Syracuse, NY — The State University of New York Athletic Conference released its annual conference awards Tuesday with two SUNY New Paltz men's basketball players earning All-SUNYAC honors. Guards A.J. Knight and Rylan Blondo are the first multiple recipients of All SUNYAC honors for the Hawks since the 2015 season.

To view the full 2023-24 All SUNYAC Men's Basketball team, click here.

The 2023-24 SUNY New Paltz men's basketball season will go down as the finest in the long history of Hawk Basketball. A 20-win season, a second seed in the SUNYAC Tournament and the winning of the program's first ever SUNYAC championship owe much to the play A.J. Knight and Rylan Blondo who were also both named to the conference's all-tournament team.

To read more about A.J. Knight and Rylan Blondo, continue below:

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First-Team All-SUNYAC

A.J. Knight (junior, guard)
Lakeview, NY/Holy Trinity Diocesan HS

The junior transfer made an immediate impression in his first season as a Hawk and fit seamlessly in a team that were determined to make history.
 
"Every single transfer you really have to make sure they are going to fit in off the court just as much as on the court," said SUNY New Paltz coach Keith Kenney. "We have a veteran group coming back and we tried to find guys that fit the roles that we thought we were missing. Me and A.J. talked a lot and I really got to know him, but I think A.J.'s personality was perfect. He wasn't going to be a guy who was going to be the center of attention so to speak, his personality is actually what we needed to be honest. His game and his personality fit in, to a T. He's just a really thoughtful, meaningful guy who doesn't care about his own personal stuff."

Knight started all 27 games, leading the team in minutes played with 845, averaging 31.6 per game clip. He scored a team high 350 points for a 13.0 points per game average. He scored in double figures in 20 of 27 games and finished third in assists with 70, second in steals with 40 and sixth with 87 rebounds. Against non-conference foes, he had 18 points with four steals against Misericordia University (12/8/23) and hit for 14 points against the US Merchant Marine Academy (11/14/23).

"A.J. in conference play was the second leading scorer in the conference last year. We actually talked all last year about not having a guy like A.J.," Kenney said. "We actually referenced him that we need a guy like A.J. Knight. A.J. brings different skills. He's a guard that can shoot better than some of the guards we've had in the past and he plays really good defense too. I had high expectations for AJ. He's definitely hit them. He's a big part of what we did this year."

Knight's best statistical performance came against his former team when he carried SUNY New Paltz to a 96-87 win on the road over the Blue Devils after scoring a career-high 30 points on an efficient 8-for-12 shooting from the field, including 5-for-6 from 3-point range with a pair of rebounds, three assists and a team-most five steals. The game unlocked Knight the rest of the way, as he became the catalyst in the Hawks securing their first ever second seed in the conference tournament. Three games later, he backed up the performance with a 25-point outing in a pivotal road win over Cortland on the road.

"A.J. is such a team guy where he didn't want to overstep and essentially coming in he was playing the same position as our best player and that is a really, really hard thing," Kenney said. "We all were trying to get A.J. to be more aggressive and honestly, the Fredonia game, he probably had his worst half of basketball in the first half and then we gave him a talk at halftime, and he just came out and once he saw everybody so excited for him, he said 'oh wow I can play this way.' And then the second half at Cortland was very similar against a more skilled team where we kind of knew he's a guy that we can run our offense through. So yeah, against his former team, I think it was meaningful for him."

Knight ultimately started all 18 SUNYAC games, leading the team in minutes played with 589. He averaged a team leading 13.7 points per game, for 246 total points. He led the team in conference assists with 59 and contributed 59 assists and 29 steals.


Third-Team All-SUNYAC

Rylan Blondo (graduate/guard)
Brooklyn, NY/Lynbrook HS

Rylan Blondo wraps up his SUNY New Paltz basketball career with his third consecutive All SUNYAC honor, this time as an All SUNYAC Third Team selection. He previously earned first team honors as a junior and second team honors as a senior. But most importantly, solidified himself as one of, if not the best, player to suit up for the Hawks after spending the last five seasons helping the team get to where they reached this past year. The two-time captain was critical in bringing the team its first SUNYAC title.

"I told Rylan on the court after we won the championship, I think he is the best player to ever play here," Kenney said. "Maybe he's not the most talented guy or has all the records, but for what he did over five years, four seasons with his leadership, with his play on the court and what he did off the court — he's brought things that no one sees. He brings things that don't show up in the stat sheet. This year he had to play a little different role. He did deal with injuries, which I know he'll never admit or make an excuse for. He didn't care. He played less some games, he played in different roles, he played more of a defensive role this year, but I've never been around a guy who truly just cares about the team and winning. Everyone talks about it, but he lives it."

Blondo started all 27 games in 2024, charting 790 minutes on the court, third among the Hawks. He scored 336 points for a 12.4 points per game average, second on the team. At 6'1", he again led SUNY New Paltz in rebounding with 179 and was also first with 50 steals; second with 71 assists. He scored in double figures in 19 of 26 games and had six double/doubles to his credit.
 
In non-conference play, he lit up the nets for 26 points against Misericordia University (12/8/23) and 20 points vs Bard College (11/18/23); he pulled down 13 rebounds against the US Merchant Marine

Academy (11/14/23), with 11 and 10 rebounds respectively against Hunter College (12/9/23) and Skidmore College (11/10/23). He also dished out six assists vs Misericordia University (12/8/23).

However, nothing was more impressive than how he led his team through two games in the conference tournament. He was the team's leading scorer in a blowout over the Red Dragons, scoring 22 points with 14 rebounds with four steals and one assist, before contributing with 16 points and five rebounds including the game sealing points to clinch the team's first ever SUNYAC Championship.

"What he did this past weekend was truly inspirational just the way he was playing Friday night against Oneonta, what he said to the team in the locker room and how he came out and played. I'll never forget," Kenney said. "It was one of the best performances — people have scored more points, but he just set the tone in the first five minutes of the game. Every guy just looked around and said, 'wow, like we can actually win a championship because of what he did.' I just think he's a once in a lifetime player to coach and he's just an unbelievable person."

Blondo starred in all 18 SUNYAC games in 2024, playing at total of 505 minutes (third on the team). He scored 184 points for a 10.2 points per game average and scored three double-doubles. He led the Hawks in conference rebounding with 103, was second in assists with 41 and added 37 steals. He scored 24 points against Oswego (1/16/24), 20 points vs Oneonta (2/23/24) and 16 points in the conference championship victory over nationally ranked Oswego (2/24/24). He had game highs of 14 rebounds vs Oneonta (2/23/24), seven steals vs Fredonia (1/27/24) and five assists vs Cortland (1/9/24).

"Obviously the championship puts him ahead of a lot of guys. He was a big part of it. He set the tone five years ago," Kenney said. We had a winning season before he got here and I think that let him see that that can be done here. And then, he just a force of nature when it comes to getting recruits. Him helping in that world and him making everyone else work up to his standard. Guys look up to him when it comes to work ethic and then they get better because they feel like, 'I have to work as hard as him.' For me, a guy who was all-conference for three years… top-13, 14 in scoring and steals and assists and some other categories, and he's one of the best defensive guards I have ever been around that definitely puts him in the conversation in my opinion because he has a really strong body of work. And ultimately, he was one of the biggest reasons we have the only SUNYAC championship in the program. So, he's a Hall of Famer in my book."


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