Riley Earns American Conference First Team Honors
March 10, 2026 | Men's Basketball
IRVING, Texas – East Carolina senior guard Jordan Riley has been named to the American Conference's First Team as the league announced its full list of postseason awards and honors on Tuesday morning.
Riley's first team postseason nod marks the second straight season that East Carolina has landed a player on the conference's first team with RJ Felton and C.J. Walker earning first team honors last year.
The Brentwood, N.Y. native led the Pirates and the American in scoring this season with 708 points, averaging 23.6 over his 30 games played. Riley was consistently among the top scorers in the country and spent the last couple of weeks top five nationally in points per game including finishing the regular season as the second-leading scorer in the country. He was the definition of consistency for the Pirates throughout the season, leading ECU in scoring in 26 of its 31 games, and in his career as a Pirate, reaching double figures in 40 straight games dating back to last season.
Riley set an American Conference single season record with seven games of 30 or more points including his 40-point outburst against Wichita State on Feb. 18, making him the first Pirate to score 40 or more in a game since Anton Gill on Jan. 9, 1994. Riley scored 20 or more points in 20 games which was also the most by any player in the American this season.He averaged 29 points, eight rebounds and four steals per game on 51.4 percent shooting from the floor, 60 percent shooting from three and 76.2 percent shooting from the free throw line in ECU's wins against UTSA and Memphis that led to him being named the USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week, Lute Olson National Player of the Week and American Conference Player of the Week.
Earlier in the season, Riley averaged 36 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor in the Pirates' two games against Rice and Florida Atlantic, leading to American Conference Player of the Week and USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week honors. Riley is the first Pirate to garner three weekly national recognitions in the same season and also earned honorable mention from the American Conference three times.
He joins Oliver Mack, Blue Edwards and Jayden Gardner as the only Pirates to reach 1,000 points in an ECU jersey in just a two-season span. Riley ranks third behind Mack and Edwards in number of 30-point games in a season and in a career while finishing behind Edwards for the most points scored in a single season at ECU. His season scoring average of 23.6 is third all-time at East Carolina and his 18.9 points in his ECU career is the third highest career scoring average in program history. Riley was the second Pirate to score 35 or more in consecutive games since Oliver Mack in 1977 and joined Mack as the only Pirate to have three or more consecutive games with 30 points. His 246 made field goals are the third-most made in a season at East Carolina and he made and took the most free throws in a season in program history with 183 and 257 respectively.
Riley was also an outstanding defender this season and in his career at East Carolina, finishing the season with 58 steals after recording 66 in 2024-25. Riley is sixth all-time at ECU in career steals with 124 and had a career-best six steals in two games this year for ECU, joining Lester Lyons as the only Pirate to have multiple games with six takeaways.Â
2025-26 American Conference All-Conference Teams and Awards
Player of the Year
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida*
Defensive Player of the Year
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida
Freshman of the Year
Josiah Parker, Fr., G, Florida Atlantic*
Newcomer of the Year
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida
Most Improved Player
Devin Vanterpool, R-So., G, Florida Atlantic
Sixth Man of the Year
Will Berg, R-Jr., C, Wichita State
Amir Abdur-Rahim Sportsmanship Award
Asher Woods, Sr., G, Tulane
Coach of the Year
Bryan Hodgson, South Florida
First Team All-Conference
Jordan Riley, Sr., G, East Carolina
Wes Enis, Jr., G, South Florida
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida *
David Green Gr., F, Tulsa
Kenyon Giles, Sr., G, Wichita State
Second Team All-Conference
Chance Westry, So., G, UAB
Je'Shawn Stevenson Jr., So., G, North Texas
Rowan Brumbaugh, Jr., G, Tulane
Miles Barnstable, Sr., G, Tulsa
Tylen Riley, Jr., G, Tulsa
Third Team All-Conference
Dezayne Mingo, Sr., G, Charlotte
Devin Vanterpool, R-So., G, Florida Atlantic
Joe Pinion, Sr., G, South Florida
Derrian Ford, Sr., G, Temple
Karon Boyd, Sr., F, Wichita State
All-Newcomer Team
Chance Westry, So., G, UAB*
Je'Shawn Stevenson Jr., So., G, North Texas
Wes Enis, Jr., G, South Florida*
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida *
Joe Pinion, Sr., G, South Florida
Derrian Ford, Sr., G, Temple
Miles Barnstable, Sr., G, Tulsa
David Green Gr., F, Tulsa
Tylen Riley, Jr., G, Tulsa
Kenyon Giles, Sr., G, Wichita State*
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*denotes unanimous selection
Riley's first team postseason nod marks the second straight season that East Carolina has landed a player on the conference's first team with RJ Felton and C.J. Walker earning first team honors last year.
