CAA titles? Sure. we'll take more, more, more...MORE, MORE, MORE!
It took a quarter century, but we finally get to find out, once again, what it will be like to watch the Flying Dutchmen follow up a season that ended with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. And this time Hofstra didn’t even have to change conferences!
Yup, last season really happened and they really did it. And today the Dutchmen will begin the defense of their second CAA title — but the first that yielded an actual game in the NCAA Tournament — by hosting Division III St. Joseph’s.
I’ll have something later today on how it’s still surreal to absorb the reality the Dutchmen are taking the court the season after playing in the NCAA Tournament appearance.
But in the meantime, I welcome you to the 11th season (!!!) of I’ll Be Quirky! This is basically one-third as old now as my fandom, which is wild, as is my ability to pull this off given my raging undiagnosed case of ADD.
And as always, this is my attempt to link the past with the present in a fun and engaging package as the Dutchmen chase that THIRD CAA championship and a second NCAA Tournament game in the CAA era. Boy that’s fun to write. I have to think this is what it feels like to be a Brewers fan.
As I do annually, I can’t start this season without acknowledging Islanders statistician Eric Hornick, whose blog “The Skinny” was the inspiration to start this in 2016, as well as Mets blogger and unofficial team historian Greg Prince, whose unique ways of tracking each Mets season via the Faith & Fear In Flushing blog I’ve emulated the last few seasons as well.
Thanks as always to Eric and Greg as well as to you for reading. Enjoy the championship defense and the twists and turns that might feel a whole lot less twisty and turny given what we all got to enjoy last season!
WE DON’T KNOW WHERE WE’RE GOING BUT WE SURE KNOW WHERE WE’VE BEEN
This season marks the 91st season in which the Flying Dutchmen have played basketball. The program is 1,399-1,028 all-time. Hey! One win away from a milestone number! No one has played or coached in each of the previous 90 seasons, though some members of some long-ago high school class may get an extra year of eligibility if they find the right judge somewhere.
The Flying Dutchmen made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001 last year, when they finished 24-11 overall and in third place in the CAA with a 12-6 league mark. The Dutchmen won the CAA Tournament with a 75-69 win over Monmouth in the title game and earned a no. 13 seed in the Midwest Region before falling to fourth-seeded Alabama, 90-70. It was the first NCAA Tournament game for the Dutchmen in 9,135 days. Long time!
The Dutchmen were the only no. 13 seed to mount an upset bid. Troy held an early five-point lead over Arkansas in the South Region while Cal Baptist (East) and Hawaii (West) trailed wire-to-wire against Kansas and Arkansas, respectively.
The CAA title was the second for the Dutchmen, who also won it all in 2020 but didn’t participate in the NCAA Tournament because, well, you know. The Dutchmen are the fifth active CAA school with multiple conference titles, joining UNC Wilmington (seven), Charleston (three) and Northeastern (two), and the 11th school with multiple crowns in league history.
The Dutchmen were the fifth no. 3 seed to win the CAA Tournament and the first since Northeastern did so in 2015.
Junior Cruz Davis (20.1 points, 4.7 assists) led the Dutchmen in scoring and assists while becoming the seventh Hofstra player to win CAA Player of the Year honors. Freshman Preston Edmead (16.1 points, 4.4 assists) was named the CAA Rookie of the Year before winning Most Outstanding Player honors in the CAA Tournament, when he hit one of the most iconic shots in program history to lift the Dutchmen past Towson in an overtime win in the semifinals before scoring a career-high 26 points in the title game against Monmouth. Hofstra is the first program in CAA history to have the Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year in the same season.
Senior Silas Sunday (5.1 points, 6.8 rebounds) and junior Victory Onuetu (4.7 points, a team-high 6.9 rebounds) teamed up to provide reliable minutes at center. Graduate student German Plotnikov (9.4 points, 3.3 rebounds) offered his usual steady glue guy production while senior Biggie Patterson (9.5 points, 5.6 rebounds) was also versatile and effective in his lone season with the program. Sophomore Joshua DeCady (6.2 points, 3.4 rebounds) was selected to the CAA all-defensive team. Graduate student Joshua Aaron Reaves (2.3 points), freshman Jaeden Roberts (4.1 points) and junior A.J. Wills (3.2 points) were all key rotation member at some point during the season while graduate student Alex Tsynkevich (0.8 points, 1.4 rebounds) and sophomore Amir Williams (1.3 points) saw limited time.
