conference and national recognition the week of Jan. 26 after averaging 30 points and 13 rebounds over two games against Hendrix and Rhodes. His 33 points at Rhodes were the most scored by a Centre player in a game this season.
Stinnett joined Mastin on this year's All-SAA Second Team. He was the leading scorer on the Colonels and ranked fourth in the league at 16.4 points per game. Stinnett also ranked in the top ten in the league in field goal percentage and free throw percentage among qualified players. He was one of three Centre players this season to score at least 30 points in a game, scoring 31 in a win over Franklin. He was named SAA Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 5 after recording a double-double in Centre's win over Berea.
Two more Colonels were named to the All-SAA Honorable Mention squad. Freshman point guard
Landen Hamilton picked up his first All-SAA nod after a solid debut campaign for the Colonels. He was one of the most efficient guards in the league this year, ranking fourth in the conference in assists and second in both steals and assist/turnover ratio. Hamilton earned SAA Player of the Week honors the week of Jan. 22 after recording a career high ten assists and scoring the game winner in Centre's victory over Rhodes.
Senior
Chez Moore was Centre's final All-SAA Honorable Mention recipient. Moore ranked in the top ten in the SAA in seven different statistical categories. He scored 20 or more points four times this season and hit double digit rebounds eight times, including five of the last seven games of the season. He also hit a game winning FT with no time left in Centre's one-point win against Hamline in December at the Daytona Beach Shootout.
