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Bridgewater, NJ -- The NEC announced the 2025-26 Preseason All-NEC Men’s Basketball Team on Monday.
 
A veteran-laced and hungry LIU squad highlighted the preseason squad by landing not one, but two, unanimous selections. The Sharks were selected as the unanimous NEC preseason favorite by the league’s head coaches.
 
Redshirt senior guard Malachi Davis (Scarborough, Canada/Central Tech (Tallahassee CC/Lake Land College/Arizona State)), a 2024-25 All-NEC first team selection, and fellow Canadian classmate Jamal Fuller (Toronto, Canada/Central Tech (Hill College/Academy of Art)), a swingman who is coming off an All-NEC second team campaign a year ago, were joined on the preseason team by a pair of 2024-25 All-Rookie team honorees: Central Connecticut sophomore forward Darin Smith Jr. (Springfield, MA/Vermont Academy) and Stonehill sophomore guard Hermann Koffi (Quebec City, Quebec/Polyvalente de Thetford Mine). Mercyhurst graduate guard Bernie Blunt III (Morgantown, PA/Peddie School (Edinboro/Quinnipiac)) rounded out the five-member team.
 
The announcement of the team, along with the unveiling of the NEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, was made on Monday, Oct. 27 as part of #NECMBB Media Week.
 
The expectations were high for Davis coming into his LIU debut last season, and the crafty 6’4” combo guard did not disappoint. After a stint at Arizona State, the Toronto native was the centerpiece of a retooled LIU roster, quickly establishing himself as the squad’s go-to scorer and one of the NEC’s toughest covers. Shredding defenses with his shifty handle and ability to get to the rim, Davis finished the 2024-25 campaign as the league’s second-leading scorer (17.7 ppg). To go along with his offensive prowess, the redshirt senior guard, who was the NEC’s premier pickpocket during league play with 2.5 swipes per game, brought grit to an LIU team that was first in the conference in steal rate, turnover rate and defensive efficiency. 
 
Supplying LIU with 12.5 points per game, Fuller played bigger than his 6’5” stature in his first year of residency in Brooklyn. Overpowering defenders in the paint, the versatile Toronto product was also a handful to guard with his ability to stretch the floor from deep, where he drilled 36 three-pointers at a healthy 37.0 percent clip. In addition, Fuller’s 6.0 boards per game made him the Sharks’ second-leading rebounder.
 
In a cast of characters that featured the 2024-25 NEC Player of the Year (Jordan Jones), the reigning NEC Defensive Player of the Year (Abdul Momoh) and another NEC all-star in Devin Haid, Smith’s contributions off the bench for 2024-25 NEC regular-season champion and NEC championship runner-up Central Connecticut did not go unnoticed. A budding standout among an experienced roster loaded with offensive firepower, the athletic wing and four-time NEC Rookie of the Week honoree quickly made a name for himself as one of the league’s top sixth men with his efficiency. He led the NEC in three-point shooting, hitting 46.3 percent from deep while also converting on 58.0 percent of his two-point attempts, averaged 6.8 points per game for the Blue Devils.
 
A confident shooter who did not shy away from knocking down shots in crunch time for Stonehill, Koffi played like a seasoned pro despite the rookie title next to his name on last year’s roster. The Canadian-born guard became a mainstay in the Skyhawks’ starting five just five games into his career, and once league play came around, he was on opposing team’s radars as a key offensive threat. Koffi dropped double figures seven times in 16 NEC games to the tune of a 9.9 point-per-game average, which ranked third among fellow Skyhawks and second among all NEC rookies. In addition, his 1.8 made triples per game ranked eighth on the circuit.
 
A Keystone State product who took detours through Edinboro and Quinnipiac before landing in Erie, Blunt’s return to Division I last season was as impressive as Mercyhurst’s leap from D2 to the NCAA’s highest ranking. The three-level scorer’s game rose as the season progressed as his 12.5 ppg average was bolstered to an even better 14.1 ppg clip against NEC competition. A threat from deep with 45 threes, Blunt’s ability to get to the rim added another dimension to his offensive arsenal and when he got to the charity stripe, he was near automatic with a .926 conversion rate, the sixth-best mark in the nation.
 
2025-26 NEC Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team    
          
Name                School          Pos.  Ht.   Wt.   Cl.   Hometown/High School

About The Northeast Conference

Now in its 45th season, the NEC is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of ten institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Chicago (#3), Boston (#9). Hartford/New Haven (#32) and Syracuse (#88). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 25 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC full member institutions include Central Connecticut, Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Mercyhurst, New Haven, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.necsports.com) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.