Tarrytown, N.Y. (April 27, 2023) - Hofstra men’s basketball redshirt senior guard
Aaron Estrada joined select company and made Pride history as he was named the recipient of the Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award.
The Haggerty Award is given to the All-Metropolitan New York Division I Men's College Basketball Player of the Year, presented by the National Invitation Tournament and the Met Basketball Writers Association. First presented in 1936, it is arguably the oldest and most prestigious award given to a metropolitan area player.
Estrada was also named to the All-Met First Team and fellow redshirt senior guard Tyler Thomas earned All-Met Second Team accolades.
The awards are being announced at the 90th MBWA All-Met Haggerty Awards dinner at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel & Conference Center.
Estrada is the sixth-ever Hofstra student-athlete to earn the prestigious honor, joining Bill Thieben (1956), Rich Laurel (1977), Speedy Claxton (2000), Norm Richardson (2001), and Charles Jenkins (2009, 2010, and 2011).
Since 2000, Hofstra leads all the metro area schools in Haggerty Award recipients. Hofstra has won the award six times since 2000, one more than Seton Hall and two more than St. John’s.
Estrada and Thomas had magnificent seasons for Hofstra, leading the team to 25 wins, the regular season Colonial Athletic Association title, and an appearance in the second round of the NIT after the road win over Rutgers in the opening round.
Estrada averaged 20.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in 2022-23. He led Hofstra in scoring, rebounding, and steals; while ranking second on the team in assists.
The awards were plentiful this season as he earned his second straight CAA Player of the Year nod, while also being named to the All-CAA First Team, the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 10 First Team, the United States Basketball Writers Association All-District II Team, and the All-Eastern College Athletic Conference First Team. A three-time CAA Player of the Week honoree this season, he also was named the Met Basketball Writers Association Player of the Week twice this season.
Thomas had a strong year for Hofstra in earning All-Met honors. This marks his third postseason honor this year as he previously was named to the All-CAA Second Team as well as to the NABC All-District 10 Second Team. Thomas was second on the Pride in scoring with 16.5 points per game, while also averaging 3.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks per outing. A strong outside threat, he poured in a team-high 92 three-pointers and shot a team-best 40.5% from beyond the three-point line. He also shot nearly 50% overall from the field, while playing in and starting all 35 games for Hofstra this season. He ranked 25th nationally in three-point field goal percentage.
Thomas also earned a pair of weekly awards this season, including Met Basketball Writers Player of the Week on February 7.
Thomas previously earned postseason honors from the Northeast Conference as he was named third team all-conference in 2021-22 and was a second team honoree and the conference’s most improved player in 2020-21 while playing for Sacred Heart.
The biggest shot of Hofstra’s season came off the hands of Thomas as he drained the game-winner with nine seconds remaining in overtime of the Pride’s 88-86 victory over Rutgers in the first round of the NIT.
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