With those historic accomplishments under his belt, DePrez has been named Pipe Dream’s 2020-21 Male Athlete of the Year, earning recognition for the second consecutive year.

“[DePrez] is a fierce competitor and great team leader that continues to get better,” said Binghamton head coach Kyle Borshoff. “He has two seasons left to reach his goal of becoming an NCAA champion, and I am confident that he will do everything he can to reach that goal.”

Entering the bracket as the No. 3 seed, DePrez finished eighth at the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in March. He became the first Binghamton wrestler to place at nationals since 2011.

“I was pretty happy,” DePrez said. “I had bigger goals, but it’s always good to get on the podium. It’s such a tough tournament, every year is a new year with new competition. It’s a grind getting into that spot, but I was pretty happy with it.”

Binghamton competed in just four dual meets this season, and DePrez cruised to victory in all four of his bouts. He entered the 2021 Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships undefeated, and successfully defended his title and won the tournament.

“I was wrestling good leading up into the postseason,” DePrez said. “Since it was a shorter season and we couldn’t really travel, we really couldn’t get those bigger schools, but I was happy with it.”

After the cancellation of last season’s NCAA championships, DePrez was selected as an All-American without the chance to compete. This year, he was able to earn that recognition on the mats. DePrez spoke about the influence performing at his level on the national stage has on the Binghamton program.

“It really just comes down to what this program has built up into,” DePrez said. “All the guys pushing everyone, coaching staff really doing their job and getting us where we need to become the end of the year. I’m happy with the success I’ve had, but I also know I can do better in the future so I’m looking forward to that.”

With last season in the past, DePrez has already returned to practice as the Bearcats look ahead to the future. Next year’s collegiate wrestling season is expected to return to a more typical season structure, and the team should have opportunities to face much tougher competition prior to the NCAA tournament.

“We have some really good tournaments we’re going to be going to,” DePrez said. “I think our dual schedule is going to be tough too, so we’ll see everyone that is pretty good in the country. I’m not really afraid to lose, so if I take a couple of lumps it’s always a good learning experience and that’ll just get me ready for nationals.”

As the NCAA granted winter athletes an additional year of eligibility last fall, DePrez has two more seasons of eligibility remaining. He will enter next season the favorite to win his third-consecutive EIWA title and will contend for the national championship at 184 pounds.

“There’s always stuff to work on,” DePrez said. “Just getting on the podium is always a good goal but I do have bigger aspirations. I would like to win the thing.”

“[Johnston] has done an incredible job during her time as our head softball coach,” said Binghamton director of athletics Patrick Elliott in a statement. “She has developed the program to [become] an annual contender for the America East [AE] championship while competing successfully on a national level. We wish [Johnston] and her family all the best going forward.”

Johnston cited family obligations as the reason for her departure. After giving birth to twins in February, she was on maternity leave for the first few weeks of the season.

“I’ve always kind of felt like this job would be hard to do with a family, and so when we found out we were having twins, it’s something I thought I could do and still wanted to do, but I knew it was going to be hard,” Johnston said. “I don’t think people understand the amount of time it takes for recruiting and everything that goes along with coaching.”

After returning to the team and getting an idea of what it was like to lead a Division I program with a family, she made the difficult decision to step down.

“I didn’t want to be torn in two different directions all the time, and that’s the way I was starting to feel when I came back off of my leave,” Johnston said. “I just felt it was the time and luckily I’m fortunate enough to be able to take the time and do that.”

A national search will be conducted for Johnston’s replacement. Under her leadership, Binghamton won the 2015 AE Softball Championship, earning the first NCAA Tournament bid in program history. The program also earned regular-season titles in 2016 and 2017.

The Owego, New York native came to BU in 2009 after being head coach at the Division III University of Rochester.

“I was coming back to the Division I level and was a little nervous about taking over a program at that level at the size of the school,” Johnston said. “When I came back to the area, I hadn’t realized how much Binghamton had grown with the resources and facilities so I felt pretty lucky to be here and knew we could build this program right away.”

Johnston inherited a roster that went 7-36 the year before her arrival, improving the team to a 24-19 finish in her first season. The Bearcats had won just 22 games combined in the three years prior.

“There were some really good athletes here at the time that we were able to build a program around,” Johnston said. “It was honestly pretty easy to turn the program around because of the players that we had here. They came in and they wanted to get better right away, so we started putting in the work and it came pretty easy.”

While the Bearcats struggled this season and did not qualify for the AE tournament, a number of young players performed well. Johnston said the new coach will inherit a roster capable of competing in the postseason.

“We feel really good about the future of the program,” Johnston said. “I know that where we ended up this year wasn’t our goal, and I don’t think it was reflective of the work that the team put in this year. I think they feel good about where they’re at moving forward. With getting more games in and playing a regular season, I think you’ll see a lot of different results moving forward.”

While Johnston is stepping away from Division I softball for now, she hopes to stay involved in the game in some manner.

“I can’t see myself staying away for too long,” Johnston said. “I’ve got a little girl, Teagan, and I’m sure she’ll have a ball in her hand as soon as she can, and [my son] Trey will probably do the same with baseball. I would imagine it’ll be back in our lives soon.”

The campaign posted a statement on Monday from the BU Office of Legal Counsel explaining the situation. It called the GoFundMe “a truly generous act and a clear example of the kind and caring nature of our student body,” but asked that donations be stopped until it had more information and guidance on the situation.

“The men’s lacrosse team is an NCAA Division I athletics program, subject to the rules and regulations of the University, its athletics conference and the NCAA,” the statement read. “We want to ensure that the efforts to assist the student-athletes affected by this tragic loss do not cross any boundaries of the rules and regulations these student-athletes are governed by. In that regard, the campus administration is working with outside legal counsel and the NCAA to ensure our continued compliance with all applicable NCAA rules and regulations.”

Fifteen BU students lived at the house that burned down, including 14 members of the lacrosse team. Nearly all of their belongings were destroyed in the blaze.

“We are currently working to determine how the GoFundMe site can be used within the rules and regulations for replacement of items lost in the fire,” the statement read. “At this time, we are requesting that the account that has been set be frozen with no additional contributions accepted until we have more information and guidance on this matter.”

The GoFundMe was started by David Hatami, Student Association (SA) vice president for multicultural affairs (VPMA) and a junior double-majoring in political science and business administration. Hatami said that he has been in communication with the athletics department for about a week, and that Monday’s statement was meant to update the public on the status of the fundraiser.

“As of now, we’re currently working together to figure out a way to share the funds with the victims of the fire,” Hatami wrote in an email. “I expect that we will be able to sort everything out within a week. I’m talking to the athletics department on a daily basis and plan to do so until the money gets to where it needs to be.”

Ryan Yarosh, senior director of media and public relations for BU, confirmed that no NCAA regulations have been violated at this point, as the University has been following appropriate procedures.

“Athletics initiated the conversation with the NCAA and [University Office of Legal Counsel],” Yarosh wrote in an email. “This kind of outreach is standard operating procedure between our compliance office and the NCAA — to ensure that we follow the appropriate process, so that the affected students can receive the donated funds in a manner that won’t affect their eligibility.”

Yarosh clarified that the NCAA requires that the athletics department oversees the distribution of funds to avoid any inadvertent rule violations, which could impact the student-athletes’ eligibility to play.

“Athletics compliance is working with the originators of the [GoFundMe] page to ensure that 100 percent of the funds go to the affected students who lived in the house,” Yarosh wrote.

The NCAA has been embroiled in several past controversies regarding GoFundMe campaigns supporting student-athletes. Without a waiver to the NCAA’s name, image and likeness regulations, crowdfunding efforts are generally impermissible regardless of the circumstances.

Furlong was walking with crutches while recovering from a recent foot surgery. Upon opening the door to the old building, he was greeted with an entryway filled with black smoke and the sounds of a fire alarm.

Upon further investigation, he saw a sofa engulfed in flames in the living room. Furlong rushed across the room to alert the person in the nearest bedroom, and he found it empty. When he looked back, he realized the severity of the situation.

“I turned around and the whole living room was basically in flames at that point,” Furlong said. “I rushed through the living room, I just picked up my crutches and I ran. That was the first time I had put pressure on my foot since my surgery, but I just picked up my crutches and I ran across the living room.”

In the short period of time since Furlong had entered the house, the fire had spread rapidly throughout the ill-fated structure.

“When I got there, it was just the sofa that was on fire,” Furlong said. “It went from the sofa to basically half of the living room in about 30 seconds. I also knew that the whole house was made of wood — it’s a very old house — so I knew that there was no chance we were putting out this fire. We had to get everyone out as soon as possible. I just started making sure that everyone could hear me and banging out the doors with my crutches and just making sure everyone was able to get out.”

Furlong was able to get the attention of someone who lived on the first floor. At the same time, one of his teammates he was supposed to work on the presentation with came down the stairs and noticed the situation. Both of them ran up the steps to help evacuate the house.

“I’m very thankful that [they] were able to see me and see the fire because they were able to rush upstairs and get everyone out, because it would have been hard for me,” Furlong said. “About a minute later, everyone was out of there. The whole house was on fire at that point, so everybody was running through black smoke. You couldn’t really see or breathe at all. We got out and about a minute after that the house was completely inflamed.”

Fifteen BU students lived in the house — 14 of whom are members of the Division I men’s lacrosse team. They lost everything they couldn’t carry, but there were no injuries reported. All of the residents escaped just in time, thanks in great part to Furlong’s efforts.

“People like to lay the hero label on me, but I can tell you right now that I’m nothing like a hero at all,” Furlong said. “I just was at the right situation at the right time. I’m just extremely thankful for fate allowing me to be in that situation. If you put anyone else on the team in that situation, they would have definitely been able to do the same thing and get guys out and spread the word to make sure that everyone was safe.”

As Furlong was frantically pacing the first floor, his teammate, sophomore midfielder Thomas Greenblatt, was one of several student-athletes lying in bed on that Tuesday morning. Including Greenblatt, the team’s entire sophomore class resided at the home.

