BOSTON – Brandon Benjamin is among the 25 finalists for the 2025-26 Kyle Macy Award, which is presented by CollegeInsider.com to the top freshman in Division I college basketball. Benjamin completed an historic rookie campaign for Fairfield University Men's Basketball.
 
Benjamin averaged 14.2 points and a MAAC-leading 10.4 rebounds per game for the Stags this season. He was an All-MAAC Second Team selection and a unanimous pick to the MAAC All-Rookie Team. A seven-time MAAC Rookie of the Week, Benjamin was also tabbed for MAAC All-Championship Team honors after recording 17.0 points and 12.3 rebounds per game in Atlantic City this past week, helping guide Fairfield to two postseason wins and a trip to the semifinal round.
 
With 333 rebounds and 10.4 rebounds per game, Benjamin surpassed La Salle great Lionel Simmons for the MAAC's freshman rebounding record. He is also the first freshman in conference history to average a double-double for a season. Benjamin led the MAAC with 16 double-doubles on the campaign and also ranked second in the conference with a .565 field goal percentage and 1.6 blocked shots per outing.
 
Fairfield University Men's Basketball finished at 21-13 this season – the ninth 20-win season in program history and the second in three seasons under Head Coach Chris Casey. The Stags went 11-9 in MAAC action and defeated Manhattan and second-seeded Saint Peter's in postseason play before falling to eventual MAAC Champion Siena in the semifinals.
 
The Kyle Macy Award is named for a guard who starred as a freshman for Purdue. The 1975 Indiana Mr. Basketball, Kyle Macy played his freshman season at Purdue University, averaging 13.8 points per game while leading the Boilermakers in free throws (85.9 percent for the season). He started in 25 of 27 games, helping them to a 16-11 season record.
 
After one season in West Lafayette, Indiana, Macy transferred to the University of Kentucky in 1976. He started every game for the Wildcats in 1977. A three-time All-America and three-time All-SEC player, Macy was a member of Kentucky's 1978 National Championship team. In his senior year of 1979-80, he became the first Kentucky player ever to be named consensus Southeastern Conference Player of the Year.