RICHMOND, Va. – Freshman Max Mackinnon and senior Zac Ervin of the Elon University men's basketball team were selected as Colonial Athletic Association major award winners as the league announced its men's basketball postseason awards on Thursday morning, March 2.
 
Mackinnon was named the CAA Rookie of the Year by the league coaches, becoming the third Phoenix player to be honored with the accolade. He was also named to the CAA All-Rookie Team. Ervin was tabbed as the CAA's Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the fourth time that the program has had an athlete receive the award.
 
A 6-foot-5 guard/forward from Brisbane, Australia, Mackinnon is averaging 11.7 points per game and shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor during his freshman campaign. He shot nearly 51 percent from the field during CAA play while averaging just under 12 points per game. The rookie has also displayed a great all-around game as he ranks second on the team rebounds (5.2), assists (2.5) and steals (1.1). A four-time CAA Rookie of the Week honoree this season, Mackinnon leads the Phoenix with three double-doubles and has scored in double figures 17 times this year including four 20-point performances.
 
Among Mackinnon's standout games this in 2022-23 include him scoring 19 points at No. 18/21 Indiana, the second-highest point total that a freshman has scored against the Hoosiers at that point of the season. He scored a season-high 24 points while adding his first career double-double with 12 rebounds at High Point. He also added 20 points and a season-best eight assists at Northeastern while scoring 17 points with a career-best 13 rebounds at No. 22 College of Charleston.
 
Mackinnon joins Elijah Bryant (2015) and Hunter McIntosh (2020) as Phoenix to be named CAA Rookie of the Year. Elon's three CAA Rookie of the Year honorees tie Delaware for the most in the league since the Phoenix joined the CAA in 2014-15.
 
Ervin becomes the second straight Phoenix player to be named the CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year, following McIntosh in 2022. The Gate City, Va., native graduated from Elon last May with a degree in project management with a 3.69 GPA. He currently holds a 3.65 GPA in his master's studies in business analytics. On the court, Ervin ranks third on the team in scoring at 9.4 points per game while leading the team in three-point makes with 60 and is in the top-10 of the CAA in three-pointers per game at 2.0. He is third on the team with 13 double-digit scoring games this year including a season-high 20 at UNCW. Ervin also connected on a season-best six triples versus Johnson & Wales (Charlotte) and scored 19 points in the contest.
 
Elon will be back in action to begin the postseason on Saturday, March 4, at the 2023 Jersey Mike's CAA Championship as the ninth-seeded Phoenix faces eighth-seeded William & Mary at 12 p.m. at the Entertainment & Sports Arena. That game will air on FloHoops.
 
2022-23 CAA Men's Basketball Award Winners
Player of the Year: Aaron Estrada, Hofstra
Rookie of the Year: Max Mackinnon, Elon
Defensive Player of the Year: Amari Williams, Drexel
Sixth Man of the Year: Pat Robinson III, Charleston
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Zac Ervin, Elon
Dean Ehlers Leadership Award: Coleman Stucke, Northeastern
Coach of the Year: Speedy Claxton, Hofstra
 
First Team All-CAA
Dalton Bolon, Charleston
Aaron Estrada, Hofstra
Jameer Nelson, Jr. Delaware
Nicolas Timberlake, Towson
Amari Wiiliams, Drexel
 
Second Team All-CAA
Cam Holden, Towson
Tyler Thomas, Hofstra
Charles Thompson, Towson
Trazarien White, UNCW
Kam Woods, North Carolina A&T
 
Third Team All-CAA
Ante Brzovic, Charleston
Jyáre Davis, Delaware
Ryan Larson, Charleston
Tyler Stephenson-Moore, Stony Brook
Jahmyl Telfort, Northeastern
 
CAA All-Rookie Team
Jack Collins, Monmouth
Max Mackinnon, Elon
Justin Moore, Drexel
Kyrese Mullen, Hampton
Duncan Powell, North Carolina A&T
 
CAA All-Defensive Team
Jaquan Carlos, Hofstra
Jameer Nelson Jr., Delaware
Jaylon Scott, Charleston
Charles Thompson, Towson
Amari Williams, Drexel