MELBOURNE, Fla. - The Sunshine State Conference recognizes 16 men's basketball student-athletes as All-SSC in 2024-25. Florida Southern's Alex Steen repeats as the SSC Defensive Player of the Year while he is joined by Jadin Booth on the All-SSC First Team. Steen was joined by Peyton Gerald as two of five student-athletes to earn All-SSC Defensive Team. 

"Well deserved recognition for Jadin, Alex and Peyton," Head Coach Mike Donnelly said. "They have had great years for us and have played major roles in our team's success this season. They are great guys who work hard and are fun to work with."
 

Steen, a 6-8 junior forward from Panama City Beach, Florida, collects Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive year. He tallied 6.7 defensive rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 1.1 steals, and 28.6 minutes per game across his 30 contests to remain the third Moccasin to win the award². Steen finished the regular season Top-3 in SSC total rebounds (315), rebounds per game (10.5), defensive rebounds per game, total points (571), field goal percentage (.571), blocks (78), and blocks per game. He is the third athlete to win the award twice since league coaches established it in 2007-08³. The two-time league Defensive Player of the Year and All-Defensive Team performer earns First Team accolades this season following Second Team honors in 2023-24.
 

Booth won his second All-SSC First Team honor after being named to First Team in the 2022-23 season. The graduate student from Omaha, Neb. has shined in the 2024-25 season, leading the team with 20.9 points per game and 5.7 assists per game. He ranks second in the conference in scoring and assists while leading the league in free throw percentage (.929). Booth hit a major milestone this season with 1,000 career points as a Moccasin, the 47th player to reach the mark in program history. He also hit a career-high 40 points in a single game on two different occasions at Lynn and at Nova Southeastern earlier this calendar year. 
 

Gerald has had a remarkable season for the Moccasins, emerging as a key scorer and defender. A double-digit scorer in 17 of his last 19 games, Gerald is third on the team in points per game (14.3) and second behind Steen in Blocks per game (2.1).  Shooting over 50 percent from the field this season, Gerald also eclipsed over 1,00 points (between his time at FSC and Catawba), highlighting a great collegiate career thus far. Averaging 29.5 minutes a game, only behind Booth, Gerald also makes a big impact in rebounding, averaging 5.9 a game. He also joins Booth and Dominick Denny as Moccasins with 50+ steals this season. 

Nova Southeastern's MJ Iraldi and Jim Crutchfield are named Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively. Saint Leo's Jaylan McElroy earns Freshman of the Year. NSU's MJ Iraldi and Dallas Graziani join Booth and Steen on the First Team All-SSC while Lynn's Leo Beath was also named to the first team. The Second Team was made up of Ryker Cisarik (NSU), Dru Nickson (ERAU), Carson Smith (Lynn), Joshua Ward (PBA), and Tyson Leitao (UT) while five student-athletes comprised the Third Team in Isaiah Placide (EC), Bryan Williams (UT), Emilis Butkus (RC), Jimel Lane (BU), and Beau Frericks (RC). 

All five student-athletes on the All-Defensive team were selected to the first or second teams. Alongside Steen and Gerald were Dallas Graziani, Ryker Cisarik, and Joshua Ward. 

All-conference selections and individual award winners are determined by a vote of Sunshine State Conference head coaches with oversight and approval from member institution Athletic Directors.
 
Player of the Year: MJ Iraldi, Nova Southeastern
Defensive Player of the Year: Alex Steen, Florida Southern
Freshman of the Year: Jaylan McElroy, Saint Leo
Coach of the Year: Jim Crutchfield, Nova Southeastern
 
 

2024-25 Men's Basketball All-SSC First Team
Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
G/F	MJ Iraldi	Nova Southeastern	Sr.	West Deptford, New Jersey
G	Jadin Booth^	Florida Southern	Gr.	Omaha, Nebraska
F	Alex Steen*	Florida Southern	Jr.	Panama City Beach, Florida
G	Dallas Graziani	Nova Southeastern	Jr.	Pembroke Pines, Florida
F	Leo Beath	Lynn	Jr.	Malibu, California
2024-25 Men's Basketball All-SSC Second Team
Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
F	Ryker Cisarik	Nova Southeastern	Sr.	Highlands Ranch, Colorado
G	Dru Nickson~	Embry-Riddle	Sr.	Melbourne, Florida
G	Carson Smith	Lynn	Gr.	Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
G	Joshua Ward	Palm Beach Atlantic	Jr.	Memphis, Tennessee
F	Tyson Leitao	Tampa	Sr.	Chicago, Illinois
2024-25 Men's Basketball All-SSC Third Team
Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
G	Isaiah Placide	Eckerd	Sr.	Hampton, Georgia
G	Bryan Williams†	Tampa	Sr.	West Palm Beach, Florida
G	Emilis Butkus	Rollins	Jr.	Vilnuis, Lithuania
F	Jimel Lane	Barry	Jr.	Miami, Florida
G	Beau Frericks	Rollins	Gr.	Cary, Illinois
2024-25 Men's Basketball All-SSC Defensive Team
Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
F	Alex Steen*	Florida Southern	Jr.	Panama City Beach, Florida
G	Dallas Graziani	Nova Southeastern	Jr.	Pembroke Pines, Florida
F	Ryker Cisarik	Nova Southeastern	Sr.	Highlands Ranch, Colorado
F	Peyton Gerald	Florida Southern	Sr.	Charlotte, North Carolina
G	Joshua Ward	Palm Beach Atlantic	Jr.	Memphis, Tennessee

 
* = 2023-24 All-SSC Second Team, All-Defensive Team, Defensive Player of the Year
^ = 2022-23 All-SSC First Team
~ = 2023-24 All-SSC Third Team
† = 2021-22 All-Newcomer Team
 
 1 NSU Players of the Year: Sekou Sylla (2021-22), RJ Sunahara (2022-23)
2 FSC Defensive Players of the Year: Jarel Spellman (2016-17), Jalyn Hinton (2019-20 & 2020-21), Alex Steen (2023-24 & 2024-25)
3 2+ Defensive Player of the Year: Corbin Jackson, Florida Tech (2013-14, 2014-15, & 2015-16); Jalyn Hinton (2019-20 & 2020-21)
4 Saint Leo Freshmen of the Year: Marquis McCullogh (2004-05), Jordan Prais (2006-07), Nate Johnson (2010-11).
5 Crutchfield was previously named Coach of the Year in 2018-19, 2021-22, & 2022-23