“I was sleeping in my room,” Greenblatt said. “Sometimes it gets a little loud in the morning, people waking up and making breakfast, so I kind of heard some loud noises, people running up the stairs like your average day. I heard it, but it didn’t really register … Then I started to hear ‘fire’ screams. My door got pounded on, I opened up my door and I looked to my left which is where the staircase was, and there was just this thick black smoke.”

Greenblatt grabbed his phone and laptop and fled the burning building along with his teammates.

“I went down the stairs and I couldn’t see a thing,” Greenblatt said. “The only way I got out of the house was because I knew where the door was. It was pretty bad at that point, but I never really saw the fire.”

After escaping the house, Greenblatt called the fire department. They arrived within minutes, but the damage was done. City officials deemed the building a “total loss” and it was demolished later that day.

“Our coaches were there, our [athletic director] came down … there were a bunch of people there to help us,” Greenblatt said. “But just sitting there watching all your stuff on fire is definitely a little traumatizing. Just the fact that everybody made it out safely was the most important thing. It was definitely an upsetting thing to see, but we’re very grateful that nobody came out injured at all.”

Binghamton Fire Department officials announced the next day that the fire had been caused by an electric heater igniting the couch. Nearly all of the residents’ belongings were lost, including much of the players’ lacrosse equipment.

“That day, guys were running around with no shoes on, they really had nothing but whatever they brought with them outside of the house,” Furlong said. “As guys on the team, we tried to do everything that we could, in terms of just letting guys come up to my closet and take anything they want, because really what’s mine is theirs. Guys were giving shoes or sneakers, really just everything.”

The displaced student-athletes spent that night in a hotel and ultimately relocated to apartments at University Lofts for the remainder of the academic year. The men’s lacrosse team returned to practice two days later and played its regular season finale on Sunday.

“It’s really nice to see everyone, all of the guys on the team, coming together and just being very selfless and vulnerable and giving everything they had to those guys,” Furlong said. “I think that’s what Binghamton lacrosse is all about. When it comes down to stepping away from the field and stepping away from lacrosse, who we are as people and how we support one another.”

Nicole Marks Kaufman contributed reporting to this article.

Now, four months later, plans are in the works to rebuild the complex. On Tuesday, The Press & Sun-Bulletin reported that the facility would be rebuilt as a steel metal building with 100,000 square feet of space, a move away from the traditional air-supported dome structure of the previous facility.

Within two weeks of losing the dome in December, the business resumed operations at an alternate facility. Nicole Kashou, general manager of the Greater Binghamton Sports Complex, spoke about the outpouring of support from the community during the winter.

“It was awesome, we got so much support and involvement from the community,” Kashou said. “Everybody was reaching out, people from a decade ago who used to play here were sharing stories about what the dome did for them. We had so many kids and adults that were reaching out saying how they appreciated the dome and what it did for them.”

After the dome collapsed, the company quickly relocated its operation to a building it owned in Vestal, New York, completely renovating the facility.

“Within two weeks we got old turf out, put in brand new turf, insulated the whole building, put in new heaters, added new lighting, we completely repurposed the whole place,” Nicole Kashou said. “We made three soccer fields within two weeks. It was kind of insane.”

The Vestal facility is smaller than the dome was, but it allowed the business to continue operating throughout the winter. Renee Kashou, director of marketing and social media, said that the alternate facility was already owned by the business and had been used as the primary location prior to the dome’s construction.

“It was worth it to put the money into it because it was our building and we were completely relocating our business there, but what was done within two weeks was just insane,” Renee Kashou said. “I’m not quite sure that a building like that was built within two weeks.”

As the summer approaches, the tearing down of the dome’s shell was just completed and plans to rebuild are in progress. No concrete plans have been made for the future of the dome site, but with the Vestal site as a backup, the Greater Binghamton Sports Complex will be in operation again this winter.

The dome was constructed in 2005, and the business is privately owned by Bahij Kashou, Renee and Nicole’s father. It has remained completely family-owned and operated throughout its entire existence.

“This is our dad’s third facility,” Renee Kashou said. “We were renting a facility in Johnson City for a year a two, and then I think when he saw the market being there and the need for it, he purchased the facility in Vestal. That’s where we ran out of until 2004, and then the dome went up in 2005. It housed six indoor soccer fields instead of the two that were in Vestal.”

Even before his daughters were old enough to play, Bahij Kashou was coaching youth soccer locally and running leagues. Renee and Nicole Kashou, as well as their other sister Lila Kashou-McKenna, played soccer throughout their childhood and were raised as the family business grew.

“I would say we started working the concession stands when we were like 10, and then it just rolled into going outside of the concession stands, cleaning up inside when we were in high school,” Nicole said. “In college I ran the concession stand and after college we’re running the facility. It’s all family-owned, so we do everything.”

Throughout the dome’s history, it hosted several clinics led by famous athletes. The last was event was in December 2019 when U.S. women’s national soccer team players Rose Lavelle and Andi Sullivan came to Binghamton.

“We’ve had 300 to 400 kids usually registering to those programs,” Renee said. “Last year, even during COVID, parents were reaching out and asking if we were doing clinics again. They’ve been huge, I think we definitely intend on doing that again as soon as we’re able to … These world-renowned athletes have so much inspiration to provide.”

Other U.S. women’s national soccer team standouts have led clinics at the facility throughout its history, including Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Shannon Boxx and Sydney Leroux.

“It keeps our customers very happy, and it’s something we really love to offer that really differentiates us from competitors around us,” Renee said.

Many of the participants in these events are associated with the facility’s club program, Greater Binghamton FC.

“It started out pretty weak, but then it grew to be this huge club that produces national titles, state titles, regional titles,” Nicole said. “We have DI alumni that come out of here and the way that it’s projecting we’ll continue to create DI athletes with how often they’re playing here.”

There is also a semiprofessional men’s team associated with the club, of which several of the players are Binghamton University students. One BU student organization is also based at the complex.

“A lot of the students from the club soccer teams come in here that play on our adult coed leagues,” Nicole said. “Our [Binghamton TOPSoccer] program is run by [BU] students, it’s a special needs program that the BU students run at our facilities on the outdoor turf.”

With the indoor season nearly complete and the outdoor season underway, the Greater Binghamton Sports Complex is preparing for a busy summer. Last year, the facility hosted a drive-in movie theater, and this summer it will continue to host tournaments and activities to keep Binghamton’s youth active.

“It used to be that the summer was our offseason, however with COVID-19 everybody is more apt to go outside,” Nicole said. “Last summer and this upcoming summer are going to be pretty busy just because most people are more willing to play outside and do things with an outdoor atmosphere.”

Currently undefeated in the Atlantic 10 (A-10) competition, the Rams (31-5, 12-0 A-10) were a formidable opponent for Binghamton. The doubleheader was announced on Monday and the Bearcats had not played in over a week following the cancellation of last weekend’s series against Colgate.

The Bearcats recorded just two hits the first game of the twin bill, eventually being shut out 4-0. Senior pitcher Rayn Gibson started the game for Binghamton and allowed runs in the third and fourth innings before being pulled with the team down 2-0. Fordham scored two insurance runs in the sixth inning to close out the win.

It took until the final inning in game two for Binghamton to get on the board. Freshman pitcher Allison L’Amoreaux started for BU and kept the game scoreless until the bottom of the fifth, when Fordham scored their first run. L’Amoreaux left the game after that inning and was replaced by freshman pitcher Hannah Mearns, who allowed two runs in the sixth.

In the top of the seventh, senior infielder Makayla Alvarez led off with a double and two batters later she was brought home on a sacrifice RBI from senior infielder Alex Guay. However, the next batter was struck out and Binghamton fell short 3-1.

Next up for the Bearcats is a home series against UMass Lowell. Binghamton has just two series left in the regular season. Under this year’s revised format, the top four finishers of the seven teams in the conference will qualify for the AE tournament. Binghamton is currently in sixth place, directly behind the UMass Lowell (9-12, 5-5 AE) in the standings.

First pitch in game one against the River Hawks is set for noon on Saturday at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

The 14 members of the team that lived at the house, located at 74 Front St., were all evacuated without injuries along with another BU student living at the location. Binghamton Mayor Richard David tweeted that the fire damage to the property was extensive.

“This morning’s fire at 74 Front St. has rendered the property a total loss,” David tweeted on Tuesday. “City of Binghamton officials have deemed the building unsafe and we are taking action to demolish it today.”

Binghamton Fire Department officials announced on Wednesday that the fire was caused by an electric heater igniting a couch, which spread throughout the house. In addition to their personal property, much of the players’ lacrosse equipment was destroyed in the fire. The men’s team was set to face UMass Lowell in its regular season finale on Friday, but the BU athletics department announced on Thursday that the game has been postponed to Sunday night as a result of the situation.

A GoFundMe has been established by David Hatami, Student Association (SA) vice president for multicultural affairs (VPMA) and a junior double-majoring in political science and business administration. Hatami lives in a neighboring house and witnessed the fire.

“I woke up around 9 a.m. to a bunch of noise on the street,” Hatami wrote in an email. “When I walked outside, the top half of the lacrosse house was engulfed in smoke. Five to 10 minutes later, the entire house was engulfed. Soon enough spurts of fire were coming out of the house all over. The fire and police department took over pretty quickly and closed down the block. However, it did take the firemen a while to control the fire. I think it finally subdued around 2 or 3 p.m. Afterward, the students were allowed back into the house to try to salvage whatever they could. Around 5 or 6 p.m., the city brought in an excavator to demolish the house, which they did pretty quickly.”

Hatami, who became friendly with his neighbors this year, said his sympathy for their loss is what drove him to create the GoFundMe page.

“It’s hard to imagine what it’s like to suddenly lose almost everything you own to a fire, especially as a college student,” Hatami wrote. “Even though I didn’t really know them too well, I think being a good neighbor is something that’s always important. I just thought about what Mister Rogers would do. We just wanted to help them out as best as we could, and a GoFundMe seemed like a simple enough idea.”

As of April 28, the GoFundMe has raised $21,317.

Ryan Yarosh, senior director of media and public relations for BU, said the athletics department, Dean of Students office and University Consultation, Advocacy, Referral and Education (CARE) team began working with the students immediately after the fire occurred.

