Middlebury men's basketball player Alex Sobel has been selected as both the NESCAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. The senior forward becomes the fourth Panther to earn the league's Player of the Year laurel and the program's fifth Defensive Player of the Year. Sobel is the first player since the inception of the awards in 2001 to collect both the Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors in the same season. He also landed a spot among the All-NESCAC First-Team honorees.
 
HONOREE HIGHLIGHTS

• Sobel (First Team)
  • Sobel has had a phenomenal senior campaign for the Panthers thus far on both ends of the floor. 
  • The senior has sprinkled his name throughout the Middlebury record books in both the single-season and career columns.
  • He is second in Division III this winter in total blocks (92) and blocks per game (3.83). 
  • The forward has recorded at least one blocked shot in each of the last 47 games.
  • Sobel has also filled up the scoring column this winter, notably eclipsing the 1,000 career-point mark to become the 26th player in program history to surpass that plateau.
  • He currently has scored 1,180 points, placing him 12th in Middlebury's history.
  • The Panther leads the league averaging 19.1 points per contest and has scored 20 or more points in 10 games this season. He has also tallied double-figure point totals in all 24 games this year and 34 straight.
  • Sobel also sits atop the NESCAC ranks with 11.9 rebounds per contest. His 282 rebounds in 2022-23 rank fifth in the single-season book, just behind the 290 he pulled down as a junior.
  • He currently is second in program history with 789 boards.
  • Sobel has 37 career double-doubles, with 16 of those coming this season. That total ranks him 15th among Division III players.
  • The forward also leads the team and ranks eighth in the NESCAC with 78 assists.
  • Sobel has been named the NESCAC Player of the Week three times this season.
  • The senior has also been tabbed the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Division III National Player of the Week twice.

The complete list of NESCAC awards can be found here.
 
Sobel and his teammates will host an NCAA Regional this weekend in Pepin Gymnasium. Rochester (N.Y.) and Nichols square off in Friday's first game, while the Panthers host Worcester State at 6:10 p.m. in the second contest. The winners will play on Saturday at 6:10 p.m. to advance to the NCAA Sectional round.