FINAL 3 STARS OF THE GAME STANDINGS
Cruz Davis 72
Preston Edmead 58
Biggie Patterson 27
German Plotnikov 17
Silas Sunday 13
Joshua DeCady 8
Victory Onuetu 6
Joshua Aaron Reaves 3
Jaeden Roberts 3
A.J. Wills 2
Alex Tsynkevich 1
A FOND FAREWELL
The Dutchmen bid goodbye to a whopping 12 members of last year’s team. Graduate students German Plotnikov, Joshua Aaron Reaves and Alex Tsynkevich and seniors Biggie Patterson and Silas Sunday completed their collegiate eligibility while Cruz Davis (Texas Tech), Preston Edmead (North Carolina State), Victory Onuetu (Wisconsin), Jaeden Roberts (Western Carolina) and Amir Williams (West Georgia) all transferred, as did Brandon Morgan (Hawaii Hilo), who didn’t play last season. A.J. Wills also exited. We wish them well.
As noted earlier, Davis led the Dutchmen in scoring and assists during his second season at Hofstra. He became the program’s 43rd 1,000-point scorer and scored in double figures in 53 of 65 games for the Dutchmen. Edmead finished second on the Dutchmen in scoring and assists on his way to becoming the fourth Hofstra player to win CAA Rookie of the Year honors and the second to win CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. Edmead’s seven CAA Rookie of the Week awards were tied for second-most in league history behind fellow Hofstra star Antoine Agudio (eight in 2004-05).
Plotnikov, the first player to spend four or more seasons at Hofstra since Jalen Ray, averaged 6.6 points while draining 144 3-pointers over 128 games for the Dutchmen, tied for fourth-most in program history. Sunday played three seasons at Hofstra and averaged 3.6 points and 4.6 rebounds over exactly 100 games for the Dutchmen.
Last season marked the only season at Hofstra for Onuetu, Patterson, Reaves, Roberts, Tsynkevich, Williams and Wills.
WELCOME BACK
In a sign of how much the game has changed, the Flying Dutchmen return just one player who saw the court last season — Joshua DeCady. He accounted for 205 points over 794 minutes, which represented 0.08 percent of the Dutchmen’s total last year, and played 794 minutes, which represented 11 percent of the Dutchmen’s total playing time. These are, obviously, the lowest amount of points and minutes the Dutchmen have returned from the previous campaign in recorded school history. And yet there’s almost surely a school out there with fewer returning points and minutes!
MY NAME IS…
The Dutchmen welcome a whopping 12 new players — eight transfers as well as four freshman.
Tanner Thomas, a 6-foot-6 graduate student and the brother of former Hofstra star Tyler Thomas, averaged 9.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in 83 games over four seasons at Sacred Heart before sitting out last season at Loyola Marymount due to injury. The Thomas brothers played together at Sacred Heart during Tanner’s freshman season in 2021-22.
Justin Moore, a 6-foot-3 graduate student, opened his career with two seasons at Drexel before playing the last two seasons at Loyola Chicago, where he averaged 10.9 points and 3.8 assists over 22 games last year. Senior Deywilk Tavarez, a 6-foot-2 senior, began his career with one season apiece at Delaware State and Charleston before playing with Moore last season at Loyola, where he averaged 8.9 points and 2.3 rebounds over 33 games. Spence Wewe a 7-foot junior, played his first two seasons at Quinnipiac and averaged 2.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in 32 games last year. Imanuel Zorgvol, a 7-foot graduate student, opened his career with one season at Northern Kentucky before playing two seasons at Youngstown State, for whom he averaged 5.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and a Horizon League-leading 1.9 blocks over 32 games last year.
Three players join the Dutchmen from junior college. Nick Jefferson, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, transferred from Salt Lake Community College while Elijah Gelin, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, transferred from Cerritos College, a junior college in California. Riley Dunn, a 7-foot junior, transferred after two seasons at Monroe.
