2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Basketball Championships Digital Program

2023–24 RIDER MEN’S & WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

MEN’S ROSTER

WOMEN’S ROSTER No. Name Cl.

QUICK FACTS LOCATION LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ NICKNAME BRONCS COLORS CRANBERRY, WHITE, GRAY YEAR FOUNDED 1865 PRESIDENT DR. GREG DELL’OMO ATHLETIC DIRECTOR DON HARNUM HOME ARENA ALUMNI GYMNASIUM (1650)

No.

Name

Cl.

Pos.

Ht.

Wt.

Hometown/High School/Previous School

Pos.

Ht.

Hometown/High School/Previous School

0 2 3 5

D.J. Dudley

Fr.

G 6-4 190 San Diego, CA/LA Premier Prep

0 1 2 3

Sanaa Redmond

G Jr. G Fr.

5-6 Philadelphia, PA/The Shipley School (Samford)

PLAYER TO WATCH Playing for her third collegiate program, Taylor Langan has most the most of her opportunity as a Graduate Student, leading the Broncs and ranking among the top five in the MAAC in both points and rebounds. Langan earned MAAC Player of the Week honors after leading Rider to an overtime win at Lehigh with 31 points and 16 rebounds. NOTABLE ALUMNI Stella Johnson rewrote the Rider record book in her four years at the school. She became Rider’s all-time leading scorer with 2,167 points and was the first-ever All-American in program history. Johnson also became Rider's first-ever Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Player of the Year in women's basketball. Johnson was picked a Senior CLASS Award Second-Team All-American. She earned MAAC Player of the Year in 2019 and 2020, becoming the sixth player all-time to achieve the feat in back-to-back years. Johnson finished 2019-20 as the leading scorer in Division I at 24.8 points per game. She set a new MAAC Championship single-game record, scoring 37 points in the Broncs' Quarterfinal win over Niagara. Following her prodigious Rider career, Johnson was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, made her WNBA debut with the Chicago Sky and also played for the Washington Mystics. She is currently playing overseas in Sweden. The Rider women’s basketball team honored Johnson by retiring her number. Johnson is the first women’s basketball player, and only the second female student athlete joining Kelly Hall ‘85 (Field Hockey and Softball), in Rider history to have their number retired.

Allen Powell

R-Sr.

G 6-2 175 Philadelphia, PA/La Salle College H.S.

Aliya McIver

5-9 White Plains, NY/White Plains

Corey McKeithan

Sr.

G 6-0 175 Windsor, CT/Windsor

ToniRenee Blanford

F

Sr.

6-0 Montclair, NJ/The Patrick School (Union College)

Mervin James Drew Kousaie

R-Sr.

F

6-8 215 St. Thomas, USVI/Pebblebrook (North Alabama)

Jamia Blake Molly Lynch

G Jr. G Sr. G Jr.

5-9 Rock Hill, SC/South Pointe (UNC Asheville)

10 11 12 13 14 22 23 24

So.

G 6-0 181 Kissimmee, FL/Windermere Prep

10 11 12 13 14 23 24 44 55

5-9 Sea Girt, NJ/Rutgers Prep

Moustapha Sanoh Ruben Rodriguez Ife West-Ingram JT Langston, Jr. Jack McFadden Anthony McCall

Fr. Fr. Fr.

F

6-11 200 Allentown, PA/Executive Education Academy

Mariona Cos-Morales

6-1 Matadepera, Spain/IES Matadepera (Casper College)

G 6-2 175 Reading, PA/Reading

Taylor Blunt

G R-So. 5-8 Delco, PA/The Peddie School (NJ) (Detroit Mercy)

F F

6-6 205 Philadelphia, PA/Abington Friends

Sam Richardson

F F

Fr.

6-3 Linden, NJ/St. Benedict’s Prep

Jr.

6-8 205 Fort Wayne, IN/San Gabriel Acad (East LA Coll.)

Sofie Bruintjes

Sr.

6-5 Zwolle, The Netherlands/CTO Amsterdam

So. So.

G 6-4 190 Endwell, NY/Maine-Endwell

Taylor Langan

G Gr. G Sr. C Fr. G Gr.

5-10 Lake Hopatcong, NJ/Jefferson Township (Millersville)(Colgate)

G/F 6-5 191 Philadelphia, PA/Academy of the New Church G 6-3 180 Brantford, Ontario/Raleigh (NC) Christian Acad.

Makayla Firebaugh

5-10 Winchester, VA/James Wood

Nic Anthony

Fr.

Kaylan Deveney Jessika Schiffer

6-3 Medford, NJ/Life Center Academy

5-9 Iserlohn, Germany/Deutschhaus Gymnasium Würzburg (Buffalo)

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Tyriek Weeks

So.