“Staff have worked to make sure the students have accommodations, essential items and anything else they may need,” Yarosh wrote in an email. “Thankfully there are no injuries being reported at this time.”

Dennis Kalina, currently the deputy director of athletics, will take over as interim director of athletics following Elliot’s resignation, serving in that role until Dec. 31, 2022. Toward the end of that 18-month term, a national search for Elliott’s replacement will be conducted.

“When we hired [Elliott], he was charged with guiding Binghamton Athletics into the school’s second decade of NCAA Division I membership while ensuring our coaches and student-athletes have the resources they need to be successful, not just as athletes but, more importantly, as students and citizens of the University community,” Stenger wrote. “Over the past nine years, he has exceeded our expectations.”

Elliott took over Binghamton’s athletics department in November 2011, inheriting a program two years removed from wining the 2009 America East Men’s Basketball Championship. The men’s basketball team fell apart shortly after that season due to off-court problems, and Elliott was brought in during the aftermath to rebuild the program.

The semester after arriving at BU, Elliott hired Tommy Dempsey as men’s basketball coach. Throughout Dempsey’s eight-year run, the off-court issues disappeared, but the team’s record during his tenure was 71-194. Elliott announced in February that Dempsey would not return next season, and Levell Sanders was named interim head coach for the 2021-22 season.

During Elliot’s tenure, five Binghamton programs won America East Conference (AE) tournament championships — baseball, softball, volleyball, cross country and men’s tennis. All of those titles came during Elliot’s first four years at BU, and the department is currently in the midst of the longest championship drought in its Division I history. None of the head coaches brought in by Elliott have been able to win a postseason title during his tenure.

Binghamton’s women’s basketball team has seen arguably the biggest turnaround during Elliott’s time in Binghamton. After winning just five games in 2013-14, he hired Linda Cimino to rebuild the program. Cimino turned the Bearcats into a contender before departing for St. Francis Brooklyn, and Elliott brought in Bethann Shapiro Ord as her replacement. Shapiro Ord has maintained a similar level of success, leading BU to the AE semifinals in 2019-20.

“It’s been an honor to represent Binghamton University and its athletics department over the last nine years,” Elliott wrote in a statement. “I’m grateful to have been associated with the finest student-athletes and staff in the country. I will miss the discipline, character and passion that embodies the Binghamton student-athlete. Finally I’d like to thank President Stenger. His leadership, counsel, direction and empathy for our University and its community has meant so much to me personally during my tenure.”

Elliott’s interim replacement, Dennis Kalina, came to Binghamton in 2012 after spending six years as an athletics administrator at Gonzaga University. He was promoted to his current role in 2017, and has overseen fundraising, marketing and corporate partnerships, among other athletics administration matters.

“I have confidence that [Kalina] will provide great leadership and direction for the department,” Stenger wrote. “I also have confidence that our Division I student-athletes, coaches and staff — the glue of our athletics programs — will continue to uphold the outstanding tradition of Binghamton Division I athletics.”

Kalina, a former track athlete at the University of Indiana, has over 25 years of collegiate athletics experience, including previous stints as an administrator at Indiana, Northwestern State University and Bradley University.

“This is devastating news to us, to the community,” Mitchell told WBNG. “The demands [the New Jersey Devils] were putting on us were absolutely impossible and we just couldn’t comply with them. So it looks like we’re going to part ways, and just try to move on.”

The Devils are playing this season in Newark, New Jersey due to COVID-19 protocols. The team arrived in Binghamton in 2017 after relocating from Albany, New York and played the past three seasons at Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The Devils replaced the Senators as Binghamton’s AHL partner following the Binghamton Senators’ relocation the prior year.

It appears that the Devils’ AHL affiliate is headed to Utica, New York. The city’s current team, the Utica Comets, is the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks have an option to opt out of their agreement with the Comets, and the Comets’ management recently filed a trademark for the Utica Devils.

This news comes after Binghamton nearly lost its Minor League Baseball franchise last year. The Rumble Ponies were set to be among several franchises eliminated in Major League Baseball’s contraction of the minor leagues, but they ultimately kept their affiliation with the Mets when their parent club came under new leadership.

It remains to be seen whether Binghamton will secure another AHL affiliate for the 2021-22 season or if another hockey league will place a team in the area.

In the top of the eighth inning, the first batter Coppersmith faced was senior infielder Hannah Lyons. On the third pitch, Lyons launched a home run into left field, giving the Bearcats a 2-1 advantage.

“She got one of Coppersmith’s missed pitches and put a good swing on it,” said Binghamton assistant coach Jessica Bump. “We knew right off the bat that it was out.”

Gibson held on in the bottom of the eighth, and the Bearcats secured a win to open the series.

“[Gibson] was really focused,” Bump said. “She had her changeup which really helps her keep hitters off balance, and I think she wanted to go head-to-head to Coppersmith, and I think she had a good mentality going into the game. She had a really good outing, and we were proud of her.”

After taking game one against UMBC (13-7, 2-1 AE), the Bearcats (6-6, 2-6 AE) were shutout in the remaining two games that counted in the conference standings.

“We obviously had a lot of strikeouts against Coppersmith, but the results don’t show the work that we put in [on offense] throughout the weekend,” Bump said. “We told the girls to keep pushing, hopefully our consistency will come … I think we’re in a good position with how our pitching and defense are playing right now that we can pick up some games here in the last half of conference play.”

After Gibson set the tone in game one, strong defense was a theme for Binghamton during the weekend. However, the offense did not produce any runs during the second and third games. Binghamton lost the nightcap on Saturday 3-0.

“Our pitching and defense all weekend were phenomenal, we really can’t ask for anything more out of them,” Bump said. “It was definitely good game one to know that we can beat [Coppersmith] when we put some good at-bats together and play well on the other side.”

The rubber match on Sunday played out similarly to the opener. With freshman pitcher Hannah Mearns facing off against Coppersmith, the game went to extra innings with no score. Mearns pitched eight scoreless innings with six strikeouts and allowed just five hits.

“Even though [Mearns is] a freshman, she has the mentality [of having] experience and she doesn’t throw like she’s a freshman,” Bump said. “They really didn’t hit her hard or put any good swings on balls there until the ninth inning.”

In the bottom of the ninth, Mearns was pulled after back-to-back singles by UMBC. Gibson took over but surrendered the walk-off score and Binghamton lost 1-0.

“[Gibson] came into that game, she was throwing well, she was focused,” Bump said. “We gotta give credit to UMBC, they put a good swing on a good pitch that [Gibson] threw, and we just told her that games don’t come down to one pitch and our offense has to step up in those situations.”

Binghamton won the fourth meeting 4-2, but it was considered a nonconference game and did not count in the AE standings. With another conference series next weekend, the Bearcats will look to improve on offense as the season rolls on.

“Last week against Albany we saw our offense kind of come together, and looking back on the weekend, I do think our at-bats are getting better,” Bump said. “The girls just need to keep pushing.”

The Bearcats will return home this weekend to host Maine for a four-game series. First pitch is set for noon on Saturday at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

“Excited to be taking the next step in this journey and trusting God along the way,” Mills tweeted.

Mills has three years of eligibility remaining. As a freshman in 2019-20, the Texas native averaged 9.7 points per game. As a sophomore, he took on a larger role with the team and led the Bearcats with 13.9 points per game. Mills did not respond to an email requesting further comment.

The NCAA Division I Council is set to vote this week regarding granting all student-athletes a chance to transfer once without sitting out a season of competition. All media reports indicate that the proposal is expected to pass, which would make Mills immediately eligible to play next season.

After losing in the first round of the America East (AE) playoffs, Binghamton parted ways with Tommy Dempsey and named Levell Sanders interim head coach for the 2021-22 season. There have since been two other coaching changes in the AE, and both Albany and UMBC have seen multiple players enter the portal in the aftermath. Thus far, Mills is the only Bearcat to leave the program or enter the transfer portal.

According to Verbal Commits, Binghamton has one commit for next season at the moment. Jacob Falko, who averaged 9.8 points per game last season as a junior at Gardner-Webb, announced his commitment to BU last week. The former junior college transfer has two years of eligibility remaining.

Mills’ new home has been one of the stronger programs in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) throughout the past few seasons. Led by head coach Michael Huger, Bowling Green has gone 57-34 in the past three seasons and reached the MAC championship in 2019, losing to Buffalo. Last season’s team went 14-12 and was 10-8 in conference play prior to losing to Akron in the MAC quarterfinals.

The report, prepared by CarrSports Consulting, assessed the “feasibility” of Division I athletics at Hartford. According to News 8, its key conclusions were that Hartford loses $13 million per year on athletics and that the Division I model is not financially viable, meaning the program “cannot achieve the goal of becoming more self-sustaining.”

The recommendation of the study was that “[Hartford] should explore viable membership options in NCAA Division III that will align with the university’s mission.”

“Obviously, it has gotten out,” University of Hartford President Gregory Woodward told News 8. “The document you are holding is supposed to be confidential.”

Of the 10 athletics programs in the AE, Hartford is the only private institution. In a time when all levels of college athletics are dealing with financial losses due to COVID-19, Hartford’s lack of government funding may have exacerbated those concerns.

“Everyone thinks you make the tournament, you hit the jackpot,” Woodward said. “We didn’t get a cent from the tournament and congratulations to our great kids, but we are losing money doing this. I don’t think what the world understands is that everyone who plays Division I sports loses money, except for about 22 schools. There are about 350 schools in Division I, only 23 make money — the rest of us lose.”

The Binghamton men’s and women’s lacrosse teams hosted Hartford the day after News 8’s report aired. The Hawks won the men’s matchup, but the Bearcats won the women’s game.

In that final matchup of the 2021 season, the Bearcats broke through and swept the Seawolves. After strong performances in all three sets, Binghamton snapped its 36-match losing streak with an upset win.

Freshman outside hitter Stefana Stan led the way for Binghamton (1-11, 1-11 America East) with 15 kills and 13 digs. She was later named AE Rookie of the Week as she wrapped up a strong first season.

