By: Keith Savage
11. Marist Red Foxes
After finishing 9-11 in MAAC play the Red Foxes got obliterated by the Quinnipiac Bobcats in the first round losing by 25 points. The team suffered some significant losses due to the transfer portal.
2022 All-MAAC Second Team and MAAC Rookie of the Year guard Jao Ituka looked like the program’s future but decided to transfer to Wake Forest. 2022 All-MAAC Third Team sophomore guard Ricardo Wright left the team and joined SMU. The backcourt duo were the leading scorers for Marist last season. Graduate student guard Anthony Cooper and junior guard Kam Farris will look to replace the two. Cooper averaged 19 points per game at Caldwell University and Farris was a 42% three-point shooter at Robert Morris University.
Seven players started over 10 games for Marist last year, and none are still with the team. This is a brand new unit for head coach John Dunne and we’ll have to wait to see how the Marist Red Foxes perform.
10. Niagara Purple Eagles
Niagara’s lone All-MAAC selection last season was senior guard Marcus Hammond. Hammond received first-team honors in the conference and was an elite scorer averaging 18.1 points per game. Hammond has since transferred to Notre Dame of the ACC, and Head Coach Greg Paulus will be looking for new players to fill the void that Hammond left.
Senior guard Noah Thomasson could become the go-to scorer for the Purple Eagles as he averaged 10.8 points per game last season. The team will also expect big contributions from two transfers in senior guard Joe Kasperzyk from Southeastern Louisiana and sophomore forward Aaron Gray from Southern New Hampshire University. Both of whom averaged double-digit points last season.
9. Canisius Golden Griffins
At home, the Golden Griffins were good, finishing 10-5 but away the team was a notorious 1-15. This caused them to finish 7-13 in MAAC play and suffer a first-round loss to Fairfield in the MAAC Tournament.
Canisius is led by graduate student guard Jordan Henderson, who is the only player on the roster that averaged over 10 points for Canisius last season. This team needs players to step up on offense after losing three of their top four scorers. Sophomore forward Frank Mitchell could be that and more. Mitchell averaged 14.5 points and 18.0 rebounds per game at Humber College in Toronto, Canada last season. He could be the hidden gem for a Canisius team that will need every bit of his production in order to stay competitive in MAAC play.
8. St. Peters Peacocks
The Peacocks were the darlings of March Madness after advancing to the elite eight as a 15th seed. The team was the first 15th seed to ever make it to a regional final. But this team is completely different from last year.
St. Peter’s top six scorers and head coach are no longer with the program. The 2022 MAAC champions have their work cut out for them in trying to incorporate new players into a new system. New head coach Bashir Mason was able to land transfers like graduate student guard Kyle Cardaci from Coppin State and graduate student guard Jayden Saddler from Southern University.
It will be interesting to see how Coach Mason incorporates the new additions, as well as a new system, to a program coming off unprecedented heights just 7 months ago.
7. Siena Saints
Going into the MAAC quarterfinals, the Saints were looking to make noise in the tournament as the three seed, but after going against the Quinnipiac Bobcats the team suffered a 77-71 loss.
Like the Red Foxes, the team had two guards who made All-MAAC teams and neither are with the program anymore. Junior guard Colby Rogers made the conference second team and was the leading scorer on the team averaging 14.1 points per game but he is now with Wichita State. Guard Anthony Gaines was selected to the conference’s third team but he graduated and was Rogers side kick in the backcourt.
Siena made a big move landing fifth-year transfer guard Jayce Johnson from Middle Tennessee. Johnson started 58/80 games during his time with the Blue Raiders averaging 7.0 points and 4.8 rebounds a game.
Sophomore guard Javian McCollum had an increase in minutes at the end of the year and showed promise as a scorer with 16 points in the loss to the Bobcats. Senior forward Jackson Stormo had a successful season averaging 11.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Stormo will look to be the leader of this Saints team. Siena will also return UNC transfer Andrew Platek, who will provide floor spacing as a three-point shooter. Platek missed the majority of the 2021-2022 season after suffering an Achilles injury.
6. Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers
The Mountaineers will be entering their first season in the MAAC after leaving the NEC where the team finished .500 in conference play, before losing in the semifinals of the NEC Tournament to the eventual champion, Bryant Bulldogs. This team is led by All-NEC second-team senior guard Jalen Benjamin, who averaged 13.3 points per game last season.
Mount St. Mary’s lost two third-team All-NEC players in forwards Mezie Offurum and Nana Opoku. Graduate student guard Justin Gielen played four years as a lacrosse player at the University of Maryland, and will now be switching to basketball with the Mountaineers. Gielen will try and replicate the success that current Golden State Warriors forward Pat Spencer had when he made the transition from Lacrosse to hoops at Northwestern back in the 2019-2020 season.
