2022 Hercules Tires MAAC Basketball Championships Program

2021–22 FAIRFIELD MEN’S & WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

MEN’S ROSTER

WOMEN’S ROSTER No. Name Cl.

QUICK FACTS LOCATION FAIRFIELD, CT NICKNAME STAGS COLORS CARDINAL RED YEAR FOUNDED 1942 PRESIDENT MARK R. NEMEC, PhD

No.

Name

Cl. Gr.

Pos.

Ht.

Wt.

Hometown

Pos.

Ht.

Hometown

0 1 2 3 4 5

Caleb Green

G 5-10 175 Londonderry, NH

1 2 3

Anna Eng

Fr

G 5-5 Croton, NY

Chris Maidoh Taj Benning Jalen Leach Jake Wojcik Supreme Cook

Jr.

F

6-10 210 New Carrollton, MD

Mimi Rubino

So. So.

G 5-7 Pequannock, NJ G 5-6 Middle Island, NY

Gr.

G 6-4 200 Fair Lawn, NJ

Janelle Brown

ATHLETIC DIRECTOR PAUL SCHLICKMANN HOME ARENA WEBSTER BANK ARENA (9,000)

So.

G 6-4 190 Nyack, NY

11 15 22 23 25 30 31 32 33 34

Lou Lopez-Senechal

Sr.

F

6-1 Grenoble, France

PLAYER TO WATCH Senior Lou Lopez-Senechal has developed into one of the best players in the MAAC, earning three All-MAAC First Team selections. The two-time MAAC Preseason Player of the Year ranks in the top-15 in program history in scoring, surpassing 1,400 in her career. She also averaged 15.7 points per game in her career, the highest number for a Stag in over a decade. NOTABLE ALUMNI Samantha Cooper ’18 has enjoyed an unforgettable journey as a professional basketball player, competing in France, Greece, Sweden, and Luxemburg. She led Grengewald to a league championship in Luxemburg after averaging 20.3 points and 13.1 rebounds. Cooper netted 1,287 points and 991 rebounds in her five-year career with the Stags. She earned All-MAAC First Team honors during her senior season when she recorded a conference best 15 double-doubles.

Sr.

G 6-5 190 San Jose, CA

Lauren Beach Rachel Hakes

Fr.

G/F 6-1 Medway, MA

So.

F F F

6-9 200 East Orange, NJ

Sr.

G 6-0 Woodbury, MN

10 11 12 13 14 15 20 21 24 33 35

Allan Jeanne-Rose

Jr.

6-7 200 Saint Joseph, Martinique

Callie Cavanaugh MacKenzie Daleba

R-Sr.

F F

6-1 Holyoke, MA

Makai Willis

Fr.

6-9 235 Tallahassee, FL

So. Gr. Gr.

5-11 Dorchester, MA

Jack Mullally

Jr.

G 5-10 155 Belle Harbor, NY G 6-1 180 Long Valley, NJ

Sam Lewis

G 5-11 Elkridge, MD G 5-10 Shelton, CT C 6-1 Siclerville, NJ G 5-10 Yonkers, NY

Christian Cevis Jason Edokpayi

Fr.

Sydney Lowery Jazmine Carter Brooke Tatarian

So. So.

F F F

6-6 210 Laurel, MD

Sr.

Jack Brown

6-6 195 Greenville, DE

Fr.