“[Stan] steadily improved over the course of the season and was our best offensive threat down the stretch,” said Binghamton head coach Glenn Kiriyama, per bubearcats.com. “She had some timely hits for us in our win on Sunday.”

Senior outside hitter Francela Ulate also had 15 kills, and junior setter Kiara Adams recorded 36 assists in the win. The first two sets were tight, with Binghamton winning 25-23 in the first and 26-24 in the second. Binghamton led for the majority of the third before closing out on a 7-2 run to win 25-19 and earn a sweep.

“The team has been able to shake off all the distractions throughout the season,” Kiriyama said. “They have steadily improved and gave an outstanding performance this afternoon. [Adams] did a nice job setting and feeding our outsides, [Stan] and [Ulate].”

With the regular season now concluded, the AE announced its annual awards and all-conference teams on Wednesday. Ulate was named second-team all-conference, Stan was selected to the all-rookie team, and junior middle blocker Tyra Wilson was picked to the all-academic team.

Under this year’s revised championship format, only the top two teams in the AE qualified for the postseason. Albany and UMBC will face off on Sunday with an NCAA tournament bid on the line.

With Binghamton’s season now concluded, the Bearcats hope to return to playing a traditional schedule next fall.

Stony Brook entered the series with 16 nonconference games completed, as opposed to Binghamton with only two. The gap in experience seemed to show as Binghamton lost 1-0 in the first game and 10-0 in the second, struggling offensively in both.

In the opener, the Bearcats (2-2, 0-2 America East) were no-hit by Stony Brook’s senior pitcher Dawn Bodrug. Bodrug pitched a complete game with 14 strikeouts as the Bearcats’ offense was stymied.

“In normal times, when we’re facing good competition prior to conference play, we’re able to prepare a little bit more for a pitcher like [Bodrug] but we don’t want to make that our excuse,” said Binghamton assistant coach Jessica Bump. “Offensively, especially in a game where our pitchers are doing a good job keeping it close, our hitters just need to step up and keep their focus and continue to try to have quality at bats as the games go on.”

On the flip side, Binghamton’s pitchers performed well in the 1-0 loss to the Seawolves (13-6, 2-0 AE). Junior Morgan Bienkowski started and went 4.1 innings, and senior Chelsea Howard finished the game without allowing a hit.

“The combination of both [Bienkowski] and [Howard] in game one was great,” Bump said. “We can’t ask us to give us any more than they did. They both attacked the zone — they kept the ball down in the zone. I think they both really stayed composed, and I think that’s why you saw them have good results.”

The lone run scored in the game was a home run by Stony Brook in the third inning.

“[The home run] was just a pitch that was left up in the zone, but obviously mistakes will happen and we have to score to win anyways,” Bump said. “Games don’t come down to one pitch, so that’s just kind of where we talked about our offense needing to have our pitchers and our defense’s backs.”

After a short break, the Bearcats and Seawolves took the field again in what proved to be a more lopsided outing, as Stony Brook won game two 10-0.

“What we saw in game one was both our pitchers and our defense were composed,” Bump said. “From the score [of game two], you might think that [senior Rayn Gibson] didn’t pitch well and that’s not the case. I think she also did what we asked her to do. Stony Brook really didn’t put the ball in play that hard, we just weren’t making plays behind her.”

After being no-hit in the opener, only three Bearcats recorded hits in the second matchup, as Stony Brook scored three runs in the third and seven in the fourth to secure the win.

“Obviously this season is different, but all we can do is learn from each weekend and take it a weekend at a time,” Bump said. “[We’re] continually trying to make improvements and progress so we’re continuing to play good softball as the season goes on.”

The Bearcats will host four games against Albany this weekend in their second AE series of the season. First pitch in game one is set for 1 p.m. on April 3 at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

“We were trying to hold it between 10 or 12 seconds before we really started going,” said Binghamton head coach Kevin McKeown. “The guys just did a great job of moving the ball around on the perimeter against [UMBC’s] zone. [MacKinney] did a great job getting a great bounce shot off that hit the top corner.”

The story of the game for Binghamton was the performance of redshirt sophomore goalie Teddy Dolan. He recorded 18 saves and continually bailed out the Bearcats throughout the day.

“For the first couple of games it has been little bit of a slower start for [Dolan],” McKeown said. “He came off injury in the fall. Certainly today he did an unbelievable job. We know what he’s capable of and I think everyone saw it today.”

Neither team had a particularly strong outing on offense, but UMBC had nearly double the number of shots and shots on goal as Binghamton. The difference in the game appeared to be Dolan.

“We fought hard,” McKeown said. “It wasn’t the prettiest game, I don’t think it was our best game, but the guys kept scrapping … I don’t think we cleared the ball incredibly well, we gave them second chances and [Dolan] racked up saves in that regard. I’m super proud of the guys, after a tough game over the weekend they were able to bounce back.”

Binghamton led 3-2 at halftime and headed to the fourth quarter with a 7-6 lead. UMBC held the Bearcats scoreless in the final frame, scoring the lone goal three minutes into the quarter. In overtime, there was just one shot on goal by either team, and it was MacKinney’s game winner.

The Bearcats entered the game shorthanded, as five Bearcats were suspended for one game by the AE after an altercation with Albany in Saturday’s game. Both teams were issued a reprimand for their conduct after a fourth quarter fight involving several players on the sideline.

“I wasn’t surprised about anything on that — I think our guys did a great job of just rallying,” McKeown said. “We wanted to use that as a learning experience, and we think it can a turning point in our season to do some things better. We did that today, and we’ll be looking forward to getting our full team back this weekend.”

Next up for Binghamton is a rematch against UMBC, with the Bearcats headed on the road for a game on Saturday.

“[UMBC is] the reigning conference champs from 2019, so it was great to be able to get a victory against those guys,” McKeown said. “It’ll be a quick turnaround to head back down there to Baltimore this weekend.”

Faceoff is set for noon on Saturday at UMBC Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland.

“This tournament is a bear,” said Binghamton head coach Kyle Borshoff. “It’s unbelievably hard to get on the podium here. You see guys that were one-seeds and two-seeds and three-seeds that didn’t place out here … Obviously, it’s a tough tournament so he did a great job. I’m proud of him getting through and getting on that podium for the program.”

DePrez earned the program’s sixth All-American honors and became the second wrestler to be recognized twice. Among all sports in Binghamton’s Division I era, DePrez earned the 15th All-American honors in school history. He was the second Bearcat to accomplish that feat last week after cross country’s redshirt senior Emily Mackay did it on Monday, March 15.

DePrez won his first two matchups against the No. 30 and No. 14 seeds but was not as dominant as some may have expected. He was defeated in the quarterfinals by the No. 6 seed from Rutgers but rebounded to earn an eighth-place finish in the consolation bracket.

In a normal season, DePrez would have competed in several large tournaments and faced off against several of his national challengers. Due to the unique nature of this year’s regular season, he didn’t see the same level of competition which may have hurt him on the biggest stage.

“[DePrez] doesn’t make excuses, but I think that’s true,” Borshoff said. “We wrestled seven matches coming into the tournament, and most of them weren’t very competitive. It’s something that I’m looking forward to next year, getting out to some of the big events that we normally hit, and seeing some of these guys before the national tournament next year.”

Elsewhere in the bracket, freshman Micah Roes, sophomore Jacob Nolan and redshirt junior Joe Doyle also competed for BU. Doyle was defeated in both of his bouts, but Nolan and Roes were both able to pick up a win in the tournament.

“[Roes] was the first true freshman for us to be competing out here since 2012,” Borshoff said. “He got a nice win over a guy from Iowa State University. Anytime you beat a guy from a program like that, that’s so historically relevant in our sport. It’s something that’s hard to do.”

Nolan defeated a wrestler from Virginia in his second bout before being defeated in the ensuing matchup.

“Another Power Five conference school, and we’re coming out here and beating those guys,” Borshoff said. “It proves to these guys that they belong here, and it shows people across the country that Binghamton is able to compete at the national level.”

Due to challenges caused by the pandemic, Binghamton wrestled in just four regular season duals. Binghamton saw its final two meets canceled due to other programs’ COVID-19 protocols, but was still able to send four wrestlers to the NCAA championships.

“I’m happy that we did what we did [this season],” Borshoff said. “I think that if you look at our season and look at some of the things we did this year and you understand the constraints that we had to compete under, there’s no reason not to believe that these guys aren’t all going to compete even better in the future.”

“One of our focuses has just been making the most of every day,” said junior utility player Alli Richmond. “As we know, and other athletes across the country know, it can be taken away at any time.”

The Bearcats will be led this season by Michelle Johnston, who enters her 12th season as Binghamton head coach. However, Johnston is currently on maternity leave after the birth of twins last month. Assistant coach Jessica Bump spoke for the team at its preseason media day.

“As a coach, one of the things you enjoy the most about your jobs is seeing the girls compete, and it’s been a year since we’ve seen that,” Bump said. “So from my end, I’m just excited to see them smile and be back together with each other enjoying the game.”

Binghamton played just 15 games last season, going 3-12, however the team was not able to compete in conference play due to the pandemic. Following the season’s suspension, two of the team’s most important seniors chose to come back for an unexpected fifth year. Graduate student catcher Sara Herskowitz and redshirt senior pitcher Rayn Gibson both returned to the team.

“They’ve been our battery for four years,” Bump said. “Obviously, they have a lot of experience working with each other. I think because we’re getting right into conference play, having that experience is gonna be really important. I think on the other side of it, they’ve done a really good job working with our underclassmen and getting them acclimated.”

In addition to Herskowitz and Gibson, seven true seniors on Binghamton’s roster make up an experienced group for the team.

“More so for them, they know more than anyone that you can’t take a day for granted, and I think they’re really trying to send that message down,” Bump said. “You can kind of see that everyone is truly making the most of every day, and I think they’re helping with that.”

Seven freshmen joined the Bearcats this season in addition to the five sophomores that saw their season cut short before conference play. After starting all 15 games, sophomore outfielder Tessa Nuss had the highest batting average last season of any BU players that returned to the team.

