BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Navy junior guard Austin Benigni was named Patriot League Men’s Basketball PenFed Credit Union Player of the Week when the League office announced the first set of weekly honors for the 2024-25 season on Monday. Loyola Maryland freshman guard Braeden Speed earned Rookie of the Week honors.
Benigni captured Patriot League Player of the Week honors after averaging 28.5 points and 5.0 assists last week, including a career-high 34 points in an 85-80 win against Harvard.
Speed picked up Patriot League Men’s Basketball PenFed Credit Union Rookie of the Week after posting 12.0 points, 3.0 steals and 2.5 assists per game during his first two collegiate games.
American graduate student guard Colin Smalls, Army West Point sophomore forward Josh Scovens, Bucknell junior center Noah Williamson, Colgate fifth-year forward Jeff Woodward and Loyola Maryland senior center Milos Ilic earned honorable mentions for their performances last week.
The Patriot League men’s basketball players of the week are selected in a vote by League media members and each school’s men’s basketball athletics communications contacts, who are not eligible to vote for their student-athletes.
PATRIOT LEAGUE MEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Austin Benigni, Navy, Jr., G, The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands Christian Academy
*Benigni averaged 28.5 points and 5.0 assists while shooting 95.5 percent (21-of-22) from the charity stripe and 45.9 percent (17-of-37) from the floor in two games to lead Navy to a 1-1 week.
*The junior guard scored a career-high 34 points, including 21 in the second half, and seven assists to lead the Mids to an 85-80 victory over Harvard in the Veterans Classic. He went 17-for-17 from the free-throw line.
*He scored 23 points in Navy’s season-opening loss at Saint Joseph’s.
PATRIOT LEAGUE MEN’S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Braeden Speed, Loyola Maryland, Fr., G, Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy Prep
*Speed scored 12.0 points per game and added 3.0 steals and 2.5 assists to help Loyola Maryland go 1-1 during the season’s opening week.
*He scored 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field in his collegiate debut against Columbia.
*The freshman guard totaled 11 points, five steals and three assists in the Greyhounds’ 83-42 win against Lancaster Bible.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Colin Smalls, American, Gr., G, Upper Marlboro, Md./St. Andrew’s
*Smalls averaged 13.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists to help American go 1-1 during the opening week of the season. The Upper Marlboro, Md. native scored a team-high 16 points in the Eagles’ 67-55 win against Harvard on Sunday.
Josh Scovens, Army West Point, So., F, Greensboro, N.C./Page
Scovens posted 19.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in Army West Point’s 1-1 week, including a 67-59 win against UAlbany. The sophomore forward finished with 22 points and five boards in the win against the Great Danes. He added 16 points in a loss at No. 5/7 Duke.
Noah Williamson, Bucknell, Jr., C, Riga, Latvia/St. Thomas More (Conn.)
Williamson averaged 19.3 points and 8.67 rebounds to lead Bucknell to a 2-1 opening week. The junior center posted 19 points and 12 boards in the Bison’s 85-73 season-opening win at Delaware. He followed with a career-high 32 points on 9-of-16 shooting in a 75-69 win at Southern Indiana.
Jeff Woodward, Colgate, 5th-year, C, Audubon, Pa./Methacton Senior
Woodward averaged 15.5 points and 7.0 rebounds to help Colgate to a 1-1 week, including a 95-62 victory over SUNY Canton on Tuesday. The fifth-year center scored a career-high 17 points, shooting 8-for-8 from the floor against the Kangaroos. He finished with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists in a loss at Drexel on Saturday.
Milos Ilic, Loyola Maryland, Sr., C, Gornj Milanovic, Serbia/Hoosac School (N.Y.)
Ilic averaged a double-double during the season’s first week with 12.0 points and 10.0 rebounds to help the Greyhounds to a 1-1 start. He scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a season-opening loss against Columbia.
