AMHERST, N.Y. -- Daemen University men's basketball players Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) and Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) have been named to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-East Region Team, the association announced on Thursday morning. The 10-player team consists of the top players in the region, which includes the East Coast Conference (ECC), Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC). Philipkoski earned First Team honors for the first time in his career, while Ben was named to the All-Region team for the second consecutive season, picking up Second Team honors in 2026.

Fresh off the heels of being named the 2026 East Coast Conference Player of the Year, Philipkoski is shooting 50.6 percent from the field and averaging a team-high 17.5 points to go with 7.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. In his impressive junior campaign, Philipkoski is Daemen's biggest threat from beyond the arc and averages 2.3 triples per game (third in the league) and ranks second in the ECC shooting 40 percent from the three-point line. Philipkoski was named to the ECC All-Tournament Team after averaging 15 points and five rebounds per game en route to Daemen's second consecutive ECC Tournament championship this past weekend. He has scored in double figure in all but two games this season, with 12 outings of 20 points or more to his credit. He ranks fourth in scoring, and seventh in rebounding and assists among the ECC's leaders. The third Daemen player to earn ECC Player of the Year honors over six years, Philipkoski scored his 1,000th career point in the ECC final on Sunday. He becomes the third Wildcat to earn First Team All-D2CCA honors, joining Bill (2025) and Andrew Sischo (2019, 20, 21, 22). Philipkoski was named to the Bevo Francis Top 50 Watch List this season. 

Bill earns D2CCA all-region honors for the second year in a row, being named to the D2CCA Second Team in 2026. Daemen's big man returned to the Wildcat lineup after being named the 2025 ECC Player of the Year and a consensus All-American and picked up right where he left off last season, earning ECC weekly awards three times early in the year before suffering an injury. The 6-foot-10 center left Daemen's game at Mercy on Dec. 12 and missed the next 11 games. He returned to the lineup Jan. 31 vs. Roberts Wesleyan and reached double figures in seven of the last nine games. Surging in the latter part of the season, Bill has posted seven double-doubles and is averaging 16.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting an impressive 65.8 percent from the field and was named the 2026 Most Outstanding Player of the ECC Tournament. The Daemen big man was named to the Bevo Francis Top 50 Watch List for the second straight season. Bill becomes the fourth Wildcat to eaarn Second Team D2CCA honors, joining Justin Hemphill (2025), Sean Fasoyiro (2024) and Torrence Dyck (2016). 

Philipkoski, Bill and the rest of the Wildcats open up NCAA Division II Tournament play this weekend. Coming in with a 30-1 record, No. 4 ranked Daemen will host the East Region tournament at Lumsden Gymnasium from March 14-17. The top seed in the region, the Wildcats host #8 seed Goldey Beacom on Saturday at 5 PM.