ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – Freshmen Hakim Byrd and Ricardo Wright of the Marist men's basketball team were both named to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Rookie Team, the conference announced Monday morning.
 
This marks the first time in Marist's 24 years in the MAAC that two Red Foxes have been named to the conference's All-Rookie Team.
 
Byrd played in all 20 of Marist's regular-season games, with eight starts. He is averaging 8.3 points, 2.0 assists, and 2.0 rebounds per game while shooting .826 from the free-throw line. Byrd scored a season-high 20 points at Manhattan on Dec. 20, a contest in which he also tallied four assists, three steals, and three rebounds. He was named MAAC Rookie of the Week on Dec. 14.
 
Wright was a unanimous selection to the All-Rookie Team, and was named MAAC Rookie of the Week four times in the regular season. He is Marist's leading scorer at 11.4 points per game, and also leads the Red Foxes in minutes per game at 28.8. His 22 points at Rider on Jan. 23 are the most by a Red Fox this season. Wright played in all 20 regular-season games, with 16 starts.
 
Byrd and Wright were joined on the MAAC All-Rookie Team by Iona's Nelly Junior Joseph, as well as Quinnipiac's Tymu Chenery and Luis Kortright.
 
Marist finished the regular season at 12-8 overall and 10-8 in MAAC play. It is the Red Foxes' first winning season in 13 years. Marist will open MAAC Championship play as the fourth seed on Thursday against fifth-seeded Niagara. The game will tip off at 7:30 p.m., and will be shown live on ESPN+.