Men's Basketball | 5/8/2026 1:30:00 PM

AMHERST, N.Y. -- After a star-studded 2025-26 season that included multiple awards and ended in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) of the Daemen University men's basketball team was named the Daemen Athletics Male Athlete of the Year. The announcement was made at the 2026 Daemen Night of Honors, an annual event held to recognize the achievements of the university's intercollegiate teams and student-athletes.

We have been featuring each of the major award winners throughout the week on www.daemenwildcats.com.

In his junior campaign, Philipkoski earned All-American honors from both the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Division II Commissioners Conference Association (D2CCA) as well as earning East Coast Conference Player of the Year, NABC First Team All-District, D2CCA First Team All-East Region, East Region Tournament Most Outstanding Player and ECC All-Tournament Team honors this season. Philipkoski led the Wildcats with 17.8 points per game while shooting 51.2 percent from the field and 41.9 percent beyond the arc. He ranked fourth in the ECC in points (17.8), seventh in rebounds (7.1) and assists (3.8), and eighth in steals (1.5). He led the team with 623 total points, marking the first 600+ point season for a Daemen player since Andrew Sischo's 665 in 2021-22. 

He finished the 2025-26 season with 213 field goals, moving himself into 10th all-time in the Daemen record books for single-season field goals. His 91 triples ranks third all-time. Philipkoski also set the single-season program record for free throw percentage (.876). He became the 31th player in Daemen program history to record 1,000 career points in the Wildcats' ECC Championship victory over Roberts Wesleyan on March 8, and finished the season ranking 23rd all-time in career scoring with 1,085 points. Philipkoski scored in the double-digits in all but two games this season, and recorded a career-high 40 points in Daemen's East Region championship victory over Saint Anselm after banking a career-high 11 triples. He became just the fourth player in program history to total at least 500 points and 250 rebounds in a season, as well as becoming the eighth player in program history with at least 1,000 points, 400 rebounds and 200 assists. 

Other nominees for the award include Benjamin Bill (men's basketball), Justin Hemphill (men's basketball), CJ Johnson (men's cross country/track), Patrick Mullen (men's volleyball) and Billy Wieberg (men's volleyball). 

Philipkoski is the 12th men's basketball player to earn Male Athlete of the Year and the seventh different basketball player to earn the award since its inception during the 2011-2012 season.

MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
2012 - Dom Mazzocchi, Basketball
2013 - Casey Sheehan, Basketball
2014 - Gerald Beverly, Basketball
2015 - Gerald Beverly, Basketball
2016 - Torrence Dyck, Basketball
2017 - Kevin Roginson, Cross Country/Track & Field
2018 - Andrew Sischo, Basketball
2019 - Andrew Sischo, Basketball
2020 - Andrew Sischo, Basketball
2021 - Andrew Sischo, Basketball
2022 - Andrew Sischo, Basketball
2023 - Zach Schneider, Volleyball
2024 - Zach Schneider, Volleyball
2025 - Benjamin Bill, Basketball
2026 - Zach Philipkoski, Basketball