BEVERLY, Mass. – Suffolk men's basketball's Greg Keane and James Jones headlined the Rams' Conference of New England (CNE) award haul with two major awards. Keane was tabbed CNE Defensive PLyaer of the Year and Jones scooped up CNE Rookie of the Year. In addition to the major awards, Jones was named to the All-CNE Third-Team, alongside Nick Verdile, the league office announced Tuesday afternoon.
It is the first time in program history that Suffolk has seen two student-athletes garner conference major awards in the same season. The awards come on the heels of a CNE Semifinals run, the program's third in as many years and fifth overall.
Keane etched his name in the Rams' record book as the first player of the year in program history and earned the feat on the defensive end. The 6-foot-9 forward was a swat machine, and it showed in the national rankings as he sat fourth in total blocks (81) and fifth in blocks per game (3.00) amongst his fellow NCAA Division III student-athletes. That effort, along with 3.6 rebounds per outing, helped Suffolk compile the 14th-best scoring defense in DIII with 64.1 ppg allowed.
Jones made his name known in his first collegiate campaign as the freshman campaign as the Boston, Massachusetts, product consistently filled the stat sheet. The forward averaged 12.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game to help Suffolk produce a 16-11 overall record. He was recognized by the league as the best rookie over a seven-day span twice in the regular-season en route to the Rams' fourth-ever rookie of the year distinction, first in the CNE era, and first since Brendan Mulson took home the accolade from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) in 2017-18. To go along with his major award, Jones received a spot on the league's third team. He is the youngest all-conference team honoree since Matt Pepdjonovic picked up a All-GNAC Third-Team nod as a freshman in 2009-10.
Verdile is sharp shooter that poured in 2.5 triples per game on a 36.4 shooting percentage from downtown supplied a team-best 13.8 ppg to the Rams' 69.4 ppg offense. That performance, combined with 2.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 0.9 steals per game gave the junior from Ballston Spa, New York his first all-conference award of his colligate career.
On top of the all-conference honors, senior captain Connor Strickland was awarded a spot on the CNE Community Service Team, which recognizes student-athletes on every member institution squad that demonstrates a commitment to their community.
Suffolk's trophy case has now expanded to a dozen CNE awards: one defensive player of the year, one rookie of the year, four first-team, one second-team and five third-team accolades. When combined with the vast GNAC honors, the Rams now have 40 all-league honor including one defensive player of the year, four rookies of the year, 16 first-team, five second-team and 13 third-team selections. Of those honors, 20 have come with Jeff Juron on the sidelines, including six first-team, third second-team and eight third-team distinctions, as well the program's lone defensive player of the year and half the squad's rookies of the year.
2026 CNE MEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS
Player of the Year - Marcus Montagnino, Endicott
Defensive Player of the Year - Greg Keane, Suffolk
Rookie of the Year - James Jones, Suffolk
Scholar-Athlete of the Year - Connor Curcio, UNE
Coach of the Year - Kevin Bettencourt, Endicott
ALL-CNE FIRST-TEAM
Javen Flowers-Smith, Nichols
Elijah Kinney, Endicott
Finn Miller, RWU
Marcus Montagnino, Endicott
Luka Vlajkovic, WNE
ALL-CNE SECOND-TEAM
Alvin Baez, JWU
Matt Houde, WNE
Adam Lux, UNE
Dominic Mello, Nichols
Kyle Winters, Hartford
ALL-CNE THIRD-TEAM
Alex Daniel, Gordon
James Jones, Suffolk
Ashton Leclerc, RWU
Adrian Torres, UNE
Nick Verdile, Suffolk
COMMUNITY SERVICE TEAM
Jake Bernardo, Curry
Connor Curcio, UNE
Joey DaSilva, Endicott
Russell Dolabany, Wentworth
Bruce McGuire, Gordon
Oscar Morales, WNE
Kuany Teng, Nichols
Silas Sawtelle, JWU
Jared Similien, Hartford
Connor Strickland, Suffolk
Philip Sughrue, RWU