Four true freshmen also join the program: Xavier Blake (a 6-foot-4 guard from Canada and The Phelps School). Michael Cascione (a 6-foot-1 guard from Smithtown), Benjamin Onwughai (a 6-foot-6 guard from Nigeria and Oak Hill Academy) and Anthony Stennett (a 6-foot-2 guard from Cambria Heights, NY).
In addition, seniors Trey Boyd III and Carlos Lopez are expected to play after sitting out last season, Boyd previously played a season apiece at Division II The College of Saint Rose and Division II Pace University while Lopez hasn’t played since his freshman year at St. Francis (PA) in 2023-23. He redshirted in 2024-25 and missed last season due to injury.
SPEEDY'S FIRST SIXTH SEASON
Speedy Claxton, the 15th head coach in program history and the first Hofstra alum to patrol the sidelines at his alma mater, continued to cement his status as one of the most iconic figures in school history last season, when he directed the Flying Dutchmen to the NCAA Tournament 26 years after leading the Flying Dutchmen (who really WERE the Flying Dutchmen back then!) to the NCAA Tournament during his senior season as a point guard.
The Dutchmen are 105-63 (.625) under Claxton, which is the most wins and the fourth-best winning percentage by a Hofstra head coach through his first five seasons (or the first five seasons of his second tenure).
Butch van Breda Kolff I 91-35 (.722, 1955-60)
Frank Reilly 92-37 (.713, 1947-52)
Paul Lynner 85-50 (.629, 1962-67)
SPEEDY CLAXTON 105-63 (.625, 2021-26)
Jack McDonald 52-38 (.578, 1936-41)
Joe Mihalich 88-76 (.537, 2013-18)
Tom Pecora 81-72 (.529, 2001-06)
Roger Gaeckler 68-64 (.515, 1972-77)
Dick Berg 70-69 (.504, 1980-85)
Jay Wright 72-73 (.497, 1994-99)
Butch van Breda Kolff II 70-71 (.496, 1988-93)
Three coaches within a game of .500 through five seasons, quirky! Things are getting better for Jay Wright and Tom Pecora, let’s see if they can keep it up!
Five head coaches had tenures lasting fewer than four seasons at Hofstra. Jack Smith went 27-32 from 1943-44 through 1945-46 while Mo Cassara went 38-59 from 2010-11 through 2012-13. Jack McDonald went 18-6 in the lone season of his second stint in 1946-47 while Joe Harrington went 14-14 in 1979-80 and Mike Farrelly went 13-10 in 2020-21.
Claxton’s 168 games coached rank ninth in program history.
Claxton’s sixth season as head coach begins 26 years and a few months after he completed one of the most decorated careers in Hofstra history. Claxton racked up 2,015 points and a school-record 660 assists while leading the Flying Dutchmen (who, once again, really WERE the Flying Dutchmen back then!) to the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 23 years in 2000. He was then selected in the first round of the 2000 draft by the Philadelphia 76ers and embarked upon a 10-year career highlighted by his role as a key player on the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in 2004.
SPEEDY’S SELECT COMPANY (part one)
Just 21 of the 57 head coaches hired prior to the 2021-22 season remain with the school that hired them. Speedy Claxton ranks fourth amongst that group with a .625 winning percentage in his first five seasons. Claxton is also one of just seven remaining coaches from the class of ’21-22 to direct his school to at least one NCAA Tournament.
