Colgate men’s basketball coach Matt Langel has been named District 13 Coach of the Year for the second time in his career, headlining Colgate’s National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) district honorees.

Langel, the winningest coach in program history, adds to a list of career accolades that includes two District Coach of the Year honors, four Patriot League Coach of the Year awards and an ECAC Coach of the Year laurel. He also has been recognized as a Mid-Major Coach of the Year finalist during his tenure with the Raiders.

Tucker Richardson garnered All-District first team and Keegan Records earned second team honors. This marks the third time in four years that at least two players have been recognized on All-District teams.

Langel’s second District 13 Coach of the Year selection comes on the heels of the Raiders’ third consecutive Patriot League championship and program records for total wins (26) and conference wins (17).

The 17 conference wins were also the most by any team in Patriot League history. Langel guided the Raiders to 26 consecutive wins over conference opponents, the longest active streak in the country at the time, which carried over two seasons and lasted more than a calendar year.

The Raiders secured their fourth consecutive Patriot League regular season championship and clinched the program’s fourth 20-win season in five years. Langel led Colgate through the league tournament with 19-point, 17-point and 18-point victories culminating with a 79-61 victory over Lafayette in the championship game to clinch the title.

Langel is the only head men’s basketball coach in Patriot League history to earn four Coach of the Year honors (2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2022-23) and has guided Colgate back to the NCAA tournament as a No. 15 seed.

Another honor for Richardson

Richardson garnered first team honors and continues to rewrite the Colgate record book as the program’s all-time leader in games played (154), assists (624) and steals (219). His 267 three-pointers are tied for the most in program history.

Richardson, a fifth-year senior, is the only player in Patriot League history to reach 1,600 points, 700 rebounds and 600 assists and enters NCAA tournament play as the only active player with at least 1,600 points, 700 rebounds, 600 assists and 200 steals. He is the only player in Patriot League history to win all four major awards — Rookie of the Year (2018-19), Player of the Year (2022-23), Defensive Player of the Year (2022-23) and Scholar-Athlete of the Year (2022-23).

The Flemington, New Jersey, native is coming off a triple-double in the Patriot League championship with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists – the program’s first triple-double since Adonal Foyle in 1997. It was the first triple-double in a championship game over the last two decades.

Records earns first All-District honor

Records enters the NCAA tournament ranked fourth nationally in field goal percentage (67.5), which would rank the best in Patriot League history for a single season.

The senior center led the team with 21 points on 9-of-10 from the field in the championship win over Lafayette.

An All-Patriot League first team selection, Records is averaging 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. He leads the team with five 20-point performances, including a career-tying 25-point game at Navy in the regular season finale.

Records has seven career double-doubles and two this season. His 12.7 points per game against conference opponents during the regular season paced the team. During the Patriot League tournament, Records connected on 23-of-28 attempts from the field (82.1) and led the team averaging 18.0 points in the three wins.

Up next

Colgate (26-8) takes on second-seeded Texas (26-8) in the first round of the NCAA tournament at 7:25 p.m. on Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. The game will be televised on TBS.