“[Our freshmen class] brings a lot of versatility that we’ve been looking for over the last three or four years,” Bump said. “That was kind of our recruiting plan, to make our team more versatile and athletic, and I think the seven of them help us do that. Our depth at every position is a lot stronger than it has been, we’re three or four deep at everywhere.”

In a normal season, Binghamton would spend the first month of the season traveling south to face off against top competition before conference play. This year, they’ll have just one weekend of nonconference games before taking on America East (AE) competition.

“We normally have 20 or 25 games played prior to starting conference play, and that’s the time we’re using to figure out our lineup and figure out which pitchers work best together,” Bump said. “I think that’s been hard, but we’ve been preparing in different ways and we feel good that we’re prepared to start.”

Following this weekend’s series against St. Bonaventure, Binghamton will open conference play next weekend with three games at Stony Brook. BU will continue to play three or four game weekend series until the AE Championship, which is set to begin May 13.

“I think the girls are really excited for Saturday, obviously putting that uniform on and having that game-day feel is exciting, and it’s been over a year,” Bump said.

First pitch in Binghamton’s season opener against the Bonnies is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 20, at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

At Sunday’s women’s soccer game, a small number of fans returned to the Bearcats Sports Complex for the first time since the initial shutdown, and there seems to be a degree of normalcy for Binghamton’s student-athletes. At the anniversary of one of the most unprecedented days in sports history, Pipe Dream looks back at how BU sports have been affected throughout the past 12 months.

March 11 – Women’s lacrosse defeats Colgate in final BU sporting event before shutdown

While the Binghamton women’s lacrosse team was hosting Colgate in a matinee, the sports world began to feel the effects of the pandemic for the first time. Earlier in the day, the Ivy League surprised many when it became the first conference in the country to shut down spring sports. During the game, the NCAA announced that its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments would be played without spectators. A few hours after the Bearcats beat the Raiders, the NBA became the first professional league to pause competition, setting the stage for an unprecedented 24 hours.

March 12 – America East suspends remainder of spring season, NCAA cancels March Madness

In one of the most surreal days in North American sports history, nearly every sports league in America was shut down. As Division I conferences were playing their basketball tournaments, teams were pulled off the court and championships were suspended throughout the day. In the early evening, the America East Conference (AE) officially announced that athletics competitions were canceled for the remainder of the academic year. In an instant, several of Binghamton’s teams saw their seasons unexpectedly canceled.

March 30 – Spring student-athletes granted an extra year of eligibility, 10 seniors return to BU

Immediately after spring sports were suspended, athletes, coaches and fans began lobbying the NCAA to grant affected student-athletes an additional year of eligibility. A few weeks after the season was canceled, that request was granted. Across four teams, 10 seniors that were set to run out of eligibility chose to come back for an unexpected extra year of competition.

July 18 – Fall sports postponed to spring semester

As the summer progressed, it became clear that mid-major conferences in the Northeast were not going to be playing fall sports as scheduled. The Ivy League was once again the first to nix competition, followed by the Patriot League, Atlantic 10 and then the AE. As they could not be played as scheduled, the decision was made to postpone Binghamton’s soccer, volleyball and cross-country seasons to the spring semester, and they are currently underway. After deciding the status of fall sports, the AE’s attention turned to ensuring that its basketball seasons would be able to happen.

October 19 – America East announces return to competition plans

With the start of basketball season on the horizon a few months into the semester, the AE officially announced its plans to resume competition. Plans were unveiled to play a full 18-game double round-robin conference schedule, albeit with some adjustments to the traditional schedule format. The league also revealed the schedule format and championship details for its five fall sports, which would be held in the spring semester.

December 3 – Women’s basketball competes in first Binghamton athletics event in eight months

Nearly eight months after the last BU sporting event, the Binghamton women’s basketball team took to the Events Center court and ended the drought. The Bearcats were defeated by Fairleigh Dickinson that night, but they proved it was possible for BU to find a way to play during the pandemic. Men’s basketball opened its season three days later, followed by wrestling the next month. Since then, most of Binghamton’s teams have begun competition, and the remainder will be opening their seasons in the next few weeks.

Student-athletes reflect on how the pandemic has affected their lives

As the crisis evolved throughout 2020, several Binghamton student-athletes have spoken to Pipe Dream about its effect on themselves and their teams. Those stories are linked below.

Alex Baratta — baseball

Sara Herskowitz — softball

Dan Mottes — men’s lacrosse

Jack Fitzgerald — men’s track and field

Olivia and Victoria McKnight — women’s soccer

Noah Luescher — men’s soccer

“[Sanders] possesses wide-ranging and successful experience as a player and coach, on both the intercollegiate and professional levels,” Elliott said. “We are appreciative of [Sanders’] willingness to lead the program at this time and are confident he will continue to develop BU basketball and our student-athletes to on-court success.”

Sanders, 45, grew up in Brooklyn, New York and played college basketball at Seton Hall. Elliott also attended Seton Hall, and the two have known each other since Sanders’ time as a student-athlete. After graduating, Sanders spent 20 years playing and coaching in Europe prior to returning to the United States and joining Binghamton’s staff in 2019.

On Sunday, Feb. 28, the day after Binghamton’s season came to an end, Sanders met with Elliott and BU President Harvey Stenger to discuss the future of the program. At the conclusion of those conversations, they offered him the chance to lead the team next season as interim head coach. One week later, Sanders was officially introduced to his new role.

‘Basketball is basketball, it’s not that big of a difference once you get on the floor.’

For 17 years, until the age of 40, Sanders played professional basketball in Poland, Belgium and the Czech Republic. Just prior to his arrival in Binghamton, he served as the head coach of BK JIP Pardubice in the Czech Republic from 2016 to 2019. Sanders spoke about the unorthodox way he earned his first head coaching job and how it parallels the current situation.

“I’ve been in this position before,” Sanders said. “When I was in the Czech Republic, I was playing and our coach resigned. Management brought me in and asked me if I wanted to take over the team. It was kind of a similar situation, and again it was very emotional, kind of like our situation here.”

During his three full seasons as Pardubice’s head coach, Sanders’ teams compiled a record of 53-23 in National Basketball League (NBL) competition. He believes that his experience running a program in the Czech Republic will translate well into running a Division I program in the United States, given that he has just two years of collegiate coaching experience.

“Basketball is basketball, it’s not that big of a difference once you get on the floor,” Sanders said. “Building a program is not going to be that much different either, because success leaves clues. All of the successful programs pretty much do things the same way, so you’re not going to find that much different.”

Around the time Sanders came to BU, Brian Johnson joined Binghamton’s staff as an assistant coach and Patrick Norris was promoted to coordinator of player development. Both will remain a part of Binghamton’s staff moving forward.

“During my two years here, we’ve become pretty close,” Sanders said. “Those guys are going to stick with me and help me and the players get through this and get our program going.”

‘If you can play hard, everything else after that will take care of itself.’

Binghamton finished its 2020-21 season with a 4-14 record. While the team did not have success on the court, leading to the coaching change, many believe the Bearcats had more talent than their record indicated.

“Competition is something that you have to embrace,” Sanders said. “We have to know that we are going to be picked last coming into the season next year, and that should be motivation.”

With a large sophomore class expected to return to the team and its America East (AE) competition appearing to be weaker than usual, Binghamton has a legitimate chance to make a run next season with a new leadership perspective in place.

“The good thing about us is that we do have a young core,” Sanders said. “Those guys are going to have a tremendous offseason and be able to get better and better.”

One of the Bearcats’ biggest problems over the last few years has been defense. This season’s team ranked last in the conference after allowing 72.3 points per game.

“The first place you have to start is playing hard,” Sanders said. “If you can play hard, everything else after that will take care of itself. Defensively, we like to be aggressive. Of course, a lot of times you might have a certain style you want to play but you have to tailor-make that style for the players you have.”

On the offensive side of the ball, Binghamton’s game has relied heavily on outside shooting as of late, and Sanders expressed interest in implementing a more balanced attack and getting the team’s big men more involved.

“Offensively, I want to push the ball up and down the court,” Sanders said. “I think fans like to see points more than coaches, but I think that’s something that will get the fanbase excited if we can play a fast-paced style, score a lot of points. Getting up and down doesn’t mean playing wild and crazy, but having control, taking good shots.”

‘I know what hard work looks like and I’m not afraid of that.’

During his opening statement, Sanders spoke about the influence Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker has had on his career. Amaker served as Seton Hall’s head coach during Sanders’ senior year.

“He’s a mentor, he’s somebody that I talk to quite often,” Sanders said. “I’ve had a lot of times, a lot of nights where I needed answers, and Coach Amaker was the guy I would call on.”

Following head coaching stints at Seton Hall and Michigan, Amaker reached the NCAA tournament four times during his tenure at Harvard.

“I have taught, led and coached many outstanding players and people over many years,” Amaker said in a statement. “[Sanders] is as good as any when it comes to talent, integrity, intelligence, teammate, leader and dependability. He embodies the definition of a winner. He is the kind of teacher and leader our younger generation needs to learn from, on and off the court.”

Since reaching the NCAA tournament in 2009, Binghamton has finished with a losing record for 12 consecutive seasons. In the eyes of the fans, the program has a long way to go to return to relevance. Prior to the team’s official coaching search in 2022, Sanders has a chance to improve the program and establish himself as a candidate for the permanent head coaching position.

“It’s not going to be easy,” Sanders said. “We know that there’s a lot of work to do, but I embrace work. When I was a younger player, I wasn’t the most sought-after player in the country, I was a late bloomer. I had to work hard, so I know what hard work looks like and I’m not afraid of that.”

Despite entering the portal, it is not guaranteed that Mills is leaving the Binghamton program, as he could choose to remain after evaluating his options. Mills did not respond to Pipe Dream’s request for comment.

As a freshman in the 2019-20 school year, Mills finished as Binghamton’s third-highest scorer with 9.7 points per game and was named to the America East (AE) all-rookie team. As a sophomore, he led the team with 13.9 points per game.

Mills came to Binghamton from Allen, Texas, where he played basketball and football at Allen High School.

