Together We Transform Thursday – October 24, 2024

Football Rolling Into Homecoming!

One of the truly outstanding traditions at Stony Brook is Homecoming weekend, which for us includes our Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony and, of course, the football game against William & Mary. It is always amazing to see so many of our alums who come back to campus and contribute to the celebratory environment.

For the first time since 2019, the Homecoming game will feature a matchup of two top-25 teams after your Stony Brook Seawolves entered the rankings at No. 24 on Monday. William & Mary comes into Saturday's contest ranked 15th.

Our team is coming off an impressive 52-24 road win at Towson in which graduate quarterback Tyler Knoop set a new single-game school record with six touchdown passes, including three to Jasiah Williams. Tyler was named CAA Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts, which included completing 34 of 40 passes for 387 yards.

The objective now is to maintain the momentum, and the guys are fired up to be back in LaValle Stadium on Saturday for the Homecoming game.

Although there is a long way to go and a stretch of tough games ahead, to say that I'm overjoyed with our 5-2 start would be an understatement. I am especially happy for all our returning players who bought in to our new coaching staff and chose to stay at Stony Brook rather than transfer. Their buy-in is a huge reason why we've been able to experience early success and quickly overcome adversity.

The impact that Billy Cosh has had on our department in his more than 10 months as head coach is nothing short of remarkable. He's completely re-energized our program and we're just scratching the surface as to how good we can be under his direction. As someone who values football at an extremely high level and believes that it is critical for our future growth, I couldn't be more excited.

We've got three home games left, including Saturday's huge Homecoming matchup with William & Mary so get your tickets now!

Basketball is Back!

The excitement is building for the start of the 2024-25 basketball season, which officially kicks off for both our men's and women's teams on November 4.

Geno Ford and the men's team will open at No. 17 Marquette in a nationally-televised game on FS1. This will be the first of three straight road games to start the season before landing back at Stony Brook Arena on Saturday, November 16 for the home opener against St. Joseph's Long Island. 

Returners Jared Frey, Toby Onyekonwu and Andre Snoddy are joined this season by a talented group of newcomers including transfers C.J. Luster, Joe Octave, Ben Wight and Nick Woodard, who are poised to produce immediately. True freshman point guard Collin O'Connor has been outstanding throughout preseason practice and is expected to play a significant role.

Joy McCorvey will make her head coaching debut at Columbia as the women open the new campaign. Their home opener will come on Thursday, November 7 when Le Moyne travels to Long Island.

In addition to a new coaching staff, the women welcome transfers Chloe Oliver (Davidson) and Devyn Scott (FAU) while Breauna Ware, a transfer from St. Bonaventure last year, will return after missing the entirety of last season. Zaida Gonzalez and Marla King bring tremendous experience and leadership to a team that is ready to defend its CAA regular season title.

Everyone is invited to our annual Meet the Team Night where fans will have the opportunity to interact with our coaches and players. The event is free and will take place on Tuesday, October 29 at 6:30.

It's not too late to purchase your season tickets for the 2024-25 season. Don't miss out on what promises to be a great season for both teams!

Cross Country Chases CAA Championships Next Week

The first CAA titles are up for grabs next Friday, November 1, as the Cross Country Championships take place at Elon.

Our men are the two-time defending champions and will look to make it a three-peat when they toe the line for the 8K race. The women hope to build off of last year's second-place finish.

Seniors Steven Struk and Grace Weigele were recently named the men's and women's CAA Cross Country Runners of the Week following strong performances at the Princeton Invitational.

Women's Soccer Stays Hot

Women's Soccer carries an unbeaten streak of six into tonight's home regular season finale at 6 p.m. against Northeastern.

Tobias Bischof's crew has won its last three games by a combined score of 12-2 and is still in the running for a regular season championship. Saturday's 3-0 win over UNC Wilmington was the team's sixth shutout win of the season. The women close out the regular season on Sunday at Drexel before opening play in the CAA Tournament the following weekend.

Volleyball Eyes Strong Regular Season Finish

With eight regular season matches remaining, our volleyball team is working to stay at the top of the CAA standings. After sweeping Elon at home over the weekend, Kristin Belzung's team ran its conference record to 6-4 to remain one game out of second place.

Junior Kali Moore, who leads the conference and is sixth in the nation in kills, was named CAA Offensive Player of the Week. She reached 1,000 career kills in Saturday's win.

The team is in action tomorrow and Saturday with two matches at Northeastern.

Congratulations to the Stony Brook Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024!

Finally, please join me in congratulating the newest members of the Stony Brook Athletics Hall of Fame who will be formally inducted on Saturday. Each one of these individuals has left a lasting legacy and is incredibly deserving of this honor.

The 2024 Hall of Fame class is comprised of Pat Cantwell '12 (Baseball), John Espey (Men's Lacrosse Head Coach & Administrator), Bria Natalie Green '15 (Softball), Corinne Leake '04 (Women's Track & Field) and Dorrien Van Dyke '17 (Women's Lacrosse).

Let's make it a memorable Homecoming!  
Keep believing!
 


Shawn