All five Rocket starters received recognition from the Mid-American Conference’s head coaches on Wednesday with the announcement of the league’s specialty awards and all-conference teams.
Junior Ra’Heim Moss earned First-Team All-MAC honors, while juniors Tyler Cochran and Dante Maddox Jr. were named to the Second-Team All-MAC squad. Cochran also was named the MAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year, with Moss joining him on the MAC’s All-Defensive Team to mark the first time in program history that two Rockets were selected to the defensive squad.
Redshirt freshman Javan Simmons was a unanimous selection for MAC Freshman of the Year, making him the third Rocket under Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk to be honored. Simmons was joined on the MAC’s All-Freshman Team by Sonny Wilson.
“I think we received a tremendous amount of respect from our peers in the league regarding our players in the all-conference voting,” Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “The fact that we had three of the top 10 players in the league selected two straight years is amazing. What’s truly amazing though is they are all different players. That speaks volumes to our player development, culture and what we stand for.”
Cochran is leading the MAC with 2.0 spg and tallied a team-high 6.5 rpg. He ranks third on the team with 14.4 ppg, has registered a team-high four double-doubles and grabbed two or more steals in a game on 17 occasions. Cochran’s top performance of the season came with a career-high 33-point, eight-rebound, five-assist and four-steal outing vs. Marshall (Dec. 13).
Maddox ranks second on the team with a career-high 15.5 ppg and scored a career-high 26 points vs. arch-rival Bowling Green (Jan. 27). He leads the Rockets with ten 20-point outings, 71 three-point field goals and ranks second in the conference with a team-best 85.7 free-throw percentage.
A 2021-22 All-MAC Freshman Team member, Moss leads the Rockets with a career-best 15.9 ppg, 126 free throws made and 168 free throws attempted and is tied for first with 2.9 apg, as well as ranking second with 5.6 rpg and 1.7 spg. He has scored in double digits in 29 of 31 games, including a career-high 24 points vs. Ball State.
Simmons averaged 12.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg and a team-high 0.9 bpg. He was the only freshman in the MAC to average 9.0 ppg or higher and ranked third in the MAC with a team-best 54.6 FG%. Simmons scored in double digits on 24 occasions, including a season-high 20-point outing on 10-of-13 shooting vs. Buffalo (Jan. 16). He also tallied 13 rebounds, a season-high 16 rebounds and four assists vs. Ohio (Feb. 16).
Wilson averaged 8.0 ppg and registered a team-high 2.2 assist/turnover ratio. Nine of Wilson’s 12 double-digit outings came in league games, including a season-high 20 points and nine rebounds at Buffalo. Wilson also led the Rockets with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting in a key late-season victory over second-place Akron (Feb. 20).
Toledo opens MAC Tournament play today with a quarterfinal matchup vs. Kent State. Tipoff time is set for 11 a.m. with streaming on ESPN+.
