Siegrist Named Big East’s Top Player

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.

Siegrist visits Poughkeepsie after coaches selected her as the preseason Big East Women’s Basketball Player of the Year. Villanova was picked to finish third in the conference standings.

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

Davis, UNC Are No. 1

Archbishop Stepinac High School graduate RJ Davis will be a junior on this year’s University of North Carolina men’s basketball team that is ranked first in the preseason Associated Press and ESPN poll.

Davis is a second-team preseason All-ACC pick.

Davis helped the Tar Heels reach the 2022 Final Four where it lost to ACC rival Duke, which was led by Stepinac graduate AJ Griffin.

Davis became the first Tar Heel in program history to finish NCAA Tournament games with at least 10 assists and more than 30 points in the next. He finished with 12 assists against Marquette and 30 points against top seed Baylor.

In the NCAA Tournament, Davis played a team-high 37.7 minutes per game and averaged 14.7 point per contest.

As a sophomore, Davis led the Tar Heels with 142 assists, 40 steals and was second in free-throw percentage at 83 percent and three-point field goal percentage at 37 percentage. He was third on the team with 66 three-point field goals and fourth in scoring.

At Stepinac Davis set the Westchster County scoring record with 2,446 career points. As a senior, he was named the 2020 Gatorade High School Player of the Year in New York, New York’s Mr. Basketball by the Basketball Coaches Association of New York and was selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTH CAROLINA

Belin Playing QB at Duke

Cardinal Hayes High School graduate Henry Belin IV has played in one game thus far this season for the Duke University football team.

The freshman quarterback completed five of six passes for 43 yards in a 49-20 win over North Carolina A&T.

Belin played three seasons of varsity football at Cardinal Hayes, completing 382 of 627 passes for 6,000 yards and 55 touchdowns. The two-time, first-team all-state player also rushed for 593 yards and 13 touchdowns on 90 carries.

Duke is 4-2 overall, 1-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and will host rival University of North Carolina at 8 p.m. Saturday on the ACC Network. Duke will have a nationally televised game against Boston College in Boston on Friday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

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.”

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.