Siegrist, Team USA Off to Romania

Our Lady of Lourdes High School graduate Maddy Siegrist was selected to compete with Team USA at the 2022 FIBA 3×3 U23 Nations League Final scheduled for Sept. 14-16 in Constanta, Romania.

Siegirst is one of four players representing the United States in Romania, joining teammates Aaliyah Moore of Texas, Alyssa Utsby of North Carolina and Maddy Westbeld of Notre Dame.

Team USA qualified for the final by winning the Nations League Americas Conference last month in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Siegrist is coming off her best season at Villanova University, finishing second in the nation with her 25.3 points per game and grabbing 9.2 rebounds per contest. In 27 games, the Big East and Big Five player of the year finished with 12 double-doubles, 30 or more points in nine games and 20 or more points in 21 games.

Siegrist earned All-American honors from The Associated Press and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

Siegrist is entering her senior season at Villanova and will be returning to her hometown of Poughkeepsie to play against Marist College at the McCann Arena on Monday, Nov. 7.

CHRIS SHERIDAN PHOTO

Iona Adding 2 Sports in 2024-25

Men’s lacrosse and women’s acrobatics and tumbling will be added as the 22^nd and 23^rd intercollegiate athletic programs offered by Iona University in the 2024-2025 academic year, the university announced.

“As Iona University continues to grow, we are very proud to offer these expanded opportunities for varsity intercollegiate competition to our students,” said Iona Director of Athletics Matthew Glovaski. “With the Northeast and in particular Westchester County and the New York Metropolitan Area being a historical hotbed for scholastic men’s lacrosse and the rise of acrobatics & tumbling as an emerging sport for women in the NCAA, these programs will integrate themselves seamlessly into the goals and aspirations of the University.”

Iona, which had a first-year club men’s lacrosse program in 2022, will compete in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference during the spring of 2025. The Gaels will become the 11^th men’s lacrosse program in the conference featuring Manhattan College, Marist College and Wagner College.
“With our 10 current teams, Iona will strengthen the league and make our already competitive league even better,” said MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor.

Women’s acrobatics and tumbling, which combines different disciplines of gymnastics and competitive cheerleading, will be overseen by the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA), which had 32 programs competing in 2021-2022.

The NCAA adopted women’s acrobatics & tumbling as an emerging sport for women after reaching 30 members in 2020.

“Iona’s announcement continues expansion momentum in the Northeast, through which we’ve been fortunate to grow in all three NCAA divisions,” said NCATA Executive Director Janell Cook. “Our NCATA member administrators continue to be our best advocates. We are thankful for those in the region who provided support to Iona through this process as we collectively move forward towards our goal of reaching NCAA championship sport status.”

Siegrist, Villanova Playing at Marist

Maddy Siegrist is returning to Poughkeepsie to compete on a court her father once called home.

The Our Lady of Lourdes High School graduate will lead the Villanova University women’s basketball team into action against Marist College at the McCann Arena in Poughkeepsie on Monday, Nov. 7.

This will be Villanova’s first trip to Poughkeepsie since participating in the first game played in the renovated McCann Arena in 2011. Formerly called the McCann Center, Siegrist’s father George played four seasons at Marist and later served as an assistant coach with the men’s basketball program.

Siegrist, a senior, is coming off her best season at Villanova that ended with her being named the Big East and Big 5 player of the year, and All-American by The Associated Press and U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

Siegrist was second in the nation with her 25.3 points per game and grabbed 9.2 rebounds per game. The forward, who finished with 12 double-doubles, shot 50 percent from the floor and 36 percent from beyond the three-point arc. She scored 20 or more points in 20 games and 30 or more points in nine games.

In August, Siegrist was one of six college players chosen to compete for the 2022 USA Basketball Women’s 3×3 U23 Nations League team at the FIBA 3×3 Nations League tournament in the Dominican Republic.

PHOTO COURTESY OF VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY

STAC Adding Volleyball

St. Thomas Aquinas College (STAC) announced it is adding men’s and women’s volleyball as its 21^st and 22^nd NCAA sports for the 2023-2024 school year.

Women’s volleyball will compete in the fall as members of NCAA Division II’s East Coast Conference, and the men will compete in the spring with an independent schedule.

“We are thrilled to add both men’s and women’s volleyball as we continue to expand our athletic offerings. These additions will strengthen our academic and athletic profile while creating new opportunities for our campus and community,” said STAC Director of Athletics Nicole Ryan.

St. Thomas Aquinas is launching a national search to find head coaches for both programs.

“St. Thomas Aquinas College has a long and proven legacy of providing outstanding athletic opportunities for our student athletes, who excel both in the classroom – with an ECC-high 90% academic success graduation rate – and on the field,” said STAC President Ken Daly. “As highlighted in our strategic plan, we are passionately committed to the holistic development of our students and are proud to be adding these popular athletic offerings for our student athletes.”

St. Thomas Aquinas is a liberal arts college in Rockland County with 2,000 full- and part-time students, who can choose from more than 100 different majors, minors, specializations, and dual-degree programs across its four schools.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

Yost Concludes Summer on Cape

Fordham Prep graduate Eric Yost completed his summer pitching with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Yost pitched in game one of the best-of-three East Division Final, allowing five earned runs on seven hits and striking out four over six innings during a 6-3 loss to the Brewster Whitecaps. The Red Sox were eliminated in two games by the Whitecaps, and Brewster, the defending league champ, will play Bourne at 3:30 this afternoon in game two of the championship series with Bourne leading the best-of-three series, 1-0.

