PRINCESS ANNE — Ishaq Pitt of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore was named the 2015 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Male Student-Athlete of the Year, the conference announced. Pitt, who was a four-year letter winner in men’s basketball will be awarded the honor during a special on-campus event to be announced at a later time.

“I am thrilled to congratulate Ishaq Pitt as the 2015 MEAC Male Student-Athlete of the Year,” said MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas. “Mr. Pitt has displayed academic and athletic excellence, hard work, dedication and service in the community throughout his four years at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. I would further like to acknowledge Mr. Pitt’s parents, the UMES administrators, athletic and academic support staffs and coaches who have guided him throughout his collegiate career.”

“I can’t believe it,” said Pitt who is working with the prestigious firm of Deloitte & Touche in New Jersey as a member of their audit staff. “I want to thank Father God, my family, my professors, my coaches and the athletic administration. I am also very appreciative of the MEAC for having this award for student-athletes and recognizing me as its recipient. The University shaped me into who I am today and I am humbled not only at winning, but for the experience they afforded me there to be a basketball student-athlete and graduate.”

Pitt was a two-year starter with the Hawks, primarily as a guard, who played all five positions throughout his career. A two-time captain and a 2012 All-MEAC Rookie Team honoree, Pitt played in a school-record 117 games (52 starts), logging 2,686 minutes, and averaged 5.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He guided UMES to their best season in 41 years last year, primarily serving as the point guard. The Pitt led Hawks made the NCAA post-season for the first time over four decades.

“I feel like this award is a great representation of the success our program had last season and the corner it has turned heading into the future,” Pitt added. “My teammates and I are really proud of where this program is headed. I have to thank them as well. It was such a pleasure interacting and competing with them on a daily basis. I would not be in the position to win this award if it were not for them. I am a proud Hawk and proud to represent UMES with this honor.”

Born in Canada but raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Pitt earned the 2013 and 2014 Maryland Eastern Shore Male Scholar Athlete of the Year honor. He is a three-time member of the MEAC Commissioner’s All-Academic Team, including in 2015. He was selected as the Arthur Ashe Jr., Sports Scholar of the Year in 2014 and was a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Good Works Team. He was named to the 2015 Capital One Academic All-District Team.

Pitt graduated in December 2014 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, accumulating a 3.98 GPA.

In the community, Pitt volunteered with Relay for Life (2011-2014), Angel Tree Christmas Service for Children (2011 and 2012) and Street Sweep (2012-2014). He was inducted as a member of Beta Gamma Sigma (2013) and served as President of the National Association of Black Accountants, Inc. in 2013 and 2014 and Chief of Staff for the Student Government Association (2013-2015). In addition, he was a member of the Student-Athletic Advisory Council (SAAC) from 2012-2014. This past season he won the department’s inaugural Male Citizen-Athlete of the Year Award for the student-athlete who contributes the most to their campus and community.

“This is a great honor for Ishaq,” said head basketball coach Bobby Collins. “I wish I had even more young men like him, he is smart, hard-working, focused and involved in the campus and community. His attitude and determination and willingness to do whatever was asked was a big part of our success last season.”

Pitt becomes the fourth student-athlete to be honored as the conference’s Male Student-Athlete of the Year. Last year Bethune-Cookman’s Nesly Marcellon received the honor while previous winners included North Carolina Central’s Joseph Hutchinson and North Carolina A&T State’s Jared Baldwin.

The Male Student-Athlete of the Year honor is provided to the student-athlete who has excelled academically and athletically and is in his final season of intercollegiate athletics eligibility and competition under MEAC and NCAA regulations for the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated.

Each of the MEAC’s 13-member institutions may nominate one male student-athlete for the honor. The honoree is selected by a committee of five conference Director of Athletics that use a combination of the following criteria in selection of the award: service and leadership, academic achievement, and athletic excellence.

— Large portions of this story appear compliments of MEAC Media Relations.