Tommy Lloyd, Arizona, 148-36 (.804)***
T.J. Otzelberger, Iowa State, 124-53 (.701)***
Shaka Smart, Marquette, 110-61 (.643)***
SPEEDY CLAXTON, HOFSTRA, 105-63 (.625)***
Mark Prosser, Winthrop, 101-63 (.616)
Porter Moser, Oklahoma, 95-75 (.559)***
Drew Valentine, Loyola Chicago, 92-75 (.551)***
Jase Coburn, Portland State, 82-75 (.522)
Jim Ferry, UMBC, 84-77 (.522)***
Patrick Sellers, Central Connecticut State, 81-76 (.516)
Jordan Mincy, Jacksonville, 81-77 (.513)
Brette Tanner, Abilene Christian, 84-81 (.509)
Joe Golding, Texas-El Paso, 81-83 (.494)
Reggie Theus, Bethune-Cookman, 72-89 (.447)
Shantay Legans, Portland, 72-94 (.434)
Levell Sanders, Binghamton, 63-90 (.412)
Dwayne Killings, Albany, 62-97 (.390)
Tim Miles, San Jose State, 62-104 (.373)
Marty Simmons, Eastern Illinois, 53-105 (.335)
Solomon Bozeman, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 49-107 (.314)
Stan Waterman, Delaware State, 47-106 (.307)
***reached NCAA Tournament
SPEEDY’S SELECT COMPANY (part two)
Speedy Claxton is one of five Division I men’s basketball coaches who played at their alma mater and later played in the NBA:
SPEEDY CLAXTON, Hofstra
Penny Hardaway, Memphis
Trey Johnson, Jackson State
Mark Pope, Kentucky
Larry Stewart, Coppin State
SPEEDY’S SELECT COMPANY (part three)
Speedy Claxton is one of just two Division I men’s basketball coaches who have won an NBA title.
SPEEDY CLAXTON, Hofstra (2003 San Antonio Spurs)
Mark Madsen, California (2001 and 2002 Los Angeles Lakers)
Overall, Claxton is one of 18 former NBA players now coaching a Division I men’s basketball team.
SPEEDY CLAXTON, Hofstra
Steve Alford, Nevada
Mike Bibby, Sacramento State
Joe Crispin, Air Force
Johnny Dawkins, Central Florida
Bryce Drew, Grand Canyon
Penny Hardaway, Memphis
Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska
Trey Johnson, Jackson State
Mark Madsen, California
Cuonzo Martin, Missouri State
Mark Pope, Kentucky
Roger Powell Jr., Valparaiso
Nolan Smith, Tennessee State
Larry Stewart, Coppin State
Rod Strickland, Long Island University
Reggie Theus, Bethune-Cookman
Charlie Ward, Florida A&M
COMING HOME
Overall, there are 50 Division I head coaches directing their alma maters:
SPEEDY CLAXTON, Hofstra
Clint Allard, UC San Diego
Jeff Boals, Ohio
Evan Bradds, Belmont
Jerrod Calhoun, Cincinnati
Ed Conroy, The Citadel
Chris Crutchfield, Omaha
Doug Davenport, Bellarmine
Travis DeCuire, Montana
Jamie Dixon, Texas Christian
Quinton Ferrell, Presbyterian
Justin Gainey, North Carolina State
Joe Gallo, Merrimack
Kevin Giltner, Wofford
Corey Gipson, Austin Peay
Stan Gouard, Southern Indiana
Anthony Grant, Dayton
John Griffin III, Bucknell
Penny Hardaway, Memphis
Mitch Henderson, Princeton
Shaheen Holloway, Seton Hall
Alan Huss, Creighton
Cornelius Jackson, Marshall
Jon Jaques, Cornell
Alex Jensen, Utah
Trey Johnson, Jackson State
Mike Jones, Old Dominion
Andy Kennedy, Alabama-Birmingham
Chris Kraus, Stonehill
Jay Ladner, Southern Mississippi
Luke Loucks, Florida State
Chris Markwood, Maine
Cuonzo Martin, Missouri State
Mike MacDonald, St. Bonaventure
Fran McCaffery, Penn
Mickey McConnell, Saint Mary’s
Matt McKillop, Davidson
Gerry McNamara, Syracuse
Niko Medved, Minnesota
LeVelle Moton, North Carolina Central
Saah Nimley, Charleston Southern
Ronald Nored, Butler
Matt Painter, Purdue
Mark Pope, Kentucky
David Richman, North Dakota State
Jon Scheyer, Duke
Patrick Sellers, Central Connecticut
Tony Skinn, George Mason (never heard of him)
Larry Stewart, Coppin State
John Tauer, St. Thomas (MN)
BASKETBALL/BASEBALL DOUBLE PLAY
In addition, Hofstra is one of just four Division I schools with a former NBA player as its head men’s basketball coach and a former MLB player as its head baseball coach.