Head Coach Dan Englestad took the Mountaineers to the NCAA tournament in 2021 and will bring championship pedigree to a conference that has only had one other team cut down the nets in March outside of the Iona Gaels, who won five conference tournaments from 2016-2021.
5. Fairfield Stags
The Stags had an underwhelming season finishing 8-12 in MAAC play and losing in the second round of the MAAC tournament to eventual champion St. Peters. This team will look to improve upon that this year.
Guard Taj Benning was the Stags leading scorer a season ago with 11.1 points per game but he has since graduated from the program. This season, Head Coach Jay Young will rely heavily on junior forward Supreme Cook. After averaging 10.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game last season, Cook has the potential to be an All-MAAC player in 2022-2023. The Stags also landed senior guard Brycen Goodine from Providence and he looks to bring a winning pedigree to the Stags after advancing to the Sweet 16 with the Friars in last year's NCAA tournament.
4. Quinnipiac Bobcats
The Bobcats entered the MAAC tournament as the lowest seed but had a cinderella run winning two games before losing to the eventual champion St. Peters Peacocks 64-52.
This year the team looks to continue the momentum from the tournament with new leadership. All-MAAC third-team forward Kevin Marfo and sharpshooting forward Jacob Rigoni have both graduated and signed professional contracts. Graduate student forward Ike Nweke highlights one of the many transfers joining the Bobcats. Nweke averaged 15.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game at Columbia.
Quinnipiac returns their leading scorer from a season ago with All-MAAC third-team redshirt senior guard Matt Balanc. Head coach Baker Dunleavy will look to finish over .500 in the MAAC for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
3. Rider Broncs
Like Quinnipiac, this team was one of the lower seeds in last year’s MAAC tournament, but the Broncs made huge noise defeating the number one seed Iona Gaels in the second round before losing to the Monmouth Hawks. This team will attempt to keep that momentum going into this season.
All-MAAC third-team forward Dimencio Vaughn has graduated from the program, but the Broncs will return backcourt duo senior guard Dwight Murray Jr. and senior guard Allen Powell, both of whom should be All-MAAC players heading into this season. Head coach Kevin Baggett will rely heavily on Powell and Murray to lead this group, which should compete for a first-round bye in the MAAC tournament come March.
The Broncs also landed two big transfers in junior forward Tariq Ingraham from Wake Forest and graduate student guard Zahrion Blue from Princeton.
2. Manhattan Jaspers
The Jaspers finished under .500 in conference play and lost to Rider in the first round of the MAAC Tournament last year. However, unlike many teams in the MAAC this year, the Jaspers will return their best player from a season ago.
Fifth-year forward Jose Perez was an All-MAAC first-team selection after averaging 18.9 points and 4.5 assists per game. Perez will enter this season as the presumed preseason MAAC player of the year, and will be joined by fellow former Big East transfers guard Ant Nelson and forward Josh Roberts. They also will return guard Samir Stewart, who initially entered the transfer portal, but elected to return to the Jaspers for the 2022-2023 season.
Head Coach Steve Masiello will try to coach this upperclassmen-led unit back to the NCAA tournament. A place they haven’t been since making back-to-back trips in the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
1. Iona Gaels
Rick Pitino’s team entered last season’s MAAC tournament as the number one seed, and heavy favorites, before being upset in the quarterfinals by the Rider Broncs. You can be sure that the Gaels will look to return to the podium this season, where they’ve won the MAAC tournament crown in 5 of the last 7 seasons. The Gaels return one of the best players in the conference in junior forward Nelly Junior Joseph, who earned first-team honors in 2022, and will be a MAAC player of the year candidate in 2023.
This team will have big shoes to fill after the loss of MAAC player of the year Tyson Jolly, and second-team all-conference guard Elijah Joyner. The Gaels also lost two of the top high school recruits in program history in guard Ryan Myers and forward Trey James. However, Pitino added one of the best Juco recruits in the nation with Danish Jenkins from Odessa College. Jenkins was a Juco All-American a season ago and averaged 12.1 PPG for Pacific in the WCC in 2021. Jenkins is the prototypical 3 and D wing that will thrive in Pitino’s system, and shot 40% from 3-point range to go along with 48 steals a season ago.
The combination of Jenkins and Junior Joseph will not only provide scoring but anchor a defense that thrives on creating turnovers and protecting the paint. Rick Pitino will once again have a group that will compete atop of the MAAC conference to try and earn their second NCAA tournament berth in three seasons.