Since Binghamton’s season came to an end in the AE quarterfinals on Feb. 27, the program has seen a significant transition. After nine years as BU’s head coach, Tommy Dempsey’s contract was not renewed and Levell Sanders was appointed interim head coach for the 2020-21 season. Thus far, no other Bearcats have entered the transfer portal.

A spokesperson for the Binghamton athletics department said that the department does not comment on players entering the transfer portal.

The statement also revealed that assistant coach Levell Sanders would be promoted to interim head coach for the 2021-22 season. A formal search for Dempsey’s replacement, as required by New York state employment law, will be conducted next spring.

“I want to thank [Dempsey] for his many contributions toward Binghamton University athletics and our basketball program,” said Binghamton director of athletics Patrick Elliott in the statement. “[Dempsey] guided our program and our student-athletes through challenging times, and always demonstrated a commitment toward integrity, academic success and citizenship.”

Dempsey leaves Binghamton with a 71-194 overall record and was 33-109 in America East Conference (AE) competition.

Elliott addressed the decision with the local media on Monday, citing Sanders’ player development experience and challenges presented by the pandemic as a reason for why the department decided to postpone its coaching search for a year.

“What we’re trying to do here is create some continuity,” Elliott said. “Typically a search for us is at least four to six weeks. Where we are right now, to pull that off, there’s a lot of travel constraints … It’s really hard for us to identify a great candidate pool. We have the luxury because we have [Sanders.]”

Sanders, a Brooklyn, New York native, spent 15 years playing basketball overseas. He then spent five years as head coach of a team in the Czech Republic prior to joining Binghamton’s staff in 2019. He has served as an assistant coach for the last two seasons, which is the extent of his coaching experience in the college ranks. He did play college basketball at Seton Hall, which is also Elliott’s alma mater.

The decision to promote from within for the time being comes as a surprise to many Bearcat fans who were expecting a full rebuild of the coaching staff after nine straight losing seasons under Dempsey.

“I think it’s a fair question to ask,” Elliott said. “I think when [the fans] say, well why are they doing this, anybody can take any argument and skew it to their narrative … [To say] you don’t care because [we’ve named] an interim, without really understanding who [Sanders] even is, is quite shortsighted.”

When asked about whether the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on collegiate athletics factored into the decision to hold off on a search, Elliott said that it did not. He stated that there was no buyout involved with Dempsey’s departure, as his contract was expiring.

Dempsey last signed a contract extension in November of 2018, just three games into the 2018-19 season. The team was coming off one of its worst seasons under Dempsey, but the arrival of point guard Sam Sessoms and his immediate impact on the court seemed to rejuvenate confidence among the team.

Binghamton made the playoffs that season and upset Stony Brook in the AE quarterfinals, but the team failed to find success in the two succeeding seasons. The Bearcats finished in last place and missed the playoffs in 2019-20. After the season, Sessoms transferred to Penn State.

BU finished its 2020-21 season with a 4-14 record, and the team’s season came to an end on Saturday when it lost to Hartford in the first round of the playoffs.

“We’ve been having discussions for several months, and even the last time that he had a contract renewal it was pretty clear what we needed to do,” Elliott said. “We just talked about needing to have some significant progress over last year and this year to move forward.”

After bringing in back-to-back Rookies of the Year and building a team with a large and talented sophomore class, personnel has not seemed to be the problem for Binghamton in the last few seasons.

“When we looked at the last three years, a couple of years ago, we thought, we’ve got some good players coming into the program, we’ve got some good players here, our recruiting is doing well,” Elliott said. “That gave us some hope for where we were going to be, but with some of those athletes’ injuries and transfers, it didn’t work out.”

While Sanders will serve as interim coach next season, Elliott expressed optimism that he could be the coach to lead Binghamton in the future. The team will conduct a coaching search next spring.

“We have to do a search and we’ll look at the best pool of people, but knowing his skill set he very well could be the front runner and be the guy,” Elliott said. “Hopefully, he’ll have early success and he’ll be here for a long time … If I didn’t think we had a person here that could run our program and be our coach for a long time, then I would’ve said we’re just going to go out for a search.”

Elliott credited Sanders’ coaching experience from abroad as transferrable to the college game, specifically saying that his defensive strategy will align well with AE competition.

“As a head coach, putting practices together, figuring out how you want to play, developing new players, that is kind of something that is really his strong point,” Elliott said. “I think he’s got some really good ideas, but to fairly [address his lack of college experience] he has to rekindle, renew and begin some of the relationships [for recruiting].”

Elsewhere in the AE, Albany announced on Monday that it has parted ways with head coach Will Brown after 20 years and five AE championships.

“[DePrez] did a really good job he kinda dominated his way through the bracket,” said Binghamton head coach Kyle Borshoff. “He had a good guy in the finals, I think the guy he wrestled in the finals is nationally ranked in the top 15. [DePrez] had a good controlling win there, and he put himself in a really good situation moving forward for NCAA seeding. I expect he’ll be a top-four seed.”

DePrez entered the tournament as the heavy favorite and dominated the field. The former All-American will now head back to the NCAA tournament with a legitimate chance to become Binghamton’s first-ever national champion.

In addition to DePrez, redshirt junior Joe Doyle and sophomore Jacob Nolan also qualified for nationals at the 177th EIWA Championships over the weekend.

“[Doyle’s] tournament was awesome for a couple of reasons, the first one being he qualified for nationals,” Borshoff said. “The second one being he hadn’t wrestled a match in 12 months.”

Despite making his season debut at the EIWAs, Doyle was able to place fourth. He last competed at the 2020 EIWAs where he placed sixth. The heavyweight was named an alternate for nationals last season but was unable to take advantage of the opportunity when it was offered.

“I got a phone call from the NCAA that he was going to be in the national championship last year, and then the very next day was when they decided to cancel the event entirely,” Borshoff said. “It was awesome seeing [Doyle] punch his ticket and having no doubts about going this year.”

At 174 pounds, sophomore Jacob Nolan was defeated in the quarterfinals but fought through the consolation bracket to earn a fifth-place finish and a trip to nationals.

“He went 0-2 at this event last year, but we knew [Nolan] was very talented,” Borshoff said. “I remember last year, after his second match, having the conversation with him of remembering this feeling. Remember what this feels like so that we can make sure we don’t ever have to feel this way again.”

In his second year of college wrestling, Nolan found himself in the fifth-place bout with one NCAA bid on the line.

“He ended up in that fifth and sixth place bout where there’s one spot left, and he took it to that guy from Bucknell,” Borshoff said. “That was a really good match for him.”

Outside of those three, the team did not have as strong of performance in the tournament as it may have hoped. Binghamton finished in seventh place among 10 teams.

“I think there were moments where we did things really well, and I think there were moments where you could see that we were a little rusty and not quite ready in certain situations,” Borshoff said.

One factor that hurt Binghamton in the team standings was redshirt junior Zack Trampe’s absence. At 141 pounds, Trampe, a two-time NCAA qualifier, was scratched from Binghamton’s lineup on Thursday and replaced by redshirt junior Dane Heberlein.

“It was definitely a blow to the team,” Borshoff said. “He would’ve been the two seed at the event, and the guy who ended up finishing second, [Trampe’s] beaten before. It’s obviously not an ideal team situation, but we had to do what we had to do at that weight. [Heberlein] stepped up when we put him out there, he got a win in the first round but unfortunately, he couldn’t keep that momentum going.”

Just two Bearcats, DePrez and true freshman Micah Roes, won their quarterfinal matchups and stayed in the championship bracket.

“[Roes] had a really good tournament at 125, there just happened to only be three qualifying spots at that weight,” Borshoff said. “There were five nationally ranked guys at that weight. He beat one of those nationally ranked guys 14-4 today and I’m hoping that he’s in consideration for an at-large bid next week.”

Roes reached the third-place bout with a spot at nationals on the line, but was defeated and finished fourth. Given his 6-2 record this season and his success against other qualified wrestlers, Roes has a good chance to earn an at-large selection to nationals.

With a significantly disrupted regular season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA tournament pre-allocations were awarded to conferences in a significantly different manner than usual. Instead of being based on this season’s results, they were based on five-year historical averages, creating some unbalanced scenarios in the EIWA.

“At 125 there were five nationally ranked guys fighting for three spots,” Borshoff said. “At 184 there were two nationally ranked guys fighting for six spots. It was just kind of the way it shook out. I don’t think there’s anyone across the country that’s totally happy with the way it had to happen this year, but there really weren’t a lot of other options to go with.”

The full national championship bracket and at-large qualifiers will be announced on Wednesday, March 10 at 6 p.m. The 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will take place the following week from March 18 to March 20 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Dempsey last signed a contract extension in 2018, and his current deal expired at the end of this season. He leaves Binghamton with an overall record of 71-194, and his teams went 33-109 in America East Conference (AE) competition.

The Bearcats’ 2020-21 season came to an end on Saturday when BU was defeated by Hartford in the first round of the playoffs. The Bearcats entered the playoffs as the No. 9 seed and struggled on both sides of the ball against the fourth-seeded Hawks.

Binghamton finished the season ranked ninth in the conference in offense and 10th in defense.

From 2017-2020, the AE had nine members, and the top eight teams qualified for the playoffs. In the three seasons under that format, Binghamton missed the postseason twice.

The highlight of Dempsey’s tenure came in 2018-19 when the Bearcats upset second-ranked Stony Brook to advance to the AE semifinals. That team was led by AE Rookie of the Year, guard Sam Sessoms, who scored 26 points in the game.

In the ensuing offseason, six players transferred or otherwise left the team, and Binghamton finished the 2019-20 season in last place. Sessoms, one of the top statistical players in program history, announced his decision to transfer days after the Bearcats were eliminated from the playoffs.

Dempsey arrived at Binghamton in 2012 after spending seven seasons as head coach at Rider. He inherited a team in turmoil that was just three years removed from appearing in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Despite the on-court success of the 2008-09 Bearcats, the team was plagued with controversy off the court, and Dempsey was brought in to rebuild the program.

While the off-court issues disappeared, the team was never able to have sustainable on-court success. The Bearcats failed to win more than five conference games in a season during Dempsey’s tenure and advanced past the AE quarterfinals just once.