SPEEDY CLAXTON, Hofstra (Frank Catalanotto)
Bryce Drew, Grand Canyon (Steve Bieser)
Mark Madsen, California (Mike Neu)
Roger Powell Jr., Valparaiso (Brian Schmack)
HOW MANY UNICORN SCORES WERE THERE LAST SEASON?
The Dutchmen had seven unicorn scores — scores by which they’d never previously won — last season:
12/10/25: 92-23 over Old Westbury
12/21/25: 74-66 over Quinnipiac
1/8/26: 78-67 over Towson
2/7/26: 71-49 over Towson
2/19/26: 79-43 over Hampton
2/21/26: 82-68 over Northeastern
3/3/26: 62-51 over Drexel
The Dutchmen have recorded 67 unicorn scores since we first started tracking them in 2018-19. The good news is they got to 67 unicorn score victories when six-seven was still a thing. The bad news is six-seven is apparently no longer a thing, per my 14-year-old daughter.
Anyway, last season marked the third straight season in which the Dutchmen recorded exactly seven unicorn scores and the seventh time they’ve recorded at least seven unicorn scores in the last eight seasons. The Dutchmen had no unicorn scores in 2020-21, when they were limited to 23 games due to the pandemic.
2025-26: Seven unicorn scores
2024-25: Seven unicorn scores
2023-24: Seven unicorn scores
2022-23: 12 unicorn scores
2021-22: 11 unicorn scores
2020-21: Zero unicorn scores (really)
2019-20: 13 unicorn scores
2018-19: 10 unicorn scores
The term unicorn score was coined by Mets superfan, historian and blogger Greg Prince to describe a score by which the Mets had never previously won. You may also know it as a “Scorigami,” a term popularized in the NFL.
HE’S CRUZ DAVIS, HE HAD ALL THE KEITH HERNANDEZES
Cruz Davis collected a team-high six Keith Hernandezes — i.e. scoring the points that put the Dutchmen ahead for good in a victory — last season. In another example of college basketball in the mid-2020s, Cruz is the third straight player to transfer after leading the Dutchmen in Keith Hernandezes, following Darlinstone Dubar and Jean Aranguren.
The Keith Hernandez honors Hernandez holding the all-time lead in game-winning RBIs with 129 before Major League Baseball inexplicably discontinued the stat following the 1988 season.
Cruz Davis 6
German Plotnikov 5
Preston Edmead 4
Joshua DeCady 3
Silas Sunday 1
A.J. Wills 1
ALL-TIME STANDINGS (or at least since the 2022-23 season)
Tyler Thomas 16
Darlinstone Dubar 14
Cruz Davis 9
German Plotnikov 8
Jean Aranguren 5
Preston Edmead 4
Aaron Estrada 4
Silas Sunday 3
Biggie Patterson 3
Joshua DeCady 3
Michael Graham 3
Warren Williams 3
Jacco Fritz 2
Jaquan Carlos 2
A.J. Wills 1
Eric Parnell 1
KiJan Robinson 1
Bryce Washington 1
MARATHON MEN
The Dutchmen played 35 games last season, which was tied for the longest season in program history. The 2018-19 team (27-8) and the 2022-23 team (25-10) also played 35 games apiece after earning NIT bids.
DOUBLE-DIGIT COMEBACKS
The Dutchmen won two games in which they trailed by at least 10 points. The Dutchmen trailed Bucknell by 11 points in the second half of an 83-77 victory on Nov. 13 and overcame a 10-point first-half deficit in a 62-51 win over Drexel on Mar. 2. Under Speedy Claxton, the Dutchmen have won 11 games in which they overcame a double-digit deficit.
DOUBLE DIGITS WEREN’T ENOUGH
The Dutchmen lost three games in which they led by at least 10 points. The Dutchmen led North Carolina A&T by 16 points in the first half of a 79-78 loss on Jan. 15 and led Charleston by 11 points in the second half of a 66-64 loss on Jan. 29 before leading Alabama by 10 points in the first half of a 90-70 loss in the NCAA Tournament on Mar. 20.
