BEVERLY — The Endicott men’s basketball team has earned a host of postseason awards via D3hoops.com All-Region and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District.
Marcus Montagnino (Gloucester) was named the Region II Player of the Year for D3hoops.com All-Region and the District II Player of the Year for NABC All-District. He earned a spot on the First Team for both All-Region II and All-District II.
Elijah Kinney (Nashville, Tenn.) accompanied Montagnino on the All-Region II and All-District II First Team, while Head Coach Kevin Bettencourt earned District II/Region II Coach of the Year honors from both organizations.
MARCUS MONTAGNINO | REGION II & DISTRICT II PLAYER OF THE YEAR / FIRST TEAM
Before Montagnino, no student-athlete in program history had ever been named D3hoops.com Region II Player of the Year or NABC District II Player of the Year. He is the first member of the men’s basketball program to accomplish both of those feats.
Additionally, last season, he became the first student-athlete in program history to be named to the All-Region II First Team as well as All-District II First Team, which now makes him the first student-athlete in program history to be a 2x-member of both of those teams.
Montagnino averaged 22.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.6 steals in 30 games played for the Gulls this season.
His shooting splits are impressively efficient all around, as he has shot 57.1% from the field, 36.0% from three-point territory, and 80.7% from the free throw line.
The graduate’s 669 total points scored are most in program single-season history, surpassing the previous record of 653.
In the NCAA Tournament, he led the Gulls in minutes (115), scoring (68 total points; 22.7 per game), rebounding (29 total; 9.7 per game), and assists (18; 6.0 per game).
In the first round matchup against Neumann, he logged his second career triple-double, which was one of only two triple-doubles in the NCAA Tournament this season.
Throughout the season, he has carried the brunt of the offensive workload, especially when frontcourt mate Kinney was sidelined for a period of time in the middle of the season.
In CNE play, Montagnino led all scorers with 21.6 points per game, ranked second in assists per game (4.3), and third in rebounds per game (9.2).
Back in November, he became the second Gull ever (Keith Brown ’20) to receive United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) National Player of the Week following a 26.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game statline.
His steady play throughout the season aided Endicott to its longest win streak ever (22 consecutive; active), and along the way, he personally kept the streak alive via some incredible late-game clutch performances.
The most iconic of such occurred at Roger Williams back on February 3, when the Gulls trailed by 10 with just under four minutes remaining. After going on a run, they closed the deficit to just one point with 44 seconds to play. Out of a timeout, Montagnino went to work on the baseline, stepped back, pulled up with a turnaround jumper from just below the left elbow, and drilled his midrange fadeaway to put the Gulls in front for the first time all game with 2.1 seconds remaining.
For his efforts throughout the season, he earned four CNE Player of the Week awards along the way (11/17/25, 1/5/26, 1/26/26, 2/16/26).
ELIJAH KINNEY | REGION II & DISTRICT II FIRST TEAM
Kinney was named as a First Teamer to the All-Region II & All-District II teams for the first time in his career.
It is also the first All-Region II and All-District II team honors in Kinney’s career.
The former D3hoops.com All-Region II Rookie of the Year (2023-24) had a career year in 2025-26.
He averaged career-highs across the board, and was a two-way centerpiece for Coach Bettencourt’s squad.
Kinney posted averages of 20.7 points per game, 11.6 rebounds per game, 2.6 blocks per game, and 0.9 steals per game.
He amassed a total of 18 double-doubles over the course of the season, which ranks second nationally.
Meanwhile, his 11.6 rebounds per game rank sixth in Division III, and his 2.6 blocks rank 10th.
Back in December, he became the third Gull in program history to earn USBWA National Player of the Week honors, accompanying Montagnino as a recipient this season. The two are the first pair of teammates ever to earn the award in the same season.
The junior big man was also named the CNE Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player following a terrific two-game stretch in which he notched 45 points (15-29, 51.7%), 29 rebounds, seven blocks, seven steals, and three assists in 65:28 minutes played.
Most memorably, he ignited Endicott’s offense by scoring 10 of the team’s first 16 points in the CNE Championship, electrifying the MacDonald Gymnasium crowd right out of the gate. He already had a double-double by halftime (18 points, 10 rebounds), and concluded the game with a team-high 23 points (8-14 FG), 12 rebounds, four blocks, two assists, and one steal.
Over the course of the season, he earned two D3hoops.com Team of the Week appearances (12/9/25; 12/16/25) and four CNE Player of the Week awards (11/24/25, 12/8/25, 12/15/25, 2/23/26).
KEVIN BETTENCOURT | REGION II & DISTRICT II COACH OF THE YEAR
Bettencourt led the Gulls to unparalleled success in 2025-26, which was his 12th season at the helm.
The Gulls set a program record in wins (28), longest winning streak (22 games), and best D3hoops.com national ranking (11; week 13).
They also advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history, nearly pulling off a comeback win over No. 8 Illinois Wesleyan (83-77 final) to advance to the Elite Eight.
Under his guidance, this year’s squad became the first in Conference of New England history to play a perfect in-conference slate (16-0) and win a championship.
With their success, the Gulls earned the seventh position in the National Poll Index (NPI), and were named a host team in the DIII NCAA Tournament.
Bettencourt led the Gulls through their pod, which hosted Neumann, Cortland, and Franklin & Marshall to advance to the Sweet 16.
Endicott was one of just three teams in Division III with less than three losses on the season, accompanied by Trinity and St. Thomas Texas.
The Gulls finished this season ranked second in winning percentage (.932). They also finished 14th in scoring margin (13.2 points), 28th in points per game (84.8), and 45th in turnover ratio (3.1).
These are Bettencourt’s first career D3hoops.com Region II and NABC District II Coach of the Year honors.
YEAR IN REVIEW
After finishing with a historic record of 28-2 (16-0 CNE) in 2025-26, the Gulls saw their season come to a close on Friday, March 13 after an 83-77 road loss to Illinois Wesleyan in the Sweet 16.
It was the second time in program history the Gulls have reached the Sweet 16, and the first since 2016-17.
The Gulls set program records for wins (28), winning streak (22) and best D3hoops.com national ranking (11) over the course of the season.
They were also the first program in conference history to pull off an undefeated in-conference slate and win the conference championship, showcasing their dominance from start to finish.
