Make it five for Seton Hall men's basketball head coach Shaheen Holloway.
On Wednesday, the Met Basketball Writers Association (MBWA), a group of sports writers and media professionals in the Metropolitan area, announced its 2026 Division I men’s basketball awards.
Sharing the award with Hofstra’s Speedy Claxton, Holloway was named the Lou Carnesecca Co-Coach of the Year, marking his fifth coaching award of the season.
Also among the honorees was junior guard Adam “Budd” Clark, who was named to the All-Met First Team as well as graduate guard AJ Staton-McCray, named an All-Met Honorable Mention.
Having already been recognized by the AP, the BIG EAST and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), among others, Holloway has earned such recognition after leading the Pirates—who were picked to finish among the bottom of the conference standings by many prognosticators—to a 21-12 record, good enough for a fourth-place finish and first-round bye in the conference tournament instead.
After going 7-25 the season prior, The Hall’s 14-win improvement marks the best turnaround in program history and the third-best of any team in the nation this season.
Likewise, earning his fifth honor of the season was Clark, who was named to both the All-BIG EAST Second Team and the conference’s inaugural All-Defensive Team at the conclusion of the regular season, as well as the All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the BIG EAST Tournament.
Starting in all 33 of the Pirates’ games, Clark averaged a team-high 12.7 points per game, while also adding team-highs of 4.9 assists and 2.0 steals. He posted 19 games in double-figures, leading SHU in scoring nine times, which included scoring performances of 31 points—the most of any Pirate this season—24 points and 22 points, among others.
Sadly for Pirate Nation, Clark will not reprise his role with the team next season; after entering his name in the transfer portal on April 9, Clark committed to Ole Miss on April 17.
The Pirates’ final honoree was Staton-McCray, who also started in all 33 of the Pirates’ games this season, while averaging 11.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.
Like Clark, Staton-McCray also will not reprise his role with the team next season, having exercised his final year of eligibility last season.
With Holloway and The Hall retooling the roster after an eventual portal season that saw several players, like Clark, depart from the program, such awards should only incentivize players to join Holloway at The Hall, given the caliber of his coaching.
Zachary Mawby is the head editor of The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at zachary.mawby@student.shu.edu.
