Mevius, Eley claim MAAC Rookie of the Year honors for Siena hoops
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (NEWS10) -- The future of Siena basketball looks very bright. Major awards for the MAAC were announced Wednesday, and the Saints pulled a sweep of the Rookie of the Year award. Elisa Mevius took home the title on the women's side, and Michael Eley earned the honor for the men's team.
Mevius is the first Siena player since 2015 and the sixth overall to earn the prestigious honor. The Grunberg, Germany native took home the accolade after being named a Third Team All-MAAC and MAAC All-Rookie Team selection during Monday’s MAAC Postseason Awards announcement.
Just the third freshman and first since the 2014-15 campaign to earn a Third Team nod, Mevius enters the postseason with the most single-season assists (121) by an individual since that year. The team's third-leading scorer with 10.5 points per-game during the regular season, she wrapped the year as the league leader in free throw percentage (81.7) while ranking fourth in total assists (121), assist per-game (4.0), and total steals (68).
A four-time MAAC Rookie of the Week honoree and the only freshman in MAAC history to have won both Rookie and Player of the Week in the same day, she scored in double figures 16 times during the regular season, including a team single-game high of 26 points on Feb. 11 against Niagara – a game while featured a 55-foot buzzer beater now known as the "Mevius Miracle". The Grunberg, Germany native also came one assist off tying the program single-game record with 14 in the Saints' win over Marist on Jan. 7.
Mevius joins Margot Hetzke (2015), Laura Menty (2005), Liene Jansone (2001), Melanie Halker (1996), and Liz Lops (1991) as Siena’s MAAC Rookie of the Year honorees to-day. Three of the five went on to win MAAC Player of the Year at least once in their career, while the latter four are all members of the Siena Athletic Hall of Fame.
Eley, a Fort Wayne, Indiana product becomes the fifth player in program history to earn the conference’s top annual freshman honor, joining a distinguished group of Siena legends in Jalen Pickett (2018-19), Edwin Ubiles (2006-07), Kenny Hasbrouck (2005-06), and Scott Knapp (1997-98).
Eley won MAAC Rookie of the Week honors a conference-high tying six times this season, matching fellow unanimous MAAC All-Rookie Team selection and Canisius red-shirt freshman Tahj Staveskie for the league lead. The six MAAC Rookie of the Week awards were the most by a Siena freshman since Pickett won the honor a league record 11 times during the 2018-19 season.
Eley enters postseason playing leading the Saints’ second unit averaging 9.2 points in 20.8 minutes over 28 games (one start). He has scored in double figures 13 times, including a pair of 20-point performances off the bench.
In addition to Eley, five other Saints were also honored at the MAAC Postseason Awards Show. Graduate students Michael Baer and Jackson Stormo, junior Steven Lazar, and sophomores Jared Billups and Taihland Owens were named to the MAAC All-Academic Team. To be eligible, a student athlete must have completed two semesters at their institution and hold a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or better.
Mevius and Eley will aim to continue their stellar seasons into the MAAC Basketball Championships. Both squads garnered the No. 4 seed in their respective tournaments, and will open up postseason play on Thursday in the quarterfinals. The women's team battles No. 5 Fairfield at 3:30 p.m.; the men's team takes on No. 5 Niagara at 9:30 p.m. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.