BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Navy's Austin Benigni earned the first Patriot League Player-of-the-Week accolade of the 2026 calendar year as he was announced today as this week's honoree for men's basketball.

Benigni, who garnered his second weekly nod of the 2025-26 season and the sixth of his career, averaged 25.0 points, 6.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds a game in Navy's two victories last week at the start of Patriot League play.

He first set a season high with 27 points and tied a career best with eight assists in Navy's 82-77 victory over Boston University.  He totaled 15 points and five assists in the first half on his way to setting a career high with four three-point field goals over the course of his 40 minutes of playing time.

Benigni then recorded 23 points, five assists and four rebounds to help the Mids to a 65-58 win at Holy Cross.  He scored 14 points in the second half when he was 8-8 from the foul line as part of an 11-11 effort from the charity stripe in the game.  

His second assist against the Crusaders made him the seventh player in Patriot League history (during the league era) to amass 1,500 points and 400 assists in a career.  Benigni is the first player in Navy history regardless of playing era to attain both of the standards.

The Mids will be home for games this week Wednesday against Bucknell (7 p.m.) and Saturday against Lafayette (2 p.m.).