Click here for list of All-NEC honorees (PDF)

Bryant and Wagner walked away from the annual pre-tournament awards picnic carrying significant pieces of hardware.

The top-two finishers in the regular season standings split the four major honors handed out by the Northeast Conference on the eve of its postseason baseball tournament.

After pitching Bryant to a fourth consecutive NEC regular season crown, staff ace Kyle Wilcox captured the NEC Pitcher of the Year award while first-year Bulldog starter James Karinchak snagged the NEC Rookie of the Year honor.

Meanwhile, senior catcher Nick Dini made history by becoming the first-ever Wagner Seahawk to secure the NEC Player of the Year award, which was established in 1988.

Wagner’s skipper joined the veteran backstop at the awards podium on Wednesday. One decade after winning the NEC Pitcher of the Year award (2002) as a member of Monmouth’s rotation, Jim Carone returned to the Northeast Conference as the Seahawks’ manager. Three years later, Carone is the NEC Coach of the Year.

In addition to claiming the four major individual awards, Bryant and Wagner combined to fill 11 of the 13 vacancies on the All-NEC First Team.

The NEC named two 13-member all-conference teams honoring the top performers from the 2015 regular season. All seven NEC members are home to at least one all-conference selection this spring.

Dini, an all-NEC first team catcher, spearheaded Wagner’s largest all-conference presence in more than two decades. The Seahawks enjoyed five first team selections, topping the program’s previous single-year high of three (1993, 1991).

Dini secured the NEC’s top individual on-field honor less than one week after winning the conference’s regular season batting title. Batting an even .400 over a 49-game sample, Dini led the Northeast Conference in numerous major offensive statistical categories -- base hits (68), doubles (18), total bases (106) and runs batted in (43). The 5-foot-9 senior ranked second amongst league leaders in runs scored (44) and he stole 14 bases in 15 attempts, the conference’s highest success rate this season. Dini also produced some of the conference’s top statistics behind the plate. Defensively, he was charged with only two passed balls and proved difficult to steal bases against. Base runners attempted only 22 steals with Dini at catcher and Wagner’s veteran backstop cut down 12 of those would-be thieves. In 24 conference contests, Dini allowed only one passed ball and seven stolen bases. The Garden State product will graduate as Wagner’s all-time leader in hits, games played and at-bats.

Wilcox becomes the fourth Bryant name engraved on the NEC Pitcher of the Year award and the third in the past four seasons. After staff ace, and 2014 NEC Pitcher of the Year, Craig Schlitter was taken in the MLB Draft, Wilcox stepped up into the top spot in Bryant’s pitching rotation and performed admirably. The 6-foot-3 right-hander was one of two NEC hurlers to post a sub-3.00 earned run average. Pitching to a 2.77 ERA, Wilcox made 13 starts and won seven of his eight decisions. He fanned 45 batters over a team-high 74.2 innings. The Nutmeg State product posted a 5-0 record in six NEC starts while holding league opponents to a .185 batting average against. The hard thrower did not allow a home run this season.

One of only three 7-game winners in the NEC, Karinchak was a unanimous choice for the league’s top rookie accolade. The freshman righty fanned a league-high 73 batters over 71.2 innings of work. Karinchak, who was 7-5 overall with a 3.39 ERA, was sensational against Northeast Conference competition. He won all but one of his six NEC starts, tossing four complete-game victories along the way. Facing NEC hitters, Karinchak registered 41 strikeouts over 40.0 innings and pitched to a 0.98 WHIP. The five-time NEC Rookie of the Week tossed a trio of shutouts during his first collegiate season and set Bryant’s Division I single-season record with six complete games.

Carone has Wagner back in the postseason NEC Tournament for the second year in a row. Under his tutelage, the Seahawks produced their best regular season finish since 2009. After going winless through the season’s first 10 games, Wagner won at a .667 clip the rest of the way. Carone, a Jersey Shore product, is only the third Seahawk skipper to attain Coach of the Year honors, joining Joe Litterio (2009) and Rich Vitaliano (1992).