PITMAN, NJ --- Kean University senior right side hitter Chris Mitchell (Howell, NJ/Howell) has been named the 2026 NJAC Men's Volleyball Player of the Year, announced on April 24.
 
Kean junior libero Tyler Quinn (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley) was named NJAC Defensive Player of the Year for the third consecutive year. Rutgers University-Newark freshman setter Duncan Sturt (Livingston, NJ/Livingston) was tabbed the conference's Rookie of the Year, while Kean head coach Bez Arslani and his staff were voted the league's Coaching Staff of the Year.
 
Their selections highlighted the 12-member NJAC men's volleyball all-conference team. All NJAC special awards and all-conference honors were determined by a vote of the league's head coaches and were based on overall season performances.
 
Mitchell led the conference in kills per set (3.71) and points per set (4.25) across 116 sets, finishing with a school-record 430 kills and 493.5 total points on the season. He ranked sixth in the conference in hitting percentage at .281 and added 219 digs. Mitchell posted five double-doubles, including 16 kills and 12 digs in the conference-clinching win over Rutgers-Newark as Kean claimed its first NJAC title since 2019. He posted a season-high 27 kills against Messiah and 18 digs at Lancaster Bible. Mitchell was a three-time NJAC Player of the Week this year and now ranks second in Kean program history in career kills.
 
Quinn earns the Defensive Player of the Year award for the third straight year. The junior led the NJAC in digs per set at 3.14 across 115 sets, totaling 361 digs on the season to break his own single-season record of 298. He recorded double-digit digs in 22 matches, with a season-high 23 in the opener at Kings (Pa.). Quinn was a three-time NJAC Defensive Player of the Week and is now Kean’s all-time leader in career digs.
 
Sturt ranked first in the conference in assists per set at 9.94, totaling 1,054 assists across 106 sets in his freshman season. He recorded a season-high 54 assists twice — against NYU and in a win over Stevens — and topped 40 assists on 11 occasions. Sturt posted a double-double of 45 assists and 15 digs against Kean and added five kills on a .571 hitting clip against top-ranked Juniata. He helped Rutgers-Newark to a 21-9 overall record and was a six-time NJAC Rookie of the Week.
 
Kean head coach Bez Arslani and assistants Michael Fox, Jenna Lara, Bill Lee, and Leandro Perez were selected by their peers as the Coaching Staff of the Year. Arslani and staff guided the Cougars to the NJAC trophy — the program's first conference title since 2019 — with four players earning first-team all-conference honors, five overall earning all-conference accolades, and two — Mitchell and Quinn — earning major awards. The Cougars finished the year with 19 wins.
 

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