Haverhill, MA (March 17, 2025) – A pair of Northern Essex Community College men’s basketball standouts picked up All-Region 21 honors as recently selected by a vote of the league’s coaches, while Knights head coach Darren Stratton was named Region 21 and East District Coach of the Year for a third consecutive season.

Alejandro Delgado

Alejandro Delgado (Haverhill) picked up first-team honors while Javien Kirmil (Lowell) was selected to the second team.

Delgado, who appeared in all 33 games on the season with 27 starts, was the Knights’ leader in both scoring and rebounds as he averaged 14.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. His rebounding figure was good for fifth in the region. He dropped a season and career-best 29 points in the regional championship game victory over Quincy and recorded 20 or more points on five separate occasions during the season. On fourteen occasions during the season, he picked up double-digit rebounds including a season-best 17 against Massasoit on December 14th.

Javien Kirmil

Kirmil, a second-year guard started all 31 games he played in this season averaging 11.7 points per game, scoring in double digits 16 times on the season with a single game high of 28 on February 17th against Bunker Hill. Over his two seasons in the Knights uniform, he played in 64 games and finished his two seasons with 604 points. He is expected to move on next season to continue his playing and academic career at American University in Spain.

Stratton, who picked up his 350th win leading the Knights in the regional championship game has guided the program to three consecutive national tournament appearances, becoming only the second program in Region 21 history to win three consecutive titles and first in 37 years.

For the season, NECC finished with a 29-4 overall record and placed 9th in the national tournament.