There are many words that can be used to describe the process of hiring a coach - exciting, rewarding, stressful and time-consuming are a few that come immediately to mind. However, in the end, it really comes down to just two: future success.

We entered our men's basketball coaching search from a position of strength. On the heels of the most successful season in school history, there was an incredible amount of interest in our job. Steve Pikiell built this into a great job, and my initial approach to filling it was to consider all options while also taking the necessary time to insure that I identified the right coach. I owed that to Stony Brook, to President Stanley and to our student-athletes.

When I offered Jeff Boals the job last Friday, I did so with complete calm and extreme confidence. It marked the end of a nearly three-week process that began on March 19 when Steve was offered the job at Rutgers. As with any high profile search, there are many opinions and sentiments regarding who should be hired. I listened to each one because it meant that people truly cared about this program and our future success.

In the end, our future success was placed in Jeff's hands and I could not be more excited and optimistic about what lies ahead for Stony Brook basketball.

Baseball Booming…



Our baseball team extended its amazing streak of midweek wins to 21 after yesterday's 8-1 victory at LIU Brooklyn. Matt Senk's squad has now won seven of its last eight while battling at the plate and on the mound.

Seniors Chad Lee and Jack Parenty were honored by the America East as Pitcher of the Week and Player of the Week respectively after posting eye-popping performances. Chad threw eight shutout innings against Hartford in Friday's series opener while Jack batted .611 (no, that is not a misprint!) over five games last week.

Come out to Joe Nathan Field this weekend as the Seawolves host UMass Lowell in a three-game series beginning with a Saturday doubleheader at noon.

…Softball Slamming



The softball team has also caught fire of late, running its unbeaten streak to seven games following yesterday's doubleheader against Sacred Heart. Seniors Diane Caruso and Allie Pisciotta have made University Field their personal launching pad, combining for three home runs against Sacred Heart and 10 total on the season.

Freshman Irene Rivera is the team's second-leading hitter with a .289 average and she was recently named America East Rookie of the Week for the second time in three weeks. Irene took home the honor after a week in which she hit .571 and drove in eight runs.

Good Luck to Our Boxing Board Member

It is hardly unusual for an athletics department to have an advisory board. Last summer, we established Our Seawolves United Advisory Board to assist with our fundraising efforts in support of our student-athletes. What makes our board unique is the presence of Chris Algieri who, in addition to being a Stony Brook alum and supporter, is also a world-class boxer who will fight Errol Spence on Saturday night at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. Chris graduated from Stony Brook in 2007 and went on to earn a master's in clinical nutrition.

Good luck, Chris! All of us at Stony Brook are in your corner. We'll see you at the next board meeting…

Together We Transform!


Warm regards,



Shawn