#CAAHoops Preview: Stony Brook Men's Basketball
Miles McQuiggan
STONY BROOK, N.Y. (Oct. 26, 2022) - The Stony Brook men's basketball team is looking to elevate its game while it elevates to a new league.
The Seawolves enter the CAA after a run of 20-plus years in the America East that included 20-win seasons in seven of the least 10 full years and a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2016. As Stony Brook enters its new era in its league, its new head coach is bullish on the conference's future.
"The league is terrific," said head coach
Geno Ford. "I've been in college basketball for 25 years and I've been in mid-major leagues like the Missouri Valley when we were getting three or four teams in the NCAA Tournament and in the MAC. The CAA can compete against any league you want to put it up against. There's good coaches, good players, great venues, great campuses, and the atmospheres on the road are greatly improved from what we've experienced in the past. We're looking forward to some fresh challenges."
Much of Stony Brook's potential success this winter will be fueled by its returners, including
Frankie Policelli and
Tyler Stephenson-Moore. The Seawolves took care of the ball better than 90% of the country a year ago, with a turnovers per game rate that ranked in the top 35 nationally. Ford and his staff will add in a group of newcomers that includes transfer guard
Aaron Clarke, who provides another ballhandler for Stony Brook.
The Seawolves' early-season slate includes visits to Florida, Rhode Island, and West Virginia, a multi-team event at FIU, and some quality mid-major opponents on the schedule including Bryant and Yale. The league schedule will open New Year's Eve at Northeastern and Stony Brook will play two of its first four CAA contests on CBS Sports Network and nearly a dozen games this winter on television in New York.
That rise in competition, atmosphere, and exposure will give Stony Brook fans much to look forward to in the Seawolves' first year in the CAA.
Stony Brook
Head Coach: Geno Ford
2021-22 Record: 18-13, 10-8 AE
Returning Starters (2)
Frankie Policelli, F 7.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, .361 3PT%
Tyler Stephenson-Moore, G 7.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, .479 FG%, .448 3PT%
Notable Newcomers
Aaron Clarke, G 16.0 ppg, 4.1 apg at Sacred Heart, Third Team All-NEC
Kenan Sarvan, F 11.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg at Mineral Area (JUCO), 2020-21 MEAC All-Rookie Team at Coppin State
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