LOUDONVILLE, NY – A pair of upperclassmen from Siena's men's & women's basketball teams were honored as the latest recipients of the Leo Dufort Student Athlete of the Month. Men's Basketball junior Robert Mahala and Women's Basketball senior Rayshel Brown each took home the award for the month of December.
A walk-on who has spent that last two seasons as a member of the Saints, Mahala was appointed a team co-captain prior to the 2020-21 season and made appearances in each of the team's first two games on January 3 & 4. The Jackson, New Jersey native made six appearances off the bench during the 2019-20 campaign and scored his first collegiate points in Siena's win over Quinnipiac on January 26, 2020.
A two-time member of the MAAC Academic Honor Roll and a MAAC All-Academic Team member in 2020, Mahala holds a 3.67 cumulative GPA in business, and posted an impressive 3.86 mark during the Spring 2020 semester. He serves as a member of Siena's Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC).
A transfer from La Salle who was granted immediate eligibility during the 2019-20 season, Brown has appeared in all 27 games that she has been active for the Saints, including the team's first two contests of the 2020-21 campaign. The Staten Island, New York native averaged 9.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 25 games during her junior year, including season highs of 20 points and nine boards during the team's MAAC First Round victory over Canisius on March 10, 2020. Brown was named a Preseason Third Team All-MAAC selection and posted double figures in each of the Saints first two games of the season.
A sociology major, Brown holds a 3.24 cumulative mark, and posted a 3.52 GPA for the Spring 2020 team. Along with the rest of the women's basketball team, Brown took part in helping to launch the Saints Vote initiative that challenged all Siena teams and eventually all teams in the MAAC to register to vote in the 2020 Presidential Election.
The Leo Dufort Student Athlete of the Month Award is presented nine times annually (September-May) throughout the academic year. The award recognizes exemplary achievements in both academics and athletics. The late Leo Dufort received a B.S. in marketing and management from Siena in August of 1977. His entire academic career was completed on a part-time basis beginning in the spring of 1961, as a married adult while at the same time raising five children. He passed away suddenly of a heart attack while cross country skiing in February of 1993. His wife Jeanine wanted to do something to immortalize his memory. The original plaque was donated to athletics and the department began the Leo Dufort Student Athlete of the Month Award to help carry out his legacy. Dufort graduated from Catholic Central High School in 1954 and was a Navy Veteran (USS Bennington) who worked for JL Hammett Co. at the time of his death.
