Rogers Named D3Hoops.Com Regional Rookie of the Year

WESTFIELD, Mass.    –  Westfield State University first-year student Kenneth Rogers, Jr. (Springfield Mass/Springfield International Charter School) has been named as the 2025 Region I rookie of the year by D3Hoops.com.

Rogers honor comes alongside being named to the D3hoops.com All-Region third team, and National Association of Basketball Coaches second-team all-region honors.

Rogers was the only first-year student named to either team.

Rogers is the first Owl to earn rookie of the year honors on the D3 Region team.

"Kenney was the first player I've seen in the MASCAC get named as both the rookie and the player of the year," said Westfield State head coach Rich Sutter.  "And I have been here 27 years, so I think that is pretty special.    I think he's just touching the surface of what he can do and he has the chance to do great things in the future."

He finished the 2024-25 season with averages of 18.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game, helping fuel the Owls to a 21-7 overall record, and a 9-3 mark in conference play, where the Owls won the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles.   The Owls advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament before falling to #5 ranked Randolph Macon.

Rogers was tabbed as the league's rookie of the year award winner and was named the co-player of the year.   He won the league's rookie of the week award a remarkable 13 times during the season.

The 6-4, 210-lb. forward's top performances came when scoring a season-best 28 points with a 12-rebound effort in a win over SUNY-Cobleskill early in the season, and Rogers added a 26-point,  19-rebound, 6-assist, 4-steal outing in a key conference win over Fitchburg State.

"He was leading the league in both scoring and rebounding for a while, and when the double teams started coming, he started finding his teammates," said Sutter.  "He's a great teammate and a great kid, and the assist numbers bear that out."

This is the second straight year the Owls have had a player named to the All-Region team, as Rogers joining Brendon Hamilton '24, who was on the D3hoops.com team last year.  Hamilton recently signed overseas and is playing professional basketball in the Netherlands.

Players chosen to the D3hoops.com All-Region team are eligible for All-America selection.

This is the 24th year D3hoops.com has named an All-Region team and this year's All-America team will be the 28th annual All-America selections. The D3hoops.com All-American teams, along with those of the respective coaches' associations, are the only ones recognized in the NCAA record book.