NEW YORK – Braden Sparks and Brandon Benjamin of Fairfield University Men's Basketball have been named to the All-Met Third Team, which was announced on Wednesday morning by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association. The duo helped lead the Stags to 21 wins and a berth in the MAAC Championship Semifinals this past season.
 
An All-MAAC Second Team selection, Braden Sparks finished his senior season ranked fourth in the MAAC with 17.2 points per game. He bolstered his scoring total with 96 three-pointers – the third most in Fairfield single-season history – while ranking third in the MAAC with a .390 three-point percentage. Sparks' 584 total points were the seventh-most by a Stag in a single season. He also ranked eighth in the MAAC in field goal percentage (.412) and ninth in free throw percentage (.804).
 
Sparks filled out his statline with 1.4 steals and 2.6 assists per game.
 
Brandon 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. 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 Men's Basketball completed the 2025-26 season with a record of 21-13 – the ninth 20-win season in program history and the second in three years led by Head Coach Chris Casey. The Stags won two games in Atlantic City, including an upset of second-seeded Saint Peter's, to reach the MAAC Championship Semifinals. Fairfield's campaign came to an end against the eventual MAAC Champion, Siena.
 
The 2025-26 All-Met teams will be honored at the 93rd MBWA Haggerty Awards dinner on Thursday, April 23, at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel & Conference Center in Tarrytown. The Haggerty dinner, which also will be livestreamed, is the longest running, media-managed college basketball awards program in the United States.