PLAYER TO WATCH A fifth-year graduate student, Taj Benning is the 45 th and most recent member of the Fairfield’s 1,000 Point Club, attaining the milestone as a part of a 13-point effort in the Jan. 20 home game against Monmouth. On the season, Benning ranks among the Stags’ leaders in points, rebounds and assists and typically draws the opposition’s top scoring guard as his defensive assignment. For his career, Benning is one of the most veteran players in Fairfield and MAAC history with more than 130 games to his credit. He has appeared in two MAAC Championship Games – 2018 and 2021 – and posted the signature performance of his career in the 2021 quarterfinals with career highs of 24 points and 12 rebounds in the Stags’ win over second-seeded Monmouth. NOTABLE ALUMNI Fairfield Basketball’s all-time leading scorer, Tyler Nelson is currently playing professionally with Rostock Seawolves of the ProA league in Germany, where he is currently among the club’s offensive leaders. The two-time All-MAAC First Team honoree started his professional career with an invitation to the Minnesota Timberwolves’ NBA Summer League team in 2018 and was subsequently selected with the third overall pick of the 2018 NBA G League draft by the Greensboro Swarm. He completed his G League tenure with the Texas Legends before embarking overseas. At Fairfield, Nelson racked up a program record 2,172 points from 2014–18. In addition to his scoring total, Nelson’s 17.1 points per game in his career were the best for a Stag in over three decades, and his 315 made three-pointers are also a school record.

Zach Crisler

Jr. Jr.

6-9 225 North Wales, PA

Dayna Tirado

So.

F F

6-1 Closter, NJ

Mark Henry

G 5-11 165 Hamburg, NY

41

Andrea Hernangomez

Sr.

6-1 Madrid, Spain

Jesus Cruz

Gr.

G 6-5 210 Carolina, Puerto Rico G 6-4 190 Rockville Centre, NY

42 55

Mackenzie Martin

Jr. Jr.

G 5-10 Syracuse, NY

TJ Long

Fr.

Jocelyn Polansky

G 5-10 Wallingford, CT

Tshiefu Ngalakulondi

R-Sr.

F

6-7 215 Manchester, NH

Head Coach: Joe Frager (Connecticut, ’84) – 15 th Season Associate Head Coach: Laura Scinto (Bryant, ’89) – 15 th Season Assistant Coaches: David Jollon (Thomas Edison State) – Seventh Season, Macey Hollenshead (Fairfield, ’18) – First Season Director of Basketball Operations: Erin Ryder (Southern Connecticut, ’18) – First Season

Head Coach: Jay Young (Marist, ’86) – Third Season Assistant Coaches: Chris Casey (Western Connecticut, ’86) – Third Season, James Johns (West Chester, ’01) – First Season, Bryan Dougher (Stony Brook, ’12) – Third Season, Director of Basketball Operations: Jim McDonnell (Temple, ’14) – Third Season

HEAD COACH JOE FRAGER

HEAD COACH JAY YOUNG A respected 30-year veteran within college basketball, Jay Young became head coach of Fairfield University Men’s Basketball on April 3, 2019. Now in his third season leading the Stags, Young came to Fairfield after helping to engineer nationally-recognized turnarounds at both Rutgers and Stony Brook as an assistant coach. In the 2020–21 campaign, Young helped Fairfield navigate a unique schedule to split the final five MAAC series heading into the MAAC Championship. The Stags went on to win three games in Atlantic City, including back-to-back victories over second-seeded Monmouth and third-seeded Saint Peter’s to reach the MAAC Championship Game. During the regular season, Fairfield was one of just three MAAC teams to defeat eventual conference champion Iona. Before his arrival at Fairfield, Young was an assistant coach at the Division I level at Rutgers, Stony Brook and Northeastern. He also served as the head coach of Division II University of New Haven from 2000–05, leading the Chargers to two NCAA tournament appearances.

In his 15 th season and final season at the helm, Joe Frager hasmade the Stags a regular contender in the MAAC, leading to success on and off the court. In total, Frager has totaled over 250wins with the Stags and a .566winning percentage, the highest in programhistory. The Stags have finished in the top three in theMAAC ten times under Frager. Under his tutelage, 32 student-athletes were named to an All-MAAC squadwith 11 of those earning First TeamAll-MAAC honors. Several of those athletes were able to fulfill their dreams due to their collegiate success with 17 different players signing professional contracts during Frager’s tenure.

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