PROVIDENCE, R.I. (March 5, 2025) – Following the conclusion of the 2024-25 Little East Conference Men's Basketball season, the LEC announced the major award winners and All-LEC selections, with three UMass Boston Beacons earning postseason honors.

Starting off the 2024-25 major awards, the Beacons' standout rookie Raphel Laurent (Peabody, Mass.) is your 2025 LEC Rookie of the Year. Laurent was pivotal in his first season with the Beacons. In 29 minutes per game through 26 total games, Laurent averaged 13.8 points per game on 52% shooting from the field, with 4.6 rebounds per game and 1.7 steals per game. Laurent ranked sixth in the conference for FG% and was 11^th in total steals (43). Laurent turned in a memorable rookie campaign to secure the first ROTY award for the Beacons since Michael Boyd in 2018. Laurent is the 10^th Beacon to win the award in program history.

The Beacons' 18^th 1,000-career-point scorer Emanuel Zayas (Hollywood, Fla.) deservedly was recognized as one of six of the conference's best performers, as he was selected to the All-LEC First team. Last season, Zayas was recognized with his first All-LEC selection to the Second Team, with this year's selection marking the second All-Conference selection of his career. Zayas added 427 total points this season with a nightly average of 16.4 PPG on 42% FG shooting. Zayas was ranked first in the LEC for 3PM per game (2.8), was eighth in three-point percentage (38.7%), top six in LEC scoring, and sixth in the conference for assists per game with 3.3 (90 total). He was also top five in the LEC for total steals with 50 swipes this season. Among the Beacons, Zayas led all scorers, playmakers, and perimeter defenders in PPG, 3PT, APG, and SPG.

Rounding out the Beacons' postseason awards was Xavier McKenzie (Lowell, Mass.) with a nod to the All-LEC Second team, the first postseason award of his career with UMass Boston. In 32.4 minutes per game in 19 games this season, McKenzie averaged 15.4 PPG, good for the third-highest average on the squad. McKenzie was nearly unstoppable on the dribble drive all season, solidifying himself as a pure shot-creator who took the defense's attention off of Zayas and Laurent, allowing them to prosper this season. McKenzie averaged 4.6 rebounds per game and 1.7 steals per game to support his scoring efforts. On the conference level, McKenzie was ninth in three-point percentage and among the top 20 perimeter defenders with 1.6 steals per game (30 total).