The Brentwood, N.Y. native led the Pirates and the American in scoring this season with 708 points, averaging 23.6 over his 30 games played. Riley was consistently among the top scorers in the country and spent the last couple of weeks top five nationally in points per game including finishing the regular season as the second-leading scorer in the country. He was the definition of consistency for the Pirates throughout the season, leading ECU in scoring in 26 of its 31 games, and in his career as a Pirate, reaching double figures in 40 straight games dating back to last season.
Riley set an American Conference single season record with seven games of 30 or more points including his 40-point outburst against Wichita State on Feb. 18, making him the first Pirate to score 40 or more in a game since Anton Gill on Jan. 9, 1994. Riley scored 20 or more points in 20 games which was also the most by any player in the American this season.He averaged 29 points, eight rebounds and four steals per game on 51.4 percent shooting from the floor, 60 percent shooting from three and 76.2 percent shooting from the free throw line in ECU's wins against UTSA and Memphis that led to him being named the USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week, Lute Olson National Player of the Week and American Conference Player of the Week.
Earlier in the season, Riley averaged 36 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor in the Pirates' two games against Rice and Florida Atlantic, leading to American Conference Player of the Week and USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week honors. Riley is the first Pirate to garner three weekly national recognitions in the same season and also earned honorable mention from the American Conference three times.
He joins Oliver Mack, Blue Edwards and Jayden Gardner as the only Pirates to reach 1,000 points in an ECU jersey in just a two-season span. Riley ranks third behind Mack and Edwards in number of 30-point games in a season and in a career while finishing behind Edwards for the most points scored in a single season at ECU. His season scoring average of 23.6 is third all-time at East Carolina and his 18.9 points in his ECU career is the third highest career scoring average in program history. Riley was the second Pirate to score 35 or more in consecutive games since Oliver Mack in 1977 and joined Mack as the only Pirate to have three or more consecutive games with 30 points. His 246 made field goals are the third-most made in a season at East Carolina and he made and took the most free throws in a season in program history with 183 and 257 respectively.
Riley was also an outstanding defender this season and in his career at East Carolina, finishing the season with 58 steals after recording 66 in 2024-25. Riley is sixth all-time at ECU in career steals with 124 and had a career-best six steals in two games this year for ECU, joining Lester Lyons as the only Pirate to have multiple games with six takeaways.Â
2025-26 American Conference All-Conference Teams and Awards
Player of the Year
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida*
Defensive Player of the Year
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida
Freshman of the Year
Josiah Parker, Fr., G, Florida Atlantic*
Newcomer of the Year
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida
Most Improved Player
Devin Vanterpool, R-So., G, Florida Atlantic
Sixth Man of the Year
Will Berg, R-Jr., C, Wichita State
Amir Abdur-Rahim Sportsmanship Award
Asher Woods, Sr., G, Tulane
Coach of the Year
Bryan Hodgson, South Florida
First Team All-Conference
Jordan Riley, Sr., G, East Carolina
Wes Enis, Jr., G, South Florida
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida *
David Green Gr., F, Tulsa
Kenyon Giles, Sr., G, Wichita State
Second Team All-Conference
Chance Westry, So., G, UAB
Je'Shawn Stevenson Jr., So., G, North Texas
Rowan Brumbaugh, Jr., G, Tulane
Miles Barnstable, Sr., G, Tulsa
Tylen Riley, Jr., G, Tulsa
Third Team All-Conference
Dezayne Mingo, Sr., G, Charlotte
Devin Vanterpool, R-So., G, Florida Atlantic
Joe Pinion, Sr., G, South Florida
Derrian Ford, Sr., G, Temple
Karon Boyd, Sr., F, Wichita State
All-Newcomer Team
Chance Westry, So., G, UAB*
Je'Shawn Stevenson Jr., So., G, North Texas
Wes Enis, Jr., G, South Florida*
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida *
Joe Pinion, Sr., G, South Florida
Derrian Ford, Sr., G, Temple
Miles Barnstable, Sr., G, Tulsa
David Green Gr., F, Tulsa
Tylen Riley, Jr., G, Tulsa
Kenyon Giles, Sr., G, Wichita State*
Â
*denotes unanimous selection
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Players Mentioned
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