Princeton’s Pierce named Ivy Player of the Year
Princeton’s Pierce goes from Rookie of the Year to Player of the Year in sophomore season >>
How about that for an encore? Caden Pierce backed up his Rookie of the Year campaign last season by going one better in his sophomore season.
The 6-foot-7 forward out of Glen Ellyn, Ill., was named Ivy League Player of the Year on Wednesday after helping Princeton to the outright regular-season title and a 24-3 record this season.
“Every game,” said coach Mitch Henderson, “he is unlocking something new.”
Pierce ranked in the top-10 in the league in scoring, rebounding and assists with averages of 16.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists, while shooting 54.6% from the floor. He reached double-digits in 14 of his last 15 game and posted 13 doubledoubles.
He is the first sophomore to earn the league’s top honor since Harvard’s Seth Towns in 2017-18 and joins a long list of great Princeton players to bring the award to Old Nassau, the last of whom was Tosan Evbuomwan in 2021-22.
“He’s so reliable,” senior forward Zach Martini said. “He’s not the biggest post player, but he’s got great footwork, great athleticism, great finishing. We trust him down low near the rim. He was shooting 3s, too. Just an all-around great player.”
Pierce, who was Ivy Player of the Week five times, put the finishing touch on the Player of the Year award last weekend. Needing a victory to win the regular-season title for the third straight season — and second time in three years outright — he scored a career-best 32 points on 11of-17 from the field, 8-of-9 from the free throw line and grabbed nine rebounds.
“None of that would be possible without my teammates,” Pierce said. “We hit every shot, so it made my job so much easier. In the second half, they couldn’t help as much when I was in the post, so I would kick it out and the shot would go in most times.”
Pierce was one of four unanimous First Team All-Ivy picks, He was joined by teammate Xaivian Lee, Brown’s Kino Lilly Jr., Cornell’s Chris Manon and Yale’s Danny Wolf. Lee, Manon and Wolf were also unanimous selections.
Lee had a breakout sophomore campaign in which he ranked third in the league in scoring at 17.7 points behind only Lilly and Penn’s Clark Slajchert. The 6-foot-3 guard from Toronto had NBA scouts showing up to Jadwin to watch him put on dazzling displays, including a pair of games with at least 30 points. Lee also averaged 5.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
Senior guard Matt Allocco (12.6 points, 3.4 assists, 42.7% from 3) was a Second Team selection, although you could have made an argument for him as Player of the Year just as you could have Pierce or Lee.
“There’s something special about all of them,” Henderson said. “Mush is like everything. He’s the heart and soul and allows everyone else to be the best version of themselves.”
Henderson was named Coach of the Year.
“We’re a make shots program,” Pierce said. “It’s what we do. We shoot all the time and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we hit so many shots.”
Princeton faces Brown in an Ivy Tournament semifinal on Saturday at 11 a.m. inside Columbia’s Levien Gymnasium.
“We were in a dogfight in both of those games (last season),” Henderson said. “It’s going to be really hard. We know it. Each game comes down to four or five plays and you want to be on the right side. Just because we’ve been doing that doesn’t mean we’re going to do it again. There’s not much protection for the one seed, it’s a neutral site, everybody is rested and you have to be the best team.”