F F

6-6 200 Warwick, RI/Pilgrim (Miami Dade College)

PLAYER TO WATCH 2023-24 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year Mervin James has lived up to the billing this season, ranking among the top scorers and rebounders in the league. An All-League Second Team selection a year ago, James scored a career-high 31 points on Jan. 5 at Quinnipiac. After spending two seasons at North Alabama, James transferred to Rider to join high school teammate Dwight Murray Jr. with the Broncs, helping Rider achieve one of the bigger upsets in league tournament history, knocking off top-seeded and Rick Pitino-led Iona in the 2022 quarterfinals in James’ first year with the team. He reached 1,000 points for his collegiate career last season and reached 1,000 at Rider alone this past Dec. 29 at Penn State. He projects to push for 2,000 for five years in college basketball. NOTABLE ALUMNI Jason Thompson ‘08 began a new chapter of his career as a Broncs assistant coach in 2022-23. The 2008 NBA Lottery Pick completed his 13-year pro-playing career, including the first eight in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors. Thompson was an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America, US Basketball Writers’ Association District II Player of the Year, the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 3 selection, MAAC Player and Defensive Player of the Year at Rider. He compiled 2,040 points and a Rider-record 1,171 rebounds, including a single-season-best 412 in 2007 08. His 235 career blocks and 91 rejections in 2007-08 are program records. He was a first-ballot Rider Athletics Hall of Fame inductee and his No. 1 jersey is one of two Rider men’s basketball numbers retired all-time (Darrick Suber, No. 4).

33 35

Tariq Ingraham

Sr.

6-9 245 Philadelphia, PA/Bonner-Prendergast (Wake Forest)

Head Coach: Lynn Milligan (Rider ’92, 17 th year) Assistant Coaches: MyNeshia McKenzie (Rider ’14, 3 rd year), John Azzinaro (Bucknell ‘17, 2 nd year), Sharay Hall (Lock Haven ’12, 1 st year) Director of Basketball Operations: James Navalance (Georgian Court ’20, 1 st year)

T.J. Weeks, Jr.

Gr.

G 6-4 190 Warwick, RI/Bishop Hendricken Catholic (UMass)

Head Coach: Kevin Baggett (Saint Joseph’s ’89, 12 th Season) Associate Head Coach: Dino Presley (Kutztown ’93, 9 th Season) Assistant Coaches: Geoff Arnold (Saint Joseph’s ’86, 5 th Season), Kim Waiters (Robert Morris ’11, 3 rd Season),

Garrett Collins (UNC Greensboro ’18, 1 st Season), Jason Thompson (Rider ’08, 2 st Season) Special Assistant to the Head Coach: Roy Blumenthal (West Chester ’83, 5 th Season)

HEAD COACH KEVIN BAGGETT Two-time MAAC Coach of the Year Kevin Baggett is in his 12th season as the Rider Head Coach in 2023-24. By season’s end, he projects to have the second-most wins all-time at the school (187). ‘Baggs' is a two-time MAAC Coach of the Year (2015 and 2018) and has been a finalist for three different National Coach of the Year Awards - the Ben Jobe Award, the Joe B. Hall Award and the Hugh Durham Award. Baggett has led his players to 24 All-MAAC honors and two MAAC Sixth Player of the Year awards. The total increases to 34 in his time at Rider, including six seasons as an assistant coach. His 19 wins in 2012-13 were the most by a Rider rookie head coach since Bob Greenwood led Rider to a 20-win season in 1962-63. The only other Rider basketball coach to compile 19 wins in his rookie campaign was the legendary Clair Bee in 1928-29. Rider has made five National Postseason Tournament appearances under Baggett, including an NIT appearance in 2017-18, CBI bids in 2012-13 and 2014-15, and a CIT berth in 2013-14.

HEAD COACH LYNN DONOVAN-MILLIGAN Lynn Donovan-Milligan '92, '94 is in her 17th season as the head women's basketball coach at Rider University. The two-time MAAC Coach of the Year (2017, 2020) has guided one of her student-athletes to All-MAAC honors 19 times, including five First Team selections, eight Second Team honorees and six Third Team picks, along with nine All-Rookie Team selections. On three occasions, one of her players earned MAAC Player of the Year (Stella Johnson – 2019, 2020, Robin Perkins – 2017), while she’s also mentored student-athletes to Rookie of the Year (Makayla Firebaugh – 2021), Defensive Player of the Year (Amari Johnson – 2020), and Sixth Player of the Year (Ali Heller – 2011) recognition. Rider closed the 2022-23 season strong winning five of its final nine games, including an opening round victory in the MAAC Tournament over Marist. Amanda Mobley moved into second on Rider’s career assist list, including a Division-I program record 13 against Manhattan. Mobley finished the season ranked just outside the top ten in the country for assists.

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2024 | HERCULES TIRES MAAC MEN’S & WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS 69