Annville, PA (March 4, 2026) - Sophomores Jayden Thomas and Luke Keppel were each honored on Wednesday morning with Thomas earning First-Team and MAC Freedom Player of the Year honors and Keppel being named Honorable-Mention All-Conference as announced by the conference office and as voted on by the eight MAC Freedom coaches.

Both Thomas and Keppel earn All-Conference honors for the first time in their careers. Thomas becomes the ninth player in DeSales history to take home MAC Freedom Player of the Year honors and the first since the 2021-22 season.

Thomas enjoyed a truly remarkable season averaging 25.6 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game, and 5.5 assists per game, team-highs in all three categories. He also led the Bulldogs with 40 steals and shot 80.3 percent from the free throw line. Thomas recorded just the second ever triple-double in team history with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists vs. Gwynedd-Mercy University.

He scored the fifth most points (36) in a game twice in team history and broke the single-game record for free throws made (17). Thomas also shattered the single-season record for free throws made (212) and free throws attempted (264), broke the record for points scored in a season (666), field goals made in a season (210), and had the ninth most assists in a season (143).  Thomas is currently ranked in the top 20 in the country in both points per game (7th) and assists per game (18th).

Keppel also had an extraordinary year averaging 12.7 points per game. He shot 37.0 percent from outside the arc, hitting a team-high 57 3's on the season, and shot 81.2 percent from the free throw line.
 

2025-26 All-MAC Freedom Men's Basketball Team
Player of the Year - Jayden Thomas (DeSales University)
Defensive Player of the Year - Joshua Okocha (Arcadia University)
Rookie of the Year - Giovanni Sejuste (Lebanon Valley)
Coach of the Year - Adam Van Zelst (Arcadia University)
1st Team All-Conference
Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown	High School
F	Harmehar Chhabra	Stevens	Jr.	Monmouth Junction, NJ	South Brunswick
G	Nasheer Johnson	Arcadia	Gr.	Philadelphia, PA	Father Judge
G	Jamison Lynam	Arcadia	So.	Lorton, VA	South County
G	Tommy Scholl	Stevens	Jr.	Fairfield, CT	Fairfield Prep
G	Jayden Thomas	DeSales	So.	Allentown, PA	Parkland
2nd Team All-Conference
G	Jack Gallagher	Misericordia	Jr.	West Chester, PA	West Chester East
G	Kyle Maddison	Stevens	Jr.	Sunnyvale, CA	St. Francis
G	Matt Prociak	Misericordia	Sr.	Wilkes-Barre, PA	Holy Redeemer
G	Antonio Redding	Delaware Valley	Sr.	Orlando, FL	Central Florida Christian
F/C	Giovanni Sejuste	Lebanon Valley	Fy.	Gap, PA	Linville Hill Christian
F	Chris Smith	FDU-Florham	Jr.	Florham Park, NJ	Hanover Park
Honorable Mention
G	Luke Keppel	DeSales	So.	Whitehall, PA	Whitehall
G	Ben Rodner-Tims	King's	Jr.	Exton, PA	Bishop Shanahan
G	Kyle Tang	Lebanon Valley	Sr.	Vienna, VA	South Lakes