Hempstead, NY - Hofstra University Head Men's Basketball Coach Speedy Claxton was named the Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year and redshirt senior guard Aaron Estrada was named the CAA Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, it was announced by the conference office this morning. Claxton and Estrada join a total of four members of the program honored today with the release of the postseason awards.

The awards are voted on by the league's 13 head coaches.

Joining Claxton and Estrada in earning postseason honors from the league were redshirt senior guard Tyler Thomas on the All-CAA Second Team and sophomore guard Jaquan Carlos picking up CAA All-Defensive Team accolades. 

Estrada captured CAA Player of the Year honors in back-to-back years, marking the third Hofstra player to win the honor in consecutive seasons. Remarkably he is Hofstra's fourth CAA Player of the Year honoree since 2018 (Justin Wright-Foreman in 2018 and 2019) and the program's eighth since joining the league in 2002 (Juan'ya Green - 2016, Charles Jenkins - 2010 and 2011, and Loren Stokes - 2007). 

Claxton becomes Hofstra's second-ever CAA Coach of the Year honoree after Joe Mihalich received the award in 2019. Prior to Mihalich, the last Hofstra coach to earn a conference's coach of the year award was Jay Wright in 2000 and 2001 from the America East Conference. 
 
Claxton is in his second season at the helm of the Pride and has guided the Pride to 23 wins so far this year, after a 21-win rookie campaign. This year he led Hofstra to the CAA regular season title and the top seed in the upcoming conference championship. The .698 winning percentage through his 63 career games ranks as the second-best, known winning percentage among head coaches in program history, only surpassed by Paul Lynner. This year, he is one of only two second-year coaches, the other being Arizona's Tommy Lloyd, to win at least 20 games. He is also only the second Hofstra head coach to win at least 20 games in his first two years at the helm, joining Lynner (1962-63 and 1963-64). Among his accomplishments, Claxton led the Pride to a pair of wins the last two seasons over ranked opponents, beating #24 Arkansas in 2021-22 and taking down #18 Charleston back on January 28. Claxton also has Hofstra in the midst of its current 11-game win streak. 
 
Estrada had another tremendous regular season as he enters the CAA Championship with averages of 20.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.4 steals per outing. He ranks second in the league in scoring, 18th in rebounding, third in field goal percentage, sixth in assists, fourth in free throw percentage, 12th in steals, seventh in three-point field goals made, seventh in assist/turnover ratio, and sixth in defensive rebounds. A three-time CAA Player of the Week honoree this season, he has earned a total of eight weekly honors from around the nation in 2022-23. He currently ranks 30th in program history in points with 1,141. 
 
Thomas garnered a spot on the second team after a spectacular regular season, his first in a Pride uniform. Thomas is second on the team in scoring at 16.2 points per contest, while also averaging 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He is shooting a robust 49% from the field overall and 41% from three-point range. Thomas most recently was named the CAA and Met Basketball Writers Player of the Week on February 6 and 7, respectively. 
 
Carlos earns the first postseason honor of his career after a solid regular season. One of the top defenders in the conference, he currently ranks seventh in the league in steals with 1.5 per game. His all-around game has helped the Pride immensely this season as he is also averaging 6.0 points, a team-high 4.9 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per outing. 

Hofstra begins play in the CAA Championship on Sunday when it takes on the winner of the William & Mary/Elon game at 12 p.m. in the quarterfinals. That contest will air on FloHoops and WRHU (88.7 FM).