STAYING (within) SINGLE (digits)
The season-ending loss to Alabama marked the first and last (obvs) time the Dutchmen lost a game by more than nine points. They were one of just five Division I schools to enter the NCAA Tournament without a double-digit loss — and one of just two mid-majors along with Miami (Ohio), whose season ended with a 78-56 loss to Tennessee about an hour after the Dutchmen fell to Alabama. Stupid SEC.
The only other teams to enter the NCAA Tournament without a double-digit loss were Arizona, Duke and Michigan. And Arizona’s streak ended with a 91-73 loss to eventual national champion Michigan in the Final Four.
THRICE AS NICE?
The Dutchmen were picked third in the CAA’s preseason poll of league coaches and sports information directors.
1.) UNC Wilmington (11 first-place votes)
2.) Charleston
3.) HOFSTRA (two first-place votes)
4.) Towson
5.) Monmouth
6.) William & Mary
7.) Stony Brook
8.) ELO
9.) Drexel
10.) Hampton
11.) Northeastern
12.) Campbell
13.) North Carolina A&T
Justin Moore was selected to the all-CAA preseason first team while Deywilk Tavarez was selected to the all-CAA preseason second team.
The third-place preseason ranking is the highest for Hofstra since 2022-23, when Speedy Claxton’s second team was picked to finish second and finished first before falling in the CAA Tournament semifinals.
This marks the third time the Dutchmen have been picked third in the preseason poll. The Dutchmen were picked third and finished fifth in 2014-15 before being picked third and finishing first in 2018-19.
LUCKY THIRTEEN
The CAA (which was rebranded as the Coastal Athletic Association prior to the 2024-25 season, once again, the Coastal recycles TO THE EXTREME!!!) remains at 13 schools this season. The CAA expanded to 13 with the addition of Hampton, Monmouth, North Carolina A&T and Stony Brook in 2022-23 before increasing to 14 with the addition of Campbell prior to the 2023-24 school year and dropping back to 13 last year, when Delaware departed for Conference USA and the pursuit of Bahamas Bowl berths. The CAA is scheduled to add Fairfield on July 1, 2027, but let’s not quite guarantee the league will be at 14 teams by then.
SEASON OPENERS
Hofstra is 52-38 all-time in season openers. The Flying Dutchmen’s streak of three straight season-opening wins ended last Nov. 3, when they fell to Central Florida, 82-78.
Today marks the earliest season opener in program history, beating…last season! Which in turn beat the season before! For comparison’s sake, in my first year on campus in 1993-94, the Dutchmen didn’t open until Nov. 27, which was two days after Thanksgiving and a whopping 35 days after the end of the World Series. And we liked it!
Most lopsided season-opening win: 101-48 over St. Joseph’s, 2023-24
Most lopsided season-opening win over DI foe: 94-61 over Jacksonville, 2014-15
Most lopsided season-opening loss: 96-57 to St. Joseph’s 1965-66, 60-21 to NYU, 1936-37
OVER THE AIR
Today’s game is slated to be carried live on FloHoops.com (subscription required, click here for options). Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
ST. JOSEPH’S AND HOFSTRA VS. NON-DIVISION I FOES
St. Joseph’s, a Division III school located in Patchogue, is also opening its season this morning. AJ Uhl begins his fifth season at the helm of the Golden Eagles, who finished 12-14 overall and 8-8 in the Skyline Conference last year.
St. Joseph’s returns its top two scorers and rebounds from last season in seniors Kenny Rodriguez (16.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game) and AJ Esposito (13.5 points and 11.9 rebounds per game).
The Flying Dutchmen have won their last 28 games against non-Division I foes dating back to a 70-54 loss to Florida Southern during the 1988-89 season. This marks the 11th time in the last 12 seasons the Dutchmen have played at least one non-Division I foe. There were no non-Division I games in 2020-21 due to the pandemic.
There is no line on this game, because even degenerate gamblers do not bet on Division I vs. non-Division I games. The Dutchmen were 20-13 against the spread last season.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER (OR BLUESKY) IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
You have 15 players from Long Island bias! (It’s true)
Billy Idol lived in Patchogue as a kid bias! (Per Wikipedia, which is never wrong)
WALK bias! (Everyone’s favorite adult contemporary station is based in Patchogue)
This shouldn’t be that hard bias! (Once again, as always and please, for love of all that is holy)