In his first four seasons at Binghamton, Dempsey’s teams had a .234 winning percentage in conference play. In his last five seasons, they won just .231 of conference matchups.

“We’ve won some matches, we’ve done a good job, but if we don’t do it on Friday it’s not gonna matter,” said Binghamton head coach Kyle Borshoff. “The goal is to win the tournament.”

The EIWA field will look significantly different at this year’s tournament. Due to the Ivy League’s decision not to participate in winter sports, two of last year’s top five teams will not be competing at this season’s event. In total, nine programs will be in action on Friday, and Binghamton has a chance to earn a team championship for the first time.

“I think we could win the championship,” Borshoff said. “I think if we finish fifth, I certainly will be disappointed and I know the guys on the team will be disappointed. I think we have a chance to win, and I certainly think we have a chance to finish in the top three.”

The Bearcats finished sixth in last season’s 17-team tournament, and redshirt junior Lou DePrez won the team’s second-ever individual championship, taking the 184-pound title.

Ranked No. 3 in the country, DePrez enters the bracket as the top seed in his weight class and as a heavy favorite to defend his title.

“At the end of the day, he’s ranked third in the country but until we finish the national championship it doesn’t really matter a whole lot,” Borshoff said. “I know that [DePrez’s] goal is to be a national champion.”

Last season, DePrez was one of two Bearcats to qualify for nationals, only to lose the chance to compete due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was named an All-American, and is expected to earn another chance at the NCAA tournament this season.

“My goals are always the same, I want to be a national champion,” DePrez said. “If I get that opportunity, I’m gonna take advantage of it.”

Redshirt junior Zack Trampe also earned an NCAA bid last season, and he enters this year’s EIWA championship seeded second at 141 pounds. With five NCAA allocations at his weight, Trampe seems to have a good chance of qualifying for the third straight year.

Outside of DePrez and Trampe, the Bearcats have a number of new wrestlers that have made an impact on this team this season. Junior Anthony Sobotker, a former junior college All-American, enters his first postseason event as a Division I wrestler seeded third at 133 pounds.

“I’m really excited, it’s something I’ve been working for my whole life, to get on this stage,” Sobotker said. “Now I’m here and ready to showcase my talents.”

The success of true freshmen has been a major storyline for BU this season, with Brevin Cassella and Micah Roes both entering the postseason undefeated at 4-0. Cassella is seeded fourth at 165 pounds with five NCAA bids available, and Roes is fifth at 125 pounds with three bids on the line.

“Those guys are excited; they’re fired up and they should be,” Borshoff said. “They both have really good shots at making it through to the national championships this season.”

Sophomore Jacob Nolan also enters the bracket undefeated, as the No. 4 seed at 174 pounds. At 285 pounds, redshirt junior Joe Doyle will make his season debut after missing Binghamton’s four dual meets. The veteran heavyweight has placed in both of his previous EIWA appearances.

Rounding out Binghamton’s 10-man lineup, junior Michael Zarif will represent the team at 149 pounds, redshirt junior Matt Swanson will compete at 157 pounds and sophomore Sam DePrez at 197 pounds.

Due to cancellations by their opponents, the Bearcats have not competed since Jan. 30 against Lehigh. In a season with limited dual meets and no regular season tournaments, it’s been an unorthodox road to the EIWAs.

“We’re preparing for championships the same way we’ve prepared for our dual meets so far this year,” Borshoff said. “We’re training hard, we’re talking about we need to be doing when the match starts, we’re talking about how we have to be closing matches out. We’ve been focusing a lot on situational things, being in specific scenarios.”

The 117th EIWA Championships will be held off campus for the first time in its history. The one-day tournament will be held on Friday, Feb. 26 at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Manheim, Pennsylvania.

“My ultimate responsibility is the safety and well-being of my players and staff,” said Binghamton head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord in a statement. “I am so proud of our young ladies, given how much they have sacrificed and the resiliency they have displayed throughout the year.”

The Bearcats were supposed to finish their regular season with two games against NJIT on Monday and Tuesday, but those games were canceled on Friday. Due to “late-season positive test results and subsequent quarantine requirements,” the team will not be able to return to action in time for the playoffs.

After completing 16 games, Binghamton finished its 2020-21 season with a 5-11 record and a 5-9 mark in conference play. The Bearcats were in fifth place, but they could have earned the fourth seed and a home playoff game depending on their final two results.

“Our group approached every day with great attitudes amidst a climate of constant change,” Shapiro Ord said. “They were committed to the process for one simple reason … each other! To have played 16 games and finish the season on a win with these amazing young ladies and my staff … I am truly grateful.”

With this announcement, Binghamton became the fourth AE women’s basketball team to discontinue its season, joining Vermont, UMBC and Hartford. On the men’s side, Maine is the only team not expected to compete in the playoffs.

“If this year has taught us anything, it’s the need to be flexible and adapt to new circumstances,” said AE commissioner Amy Huchthausen. “Since setting our basketball playoff formats last month, conditions have changed and we’d be negligent to ignore that fact as we look ahead to the season’s home stretch.”

Of the 10 members of the conference, there are currently nine men’s basketball programs and seven women’s programs still competing. All have reached the required 12 Division I games to qualify for the postseason. With a different number of competitors in the two brackets, the playoff format will vary for each.

In men’s basketball, only Maine has opted out of the season thus far. The AE’s initial plan of the top two seeds earning a bye to the semifinals and having the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds host playoff pods will remain in place. The No. 3 seed will host No. 6 and No. 7, and the No. 4 seed will host No. 5, No. 8 and No. 9. The pods will begin play on Friday, Feb. 26 or Saturday, Feb. 27.

The bracket will be reseeded before the semifinals, which will be hosted at each of the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds’ campuses on Saturday, March 6. The championship game will be hosted by the highest remaining seed on Saturday, March 13.

Binghamton (2-13, 2-10 AE) is currently locked into ninth place, last among the remaining teams. While the team has two games remaining, Stony Brook and NJIT are the teams just ahead of them in the standings and both have 6-8 conference records.

With both having a 9-3 AE record, UMBC and Vermont appear poised to earn the top two seeds in the bracket. The last two conference champions will be playing this weekend to determine which earns the No. 1 seed. The official matchups will be announced Sunday evening.

Three women’s basketball teams have discontinued their season, leaving just seven competitors remaining. As a result, the playoff pod structure has been abandoned and the traditional format of playing quarterfinals at the higher-seeded team will be in place. Due to the uneven number of teams, the No. 1 seed will receive a bye to the semifinals.

The quarterfinals, hosted by the No. 2 through No. 4 seeds, will be played on Sunday, Feb. 28. The semifinals will be hosted by the No. 1 seed and the other highest remaining seed one week later on Sunday, March 7, and the championship will be held on Friday, March 12.

Maine, Stony Brook and UMass Lowell have clinched the top three seeds, but the Bearcats (5-11, 5-9 AE) may be in the mix for the fourth seed and a home quarterfinal. The team is currently in fifth place but has the same number of conference wins as Albany (5-5) and New Hampshire (5-10). With the teams having played an uneven number of games, it remains to be seen how the AE will choose to set the bracket, which will be announced Tuesday night.

“Our student-athletes, coaches and support staffs have endured challenging seasons that have included numerous pauses and schedules changes that have been both physically and emotionally demanding,” Huchthausen said. “Despite those challenges, we’re extremely proud that almost all of our teams have completed full league schedules to date, which is quite an incredible feat.”

Historically, its eight institutions have not allowed student-athletes to compete in a fifth year or as a graduate student, even in the case of medical redshirts. As a result, athletes who redshirted a year have had to transfer elsewhere if they wanted to use their last year of eligibility. This is a completely different policy than that of nearly every other conference in the country. For Binghamton and its America East counterparts, student-athletes regularly compete as graduate students or fifth year seniors after medical redshirt seasons.

It is also noteworthy that no other Division I conference in the country has been as conservative as the Ivy League throughout the pandemic. It was the first conference in the country to suspend spring sports last March, and it remains the only conference to not resume competition in some capacity. This year’s fall and winter sports were canceled months ago, and no decision has been made on the status of spring sports. It seems unlikely that any Ivy League school will compete in any sport for the duration of the 2020-21 academic year, and that has been apparent for months at this point.

The decision is clearly the right choice for the conference, but it has come too late for many of its student-athletes. According to ESPN, more than 20 Ivy League men’s basketball players have already entered the NCAA transfer portal. Consider the cases of all of the nonrevenue sports. There are hundreds of other athletes that have known for months that their chances of having a season this year were slim but had no idea whether they would be allowed to return next year.

The NCAA granted spring student-athletes an additional year of eligibility shortly after the suspension of the 2020 season. Fall athletes were given an extra season last August, and winter athletes earned the same privilege in October, despite most programs finding a way to play a modified season in some fashion.

If the Ivy League had made its decisions at a similar time as the NCAA, these seniors would have had months to research graduate programs and consider their options as they make important decisions about their future.

It has been obvious for some time now that the Ivy League would not compete this year, so why did student-athletes have to wait in limbo to find out if their conference would give them the same ability as every other athlete in the country? The answer, it appears, is the history and tradition that the Ivy League is rooted in.

The conference has made it clear that this is a one-time exception, and not an indication of willingness to change the long-standing policy moving forward. While tradition and history are certainly something to be respected, the world is in the midst of an unprecedented global crisis and it is unfair to make student-athletes wait for a relatively straightforward decision.

Also worthy of consideration is the plight of last year’s spring seniors, which has basically become collateral damage in the current ruling. Last March, the Ivy League leadership likely did not foresee that this year’s sports were at risk of being canceled and may have been unwilling to throw away that history and tradition for only a small portion of its athletes. However, those seniors now appear to have been shortchanged.

With several one-year graduate programs available nowadays, including popular MBA programs, the chance to continue playing a sport as a graduate student could provide beneficial academic experience for student-athletes, in addition to making up for losing a season of competition.

While it is commendable that the Ivy League finally granted this year’s seniors an extra year to compete, the student-athletes of the Ivy League deserved that decision in a much quicker timeframe than when it was provided.

