Jason Braxton, Athletic Director
Courtland Reese was our only player to receive an award. He was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference’s All-Conference 2nd Team. He’s graduating after playing extremely well for us for 4 straight seasons and achieving a 3.7 GPA.
Other players graduating are Winston Minahan and walk-on Andy Dawson. The scholarships being vacated by Reese and Minahan have been filled by:
Ben Schau from Lusby, MD. He’s a 6’6” PF who averaged 18.9 ppg, 3.8 apg, 10.2 rpg, 2.9 bpg, and 3.5 spg as a high school senior. He’s been a great scorer and rebounder and is also strong defensively. He was ranked as the 28th best recruit.
Mike Williams from Nappanee, IN is a 6’6” PF who averaged 16.8 ppg, 3.4 apg, 6.9 rpg, 2.6 bpg, and 2.i8 spg in his senior high school season. He also is a very strong scorer and rebounder and a good defender. He was ranked as the 32nd best recruit.
Those additions together with the improvements of our returning players sets the stage for a very strong team this coming season. But we’re all concerned about the new NCAA transfer rules that opens the door for a lot more guys to transfer since they will be able to play immediately and no longer have to sit out a year. Because we have a lot of talented players, it wouldn’t be surprising if some of them give serious consideration to transferring to a team where they think they can start or at least get more playing time. But we just have to wait to see how it all turns out.
Coach Aura met all of the goals I had set for him before the season began, including improving our prestige (from 60 to 63). His coaching record to date is as follows:
2019-20: Towson, 18-15, .545, unranked, 6th (tie) in CAA, No post-season tourney
2020-21: Towson, 13-17, .433, unranked, 5th in CAA, No post-season tourney
2021-22: Towson, 24-9, .727, unranked, 2nd in CAA, NCAA (Round 1)
2022-23: Towson, 27-7, .794, ranked 24th, 1st in CAA, NCAA (Round 2)
2023-24: Towson, 30-4, .882, ranked 15th, 1st in CAA, NCAA (Sweet 16)
2024-25: Towson, 25-8, .758, unranked, 1st in CAA, NCAA (Round 1)
2025-26: Boston College, 21-17, .553, unranked, 10th in ACC, CIT (Finals)
2026-27: Boston College, 25-10, .714, ranked 25th, 3rd in ACC, NCAA (Sweet 16)
2027-28: Boston College, 34-5, .872, ranked 2nd, 1st in ACC, NCAA (Final 4)
2028-29: Boston College, 30-6, .833, ranked 2nd, 1st in ACC, NCAA (Round 2)
2029-30; Boston College, 26-9, .743, ranked 8th, 2nd in ACC, NCAA (Round 2)
Career Record: 273-107, .718
Obviously with that kind of record, it isn’t surprising that there are some very good college basketball programs showing interest in his coming their way. But fortunately Fred has decided to remain at Boston College.
2nd Assistant Coach Chris Evans has decided and has taken a job as 1st assistant coach at Western Carolina. It’s a nice step forward for Chris.
Coach Aura has hired Landon Friel to serve as his new 2nd assistant coach. Landon is 43 years old and was the 3rd assistant coach at Oregon State the past 3 years and 3rd assistant coach at Texas Christian the previous 2 seasons. He’s strength is player development. Therefore, Coach Aura is moving 1st assistant coach Darrell Montgomery from player development to recruiting.
Fred has been politicking for a facilities upgrade, but I let him know I was pretty certain the board wouldn’t go for it. He therefore asked for a budget increase, but the board wouldn’t even approve that. Needless to say, Fred was not happy.