Men’s Basketball Gearing Up for New Season
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's basketball team is slated to kick off the 2024-25 season on Saturday, November 9, with a road non-conference game at Hartford University. The Mariners recently unveiled their schedule, as Todd Peretz's squad looks to take strides during their second season as members of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC).
"With a core of returning players who have contributed over the last few years, along an influx of a talented group of transfers and freshman, we are eager to take the next step within the GNAC conference and compete with our non-conference opponents," said Peretz.
Entering his 26th season at the helm of the program, Peretz will guide a team that posted a 7-18 record last winter, including a 4-10 mark in conference play.
The Mariners will look for major contributions from key returning players highlighted by senior Jaylyn Clardy (Pensacola, Fla.), an All-Conference Third Team selection in 2023-24. Clardy's 20 points per contest ranked second in the conference overall, and placed him ninth in the Division III era of the program in single season points per game. As a junior, he added 5.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.1 steals per game, while shooting 42.7% from the floor and 81.1% from the free-throw line.
Also returning for the Mariners is the senior duo of Robert Zirlis (Clinton, Conn.) and Wilton Causey (Worcester, Mass.), two post players who have been four year contributors and who have each played in a pair of NCAA Tournament games. Junior Walker Baillargeon (Norwich, Conn.), a junior transfer from Emmanuel College, along with fellow junior Brandon Lee (Stockton, Cali.) and a group of 10 new players to the program figure to become significant contributors, as Mitchell looks to return to postseason play.
After opening the season at Hartford, the Mariners will play in a tournament at the University of New England before returning to New London for their home opener on Tuesday, November 19, against Anna Maria College. A game at Division I Holy Cross follows, before Mitchell hosts the opening night of the Cadet-Mariner Classic, their tournament co-hosted with Coast Guard Academy, which will also feature Eastern Connecticut and MCLA.
Non-conference showdowns with Coast Guard, SUNY Purchase, Dean College, Connecticut College, and Johnson & Wales close out the 2024 portion of the Mariner's schedule, with the team scheduled to open GNAC play at Lasell University on Saturday, January 4. Conference play will continue through Saturday, February 22, with the Mariners hosting games on Saturday, January 11 (JWU), Saturday, January 18 (Regis), Saturday, January 25 (Emmanuel), Saturday, February 1 (Colby-Sawyer), Saturday, February 8 (New England College), Saturday, February 15 (Saint Joseph's), and Tuesday, February 18 (Rivier).
In the recently released GNAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Mariners were ranked 10th. Voting for the poll was conducted by the league's 15 men's basketball head coaches last week.
Tip off for the 2024-25 men's basketball season is on Friday, Nov. 8 as teams open with non-conference action. Conference play gets underway on Saturday, Dec. 7. Teams will complete a 14-game single round robin conference season with the top-10 teams at the end of the regular season earning berths into the 2025 GNAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament. The postseason starts with a Play-In Round featuring the bottom four tournament seeds on Monday, Feb. 24 with those winners advancing to the GNAC Quarterfinals on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Following the quarterfinals, the remaining four teams will play in the GNAC Semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 27 with the tournament culminating in the GNAC Championship game on Saturday, March 1. The winner of the championship game will be named 2024-25 GNAC Men's Basketball Champion and earn the league's automatic qualifier into the 2025 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.
2024-25 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll Results
|
1. |
University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) |
214 (7 first-place votes) |
|
2. |
Saint Joseph's (Maine) |
206 (4) |
|
3. |
Albertus Magnus |
205 (3) |
|
4. |
Lasell |
173 |
|
5. |
Rivier |
147 |
|
6. |
Emmanuel |
142 |
|
7. |
Norwich |
126 |
|
8. |
Regis |
125 |
|
9. |
Johnson & Wales |
118 (1) |
|
10. |
Mitchell |
80 |
|
11. |
Dean |
73 |
|
12. |
Colby-Sawyer |
67 |
|
13. |
Anna Maria |
64 |
|
14. |
Elms |
31 |
|
15. |
New England College |
29 |