As the Bearcats prepared to host NJIT last weekend, the team was forced to pause activities last Friday due to a positive COVID-19 test result from a Tier 1 individual. Tier 1 personnel are defined as players, coaches, trainers and anyone else that has direct contact with players. The NJIT series was postponed, as well as this weekend’s games against Maine.

The team is expected to return to action on Feb. 20, with a road trip to Maine on the schedule. Along with Maine, NJIT and Albany are the only teams BU has yet to face this season. It is unknown whether all of those games will be played, but Binghamton has played 15 games already, enough to qualify for the revised playoff format despite currently standing in last place.

All teams that play 12 Division I games will qualify for playoffs under new format

Two weeks ago, the AE announced its new basketball championship format for this unique season. All teams that complete 12 games against Division I opponents will compete in the tournament. On the men’s side, all but Vermont, Albany and Maine have completed 12 games, and none have played less than 9.

The semifinals and finals will be played at a predetermined neutral site. The top two seeds will receive a bye to the semifinals, and the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds will host playoff pods with the remaining teams to determine who will advance.

“This championship format is consistent with those guiding principles and rewards all of our student-athletes with a championship experience after an exciting but challenging regular season,” said AE commissioner Amy Huchthausen. “It’s critical that we balance the competitive aspects of championship planning while ensuring our teams can participate in a safe manner. We believe this approach will position us well in that regard while giving us flexibility if adaptation is necessary.”

That flexibility may already need to come into play regarding the women’s bracket. Eight of the 10 teams, including Binghamton, have already met the 12-game requirement, but there will only be seven teams eligible for the tournament due to decisions that have been made by three AE programs.

Hartford becomes third AE women’s basketball program to discontinue season

While all 10 AE men’s basketball teams are still expected to finish the season, three women’s basketball programs have discontinued their season. On Monday, the student-athletes at Hartford joined those of Vermont and UMBC by making the decision to halt their campaigns due to COVID-19 problems within their programs.

“I love these young women and admire all they have pushed through and fought for this year,” said Hartford head coach Morgan Valley. “With multiple quarantines, shut downs, missed holidays, cancelled/rescheduled games and many unknowns, we decided that this is the best path forward for our program at this point in time.”

While Hartford had already met the 12-game requirement to be eligible for the playoffs, the team struggled this season and was in last-place prior to suspending play. Vermont had played just six games, and UMBC completed eight. For those two, with the season nearing its end and team activities still paused, there were significant health concerns and barriers in place for them to complete 12 games and qualify for the playoffs.

“We support the decision made by these young women to step away from basketball temporarily,” said UMBC athletics director Brian Barrio. “We will continue to support them academically and with their physical and emotional health between now and next season.”

Binghamton split its series with UMBC and Hartford earlier in the season and did not play Vermont. It remains undetermined how the playoff format will work with just seven teams competing.

Fall and spring sports schedules unveiled

With just a few weeks remaining in the basketball season, spring and fall sports are on the horizon. When it was determined that fall sports would not be played as scheduled, the AE decided to postpone their men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball and field hockey season to the spring.

Binghamton’s fall teams, along with the regular spring sports, are slated to begin play on Feb. 26 when men’s soccer hosts Albany. All teams are expected to play conference-only schedules. Both soccer teams will play a six-game schedule, and volleyball will play 12.

Men’s and women’s lacrosse are expected kick off their season on March 6, playing a nine-game slate. Baseball will begin its campaign on March 20 and will be playing four-game weekend series consisting of Saturday and Sunday doubleheaders. Softball will begin the follow weekend with a traditional three-game series.

Binghamton’s cross country, outdoor track and field and swimming and diving teams will also be competing this season with schedules yet to be finalized by the AE. BU’s men’s tennis, women’s tennis and golf teams will be competing as well, but they are not part of the AE.

“Lehigh’s tough, every guy on their team, anyone that’s a part of their program is a very good wrestler,” said Binghamton head coach Kyle Borshoff. “I think that us coming out here and being close … just continues to show us that we’re moving in the right direction, but this is a team we should’ve beat tonight.”

Lehigh is a perpetual contender for the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) championship, and Binghamton has never defeated the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh dominated last season’s matchup, but the Bearcats were dealing with extensive injury problems at the time.

On Saturday, the teams split the 10 bouts in the match, but bonus points at 197-pounds and a pin by Lehigh at 285-pounds secured the win. While Lehigh (2-2) was favored in both of those matchups, some surprising results for Binghamton (3-1) earlier in the match did not give the Bearcats enough of a cushion on the scoreboard to hold on.

“I was expecting to come in here and win, and we lost a couple of matches that I thought we were going to dominate,” Borshoff said. “Overall, it is just a little disappointing. It’s great that we’re closer to them than we were last year, but I certainly expected to win tonight.”

The bright spot for Binghamton was the performance of its freshmen, with Micah Roes and Brevin Cassella continuing a strong start to their collegiate careers. The pair both picked up victories and moved to 4-0 on the season.

“Our freshmen wrestled great,” Borshoff said. “I think that’s the story of our season so far. I’m really proud of those guys.”

Both Roes and Cassella are true freshmen, competing in a sport where most athletes redshirt their freshman year. With the NCAA granting athletes an additional year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the pair have had unique success in their first year of college.

“I think they just believe in themselves and they’re tough,” Borshoff said. “I think a lot of it’s just about self-belief, and they’re buying into what we’re doing. A lot of these guys that they’re beating were bigger recruits in high school then they were … obviously, that doesn’t matter anymore, and our guys keep winning.”

Sophomore Jacob Nolan and redshirt junior Lou DePrez also increased their record to 4-0 on Saturday. DePrez picked up a major decision at 184-pounds, and Nolan earned a decision. Junior Michael Zarif also won for Binghamton at 149-pounds.

“I was happy with a lot,” Borshoff said. “A lot of our guys I thought wrestled well, but obviously we lost the dual and there were a couple of guys that I think could’ve wrestled better and need to wrestle better as we move forward.”

After everything seemed to go their way last weekend in an impressive win over Army, the Bearcats had momentum coming into the match against Lehigh but were not able to secure a victory in the end.

“It was great, but I think we got brought back down to earth a little bit today,” Borshoff said. “Last week was awesome, the team overall wrestled really well. It was cool to get recognized, but we want to keep getting higher, and losing this match tonight will drop us out of the rankings.”

Next up for the Bearcats is a dual meet against Bucknell next Sunday. The match is set to begin at 2 p.m. at the Gerhard Fieldhouse in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

The Bearcats opened their campaign with back-to-back pins from two newcomers, eventually earning a 27-20 victory over Rider (0-1) in their first dual meet of the season.

“It was awesome,” said Binghamton head coach Kyle Borshoff. “What these guys have been through since the NCAA championships was stripped away from them last year, everything that we’ve had to do since last March kinda came to a head today. I’m so happy Rider made it up here, I’m so happy the match went off. The guys were pumped. We’ve been working so hard and we’ve asked so much of them, and they’re doing everything they can.”

Starting off the match for the Bearcats (1-0) was true freshman Micah Roes at 125-pounds, who fell behind early in his collegiate debut but earned a pin late in the third period to secure a victory.

“I believe in [Roes], I think he has the ability to do huge things at this level,” Borshoff said. “I think he has All-American, national championship potential. What he did out there, after getting down early in the match and coming back and ending with a fall is huge. For a true freshman to do something like that, it’s awesome.”

Following Roes’ performance, junior Anthony Sobotker had an equally impressive debut at 133-pounds. The junior college transfer and former National Junior Collegiate Athletics Association’s (NJCAA) All-American earned a win by fall in the first period of his matchup.

“He did everything that was asked of him, and he made a statement tonight,” Borshoff said. “He’s a dangerous man. It was really great starting the match off that way.”

With the Bearcats off to a 12-0 start to match, Borshoff stressed the impact it had on the team as the remaining wrestlers competed.

“It’s electric, you start a dual like that, back-to-back [falls] … that’s momentum, that’s game changing,” Borshoff said.

Binghamton’s two returning NCAA qualifiers, redshirt juniors Lou DePrez and Zack Trampe, both earned wins in the match. DePrez, who was named an All-American last season and is currently ranked No. 5 in the nation at 184-pounds, earned a win by fall. Trampe, ranked No. 19 at 141-pounds, is wrestling up a weight this season and won by decision.

“There’s no doubt in my mind those guys will be back at the NCAA tournament,” Borshoff said. “For both of them and for me as their coach, it’s not about being there. Our expectation for [Trampe] and [DePrez] is not to be at the NCAA tournament. If that’s what they end their seasons with, they’re not going to be happy. They want to be All-Americans — they want to be national champions. They’ve been in the program long enough that they understand that they have that ability.”

Two other Bearcats, freshman Brevin Cassella and junior Michael Zarif, also won their matchups on Saturday, giving Binghamton six victories in the 10 bouts.

“If we can keep building on what we did tonight, we’re dangerous,” Borshoff said. “People that watched this match tonight, they should be worried.”

With a schedule composed solely of seven dual meets and lacking the usual marquee tournament events that Binghamton wrestlers compete in every year, it will be a unique path to the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships for the Bearcats.

“[We want to] get matches, we’re trying to wrestle,” Borshoff said. “Every match we get is a bonus match. Nothing is guaranteed this season, anytime we get to wrestle we’re appreciative.”

The EIWA Championships is currently set for Friday, Feb. 26, about a week earlier than usual, and the competition field will look different than in the past. Of the 17 programs that usually compete in the conference, six will be missing due to the Ivy League’s decision to cancel winter sports.

“Obviously, Cornell and Princeton have been two of the top programs in the country for the past couple of years, and they won’t be there,” Borshoff said. “But even without some of those top Ivy League teams, we still have a meat grinder of a conference. Our best teams that are still competing this year are some of the best teams in the country.”

Despite the unusual circumstances surrounding the 2021 season, the team remains focused on gaining experience in the regular season and competing for conference and national titles in just under two months.

“We didn’t really know if these matches would ever happen, and today they did,” Borshoff said.

Next up for Binghamton is a home dual on Thursday, Jan. 14 against LIU. The match is set for a 7 p.m. start at the West Gym in Vestal, New York.