College Men’s Basketball: Toomey Named Northeast Player of the Year, Workman and Kaasila All-Region

AMHERST, Mass. – Amherst College guard Aaron Toomey ’14 was named the All-Northeast Region Player of the Year by D3hoops.com on Wednesday, with teammate Willy Workman ’13 joining him on the All-Region First Team and center Peter Kaasila ’13 earning third-team honors.

Williams’ Michael Mayer ’14 was the only other NESCAC student-athlete to join Toomey and Workman on the five-man first team while the Lord Jeffs were the only program across the region to place three players on the four-team honor roll. The Ephs’ Taylor Epley ’14 and Middlebury’s Joey Kizel ’14 earned second-team praise while the Panthers’ Nolan Thompson ’13 grabbed third-team honors and Tufts’ Tom Palleschi ’16 was named regional Rookie of the Year. Williams’ Mike Maker rounded out the individual awards as Coach of the Year.

The NESCAC Player of the Year and already the 10th-leading scorer in program history, Toomey picks up his second consecutive First Team All-Region nod in the final stages of a prolific junior season. The Greensboro, N.C. native ranks among the conference’s top five in scoring (17.4 ppg), three-pointers (3.0 per game) and assists (5.0) while boasting the nation’s fourth-best free throw percentage at 90.8.

Toomey matched his career-high of 34 points twice this season, in addition to draining a personal-best eight three-pointers in a 28-point effort in the NESCAC quarterfinals against Colby. Other highlights for the junior included his game-winning three-pointer in the third overtime of a crucial regular season finale at Middlebury, a career-high 12-assist early-season effort against Curry and 25 points on six three-pointers in last Saturday’s NCAA Second Round win over SUNY Plattsburgh.

Meanwhile, Workman joins Toomey on the regional first team after earning fourth-team honors from D3hoops in 2011-12. A versatile swingman, he was also an All-NESCAC first team pick, ranking third in the league in both rebounds (7.9) and blocks (1.6) while also averaging 12.2 points, 3.9 assists and 1.4 steals per contest.

The 2012 NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year, Workman has posted a team-best seven double-doubles on the season, with two of them coming in crunch time during the final week of the conference regular season. Against No. 8 Williams and No. 7 Middlebury, the Northampton native averaged 21.5 points and 13 rebounds, shooting 66.7 percent from the floor and 55.6 percent from three-point range. Workman netted a career-high 30 points in the thriller at Middlebury, none bigger than his stunning put-back of an intentionally missed free throw to tie the game and force a third overtime. The senior co-captain has been steady in the postseason as well, turning in another trademark effort against Plattsburgh with 11 points, nine boards, five assists, two blocks and three steals.

Finally, Kaasila lands on the third team after emerging as a force in the post during his senior season. A second-team All-NESCAC pick, he ranks first in the conference and fourth nationally with a .641 field goal percentage while averaging 13.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game – including a 16.0 scoring average in conference play.

A native of Plaistow, N.H., Kaasila has scored in double figures in 21 of 28 contests, including a career-high 29 points on 13-of-19 shooting in the Middlebury game as he scored clutch buckets late in regulation and throughout overtime to fuel Amherst’s win. The senior stayed hot in the NESCAC playoffs, scoring 18 of his game-high 20 in the second half as the Jeffs pulled away from Tufts in the semifinals, then joining Workman and Toomey in the program’s 1,000-point club as he shot 7-for-11 for 14 points in the title game win over Williams.