Yost finished his summer with a 2-6 record and a 4.19 earned run average. The pitcher for Northeastern University gave up 37 hits and 10 walks in 38 ⅔ innings. He struck out 28.

The Cape Cod Baseball League is the premier collegiate wooden bat summer league that features many of the nation’s top college players. Of the 616 players selected in this year’s Major League Baseball Draft, 197 or 32 percent had played in the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Siegrist Earns Spot on Team USA

Our Lady of Lourdes High School graduate Maddy Siegrist has earned a spot on the 2022 USA Basketball Women’s 3×3 U23 Nations League Team that will be competing in the Dominican Republic, Aug. 13-19.

Siegrist, a rising senior at Villanova University where she was named the 2022 Big East Player of the Year, is one of six players on the U.S. roster, joining Aaliyah Moore of Texas, Celeste Taylor of Duke, Alyssa Utsby of North Carolina, Kayla Wells of Texas A&M and Maddy Westbeld of Notre Dame.

The six players will complete a three-day training camp in Miami on Thursday before leaving for the Dominican Republic.

Siegrist, a 2022 third-team All-American, averaged 25.3 points per game for Villanova to place among the nation’s top college players this past season and grabbed 9.2 rebounds per contest. She had 12 double-doubles in 27 games, scored 30 or more points in nine games and 20 or more points in 21 contests.

PHOTO BY CHRIS SHERIDAN

Yost Competing in Cape Playoffs

Fordham Prep graduate Eric Yost and the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox begin a Cape Cod Baseball League best-of-three divisional semifinal playoff series tonight with the Orleans Firebirds.

The Red Sox, the second seed, will host the third-seeded Firebirds in game 1 tonight and game 3, if necessary, on Saturday. Game 2 is in Orleans on Friday.

Yost, 19, is pitching for a second summer on Cape Cod and finished the regular season at 2-5 with a 3.58 earned run average. In 32 ⅔ innings over seven games, six being starts, he allowed 13 earned runs on 30 hits and 10 walks. Yost, who plays at Northeastern University, struck out 24.

In his last outing on July 31 against Orleans, Yost allowed an earned run on three hits and struck out six over 5 ⅓ innings.

The Cape Cod Baseball League is the premier collegiate wooden bat summer league that features many of the nation’s top college players. Of the 616 players selected in this year’s Major League Baseball Draft, 197 or 32 percent had played in the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Yost Returns to Cape League

Fordham Prep graduate Eric Yost pitched well as his Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox suffered a 2-0 loss to the Orleans Firebirds in Cape Cod Baseball League action on Wednesday night.

Yost, a pitcher for Northeastern University in Boston, allowed one earned run on four hits and one walk in 5 ⅓ innings for the Red Sox. He struck out three.

In two starts this summer, Yost is 0-2 with a 3.85 earned run average. In 9 ⅓ innings, he’s allowed one walk and struck out eight.

This is Yost’s second summer with the Red Sox. In 2021, he was 0-1 with a 5.78 ERA and had 14 strikeouts in 14 innings.

Former St. Raymond Star Dies Tragically in Harlem Shooting

Please keep Darius Lee, his family and the St. Raymond High School community in your prayers.

The graduate of St. Raymond High School in the Bronx was killed in Harlem early Monday morning, the victim of a mass shooting that left eight others wounded.

“We are heartbroken and devastated to learn of the senseless passing of Darius Lee, class of 2018,” the school released in a statement on its Facebook page. “Our prayers and condolences go out to his family at this time, and we pray for his eternal rest with our Lord.

“Aside from being a tremendous basketball star, he was a phenomenal human being, and a young man living such a positive life, succeeding in school, on the court, and in life. These senseless acts of violence need to stop…such a tragedy.”

Lee just completed his fourth season of collegiate basketball, and his second at Houston Baptist University where he averaged a team-high 18.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. He also had team-highs of 86 assists and 65 steals, and shot 54 percent from the floor.

Lee finished with season-highs of 52 points and 18 rebounds against McNeese State on March 5. The 6-foot-6 guard/forward was 16 for 30 from the field and 20 for 27 from the free-throw line.

In two seasons at Houston Baptist, Lee scored 674 points.

“We are devastated. Darius was a remarkable young man who loved the Lord, his mom, his family, his teammates, his friends and his entire HBU family,” Houston Baptist men’s basketball coach James Sears Bryant said in a statement from the school.
 
“We are in shock and cannot wrap our heads around this news. My heart breaks for his mom, his sister and his entire family, and for our basketball team. The only thing we find comfort in right now is knowing where Darius is. He is in the arms of Jesus… we know that as fact. And we will see him again some day.”

Prior to Houston Baptist, Lee played two seasons at Sullivan County Community College where he was a first-team All-American as a sophomore after averaging 18.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Sullivan finished the season ranked second in the nation with a 28-2 record.

Lee averaged 14 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game as a freshman.

At St. Raymond, Lee was a two-year starter, averaging 21 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists as a senior and 15 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists as a junior.

Iona Prep Grads Off to NCAAs

Iona Prep graduates Jaziel Rivera and Joseph Persico are heading to Burlington, Vt., with the Manhattan College men’s lacrosse team for the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Manhattan will play host Vermont at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Visit gojaspers.com to see the broadcast schedule for the match.

Rivera, son of National Baseball Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera, is a freshman faceoff specialist, and Joseph Persico is a senior goalie.

The Jaspers defeated St. Bonaventure, 8-7, in Poughkeepsie for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title, earning an automatic bid to the program’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 2002.