PRINCETON, W.Va. - University of Charleston men's basketball star Paul "PJ" Reyes (Taylor, Mich.) has been named the West Virginia Conference Player of the Year as voted on by the league coaches with the release of the All-WVIAC teams, Monday afternoon.

The electric playmaker paces the Golden Eagles (23-5) offensively at 20.7 points per game, which ranks him in the top-20 for scoring nationally in NCAA Division II.

Reyes, a 6’5” 190 lb. guard from Taylor, Mich., propelled the Golden Eagles to an 18-4 mark in WVIAC play, which secured the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament to be played this week. Charleston also enters the week ranked No. 3 in the Atlantic Region and No. 25 in the Division II national coaches poll.

He is fifth in the conference in scoring, while also landing in the top-10 of the league in blocked shots with 1.04 per night. Reyes is 16th in the conference in rebounding average, grabbing 6.2 per game. 

Eddie King Gym crowds all season long have been applauding his effort above the rim as he seemingly put together a Sportscenter highlight dunk reel during each game. On the season he is nailing 50.2 percent of his attempts from the floor, while defensively is second on the team with 37 steals.

Reyes is the first University of Charleston men's basketball player to earn WVIAC Player of the Year honors since Kalan Smith took the award after the 2000-01 season, which ended with UC winning the conference championship.

Junior post-commander Eladio Espinosa (Norlina, N.C.) joined Reyes as an All-WVIAC selection earning a spot on the Honorable Mention team.

Espinosa is fifth in the league in overall rebounding at 8.4 boards per game and averages 11.1 points per contest. He plays an important role on the offensive glass for Charleston allowing for multiple attempts at the rim on each possession with his league-leading 4.25 offensive rebounds a game.

The Golden Eagles return to the court for the final time in Eddie King Gym for the 2011-12 season with a WVIAC Tournament first round matchup against Bluefield State at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, Feb. 28.

WVIAC All-Conference Selections:

First Team
Kurklin Bohanon (Alderson-Broaddus, Jr., G, 6-3, 170, Cleveland, Ohio)
Steve Catich (Wheeling Jesuit, Sr., F, 6-5, 210, Tyrone, Pa.)
Alex Falk (West Liberty, Jr., G, 6-4, 180, Upper Sandusky, Ohio)
Cedric Harris (West Liberty, So., G, 6-0, 175, Zanesville, Ohio)
Raymont McElroy (WV Wesleyan, Sr., G/F, 6-2, 210, Milwaukee, Wis.)
Chad Moore (Shepherd, Jr., F, 6-5, 195, Winchester, Va.)
Nick Novak (Pitt-Johnstown, Jr., G, 6-0, 180, Murrysville, Pa.)
PJ Reyes (Charleston, Sr., G, 6-5, 190, Taylor, Mich.)
Kelsey Williams (WV Wesleyan, Jr., F, 6-7, 224, Sandusky, Ohio)

Second Team
Javaughn Acree-Manuel (Concord, Sr., G, 6-1, 180, Lansing, Mich.)
Nate Barnes (Alderson-Broaddus, Sr., G, 5-10, 180, Cleveland, Ohio)
Steve Custis (Fairmont State, Sr., G, 6-1, 170, Frederick, Md.)
Chris Giles (Seton Hill, r-Sr., G, 6-4, 185, West Mifflin, Pa.)
Patrick Grubbs (Pitt-Johnstown, Sr., F/C, 6-8, 280, Turtle Creek, Pa.)
Matt Miller (Seton Hill, So., G, 6-4, 195, Arnold, Md.)
Ben Siefert (Wheeling Jesuit, Jr., G, 6-2, 190, Reynoldsburg, Ohio)
Isaac Thornton (Fairmont State, Jr., G, 6-3, 180, Martinsburg, W. Va.)

Honorable Mention
Kendall Allison (Ohio Valley, Sr., F, 6-3, 190, Baltimore, Md.)
Corey Bethea (WV State, Sr., G, 6-3, 160, Philadelphia, Pa.)
Eladio Espinosa (Charleston, Jr., G/F, 6-7, 225, Norlina, N.C.)
David Ford (WV State, Jr., G, 6-5, 225, Glen Burnie, Md.)
Tim Hausfeld (West Liberty, Jr., G, 5-7, 145, Toledo, Ohio)
C.J. Hester (West Liberty, Fr., G, 6-4, 200, West Miffin, Pa.)
PJ Turner (Davis & Elkins, Sr., G, 5-11, 180, Auburndale, Fla.)

All-Freshman Team
Austin Cunningham (Ohio Valley, G, 6-2, 175, Vincent, Ohio)
Shawn Dyer (West Liberty, G, 6-0, 168, Marion, Ohio)
C.J. Hester (West Liberty, G, 6-4, 200, West Miffin, Pa.)
Chase Morgan (Bluefield State, G, 5-11, 160, Beckley, W. Va.)
Jamel Morris (Glenville State, G, 6-3, 165, Gahanna, Ohio)

Player of the Year:
PJ Reyes, Charleston

Freshman of the Year:
C.J. Hester, West Liberty

Coach of the Year:
Jim Crutchfield, West Liberty