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Once again, thanks to grayed_danes_nil for the updates that are being posted here: Gotta show some love for my Long Island boys as well so let’s welcome midfielder Brendan O’Keefe to the family. Brendan checks in at a reasonable 5’9” 155 pounds - that’s more towards the Kesselring / Shook side of the pendulum which is ok by me. We have plenty of big bodies on the roster and Brendan is more of a change of pace kind of player. Watched some clips of him online and saw all of last year’s state championship loss to Baldwinsville where they ran into a smothering defense. He’s a complete player. Brendan put together a solid junior season finishing with 39g / 53a and followed that up with 34 g /33a as a senior (so far). Farmingdale takes on Half Hollow Hills tomorrow which has generated quite a bit of buzz with the early 90s alumni because the son of former UAlbany fifth string goalie and current Grayed Danes Board Member Nick Raio plays for HHH. I think I speak for everyone when I say - Go Dalers. Notable Farmingdale / UAlbany lacrosse alum include Assistant Coach Steve Kunz, defenseman Anthony Ostrander and current Dane Dillon Mehta who I am dying to see get on the field.

Saw the posting on UAlbanySports.com... first thought... was not the right fit for his career path

Hopefully no one jumps ship, and the incoming freshmen are as talented as the Blogger Grayed_Dane_NIL believes they are.

I agree with both of your statements, while I never have been Killings supporter, I am hoping this group of student-athletes can play as a team and Killings and the fans in the stands and elsewhere can be satisfied at the end of the season. The real question remains whether or not I will renew my season tickets for Football, MBB and MLAX. There is little or no appreciation for the average fan at UAlbany.

From the Instagram Account grayed_danes_nil: Coming to campus in the Fall is 6’3” 200 lbs attackman Colin Duncan out of Churchville Chili High school. That’s a big dude to be playing attack. As you know, we (and by we I mean me) have a strong bias for our upstate New York players. We’re all a bit hard headed and grew up with a collective chip on our shoulders. Plus we all know we’re a bit obnoxious. I’m a self aware kinda guy. Watched some video - Colin looks to be a shooter/finisher type. Think 2023 version of Silas. Moves well without the ball and is able to finish in small spaces. Gotta love a kid who has been fan of the program for a long time - guessing the last great Churchville Chili attackman Corey Yunker had something to do with that. If he can develop into half the player Corey was he’s going to be just fine. Welcome to the family.

Sadly, after last year, and Killings pre-season assurances that playing defense was important and the general failure of last year's team to play defense, I would be surprised if this team plays any significant amount of defense. In particular, if things go south early in conference play. Then it will be every man for themselves.

Projecting who is going to stay and who will come has become impossible. The days of a student-athlete committing to UAlbany in their junior year or in the autumn of their senior year are over for practical purposes.

𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 ✅ Jake Piseno is the recipient of the prestigious @usila_lax William C. Schmeisser Award, given annually to the most outstanding defenseman in men’s college lax 🏆 #UAUKNOW #DaneTrain

From MSN.com: https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nhl/in-major-change-college-athletes-set-to-be-paid-directly-by-schools/ar-BB1mWRCL?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=92b8a0d90a2a46b5b1a929f10bb3bfe8&ei=72 I agree with those who feel that in the end is near, for what many of us liked about college sports in our earlier lives, the fans of the lessor conferences are the big losers in this new era.

From Inside Lacrosse... honors continue for the best long stick player in college lacrosse... For all the talk of the Big 3 attackmen heading into the season, it's the Big 1 who is Player of the Year. Maryland defender Ajax Zappitello has been named the USILA's Lt. Raymond J. Enners Outstanding Player of the Year. He was the lone unanimous vote-getter for the USILA's voting.

Bramanti Elevated to Assistant Coach/Director of Operations

Baseball Ends Season at America East Tournament

From TimesUnion.com: Briggs joins UAlbany men's basketball A 6-foot-3 guard, Briggs played this past season at Indian Hills CC. By Michael Kelly,Sports reporter ALBANY – Kheni Briggs, a guard who was a significant contributor to the Indian Hills Community College’s run to the 2024 NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament semifinals, announced Wednesday his commitment to play next season for the University at Albany. “I’m a pretty simple player,” Briggs said Wednesday in a phone interview. “I’m a bucket – I can score any kind of way – and I can defend 1 through 3.” Briggs played this past season at Indian Hills after starting his college career with a redshirt season at Division I Charleston Southern of the Big South Conference. At Indian Hills in Iowa, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Briggs averaged 10.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. He made 12 starts in 32 appearances, and made 32.8 percent of his 174 attempts from 3-point territory. Besides contributing on offense, Briggs said that UAlbany head coach Dwayne Killings and his coaching staff said they viewed him as someone who could defend opposing playmakers in the America East Conference. That’s a part of his game he worked on a lot at Indian Hills this past season. “They pushed me to guard the best players on the other teams, and to really guard every day in practice,” said Briggs, who announced his commitment Wednesday to the Great Danes via social-media posts. A native of Kannapolis, N.C., Briggs said his recruitment started with outreach from assistant coach Jim Whitesell, who was the head coach at Buffalo prior to joining the UAlbany staff in 2023. After a recent visit to campus, Briggs said “it was a no-brainer” to commit to the Great Danes. “It was instant family energy,” said Briggs, who has three seasons remaining of playing eligibility. “It was like I’d known them for years.”

Jamie and Will Brown efforts to raise funds for community-based groups has continued to amaze me. The Browns have never turned their backs to the Capital District and are shining example to others in our region.

From the Instagram Account grayed_danes_nil: Continuing our look at the incoming freshman signees - this is Patrick Boyle out of Corcoran High School in Syracuse NY. Having grown up in that neck of the woods I can tell you that Corcoran isn’t just a school…it’s an attitude. Pat is a 6 foot 190 pound midfielder who plays with that Corcoran attitude. Kid is just tearing-it-up this year. In 13 games this year young blood already has 57 goals, 30 assists and 74 groundballs. Looking forward to seeing them make a deep run in the playoffs.

The CAA seems to be falling apart in bits and pieces: Next season will be Delaware's last in the Coastal Athletic Association. After more than two decades in the CAA, the Blue Hens and Atlantic 10 Conference have both announced that the Delaware men's lacrosse program will join the A-10 as an affiliate member effective July 1, 2025, ahead of the 2026 season.

Hosted by Binghamton University and all games on ESPN+. Wednesday's contests are single elimination. The remainder of the tournament, beginning Thursday, is double elimination. Wednesday, May 22 Links Game 1 - 1 PM No. 5 UAlbany vs. No. 4 UMass Lowell (Loser eliminated) Live Stats | Video Game 2 - 5 PM No. 6 Binghamton vs. No. 3 NJIT (Loser eliminated) Live Stats | Video Thursday, May 23 Game 3 - 11 AM No. 1 Bryant vs. Game 1/2 Winner (Lowest Remaining Seed) Live Stats | Video Game 4 - 3 PM No. 2 UMBC vs. Game 1/2 Winner (Highest Remaining Seed) Live Stats | Video Game 5 - 7 PM Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser Live Stats | Video Friday, May 24 Game 6 - 1 PM Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner Live Stats | Video Game 7 - 5 PM Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser Live Stats | Video Saturday, May 25 Championship Day Game 8 - 1 PM Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner Live Stats | Video Game 9 If necessary game* (45 min following Game 😎 Live Stats | Video

A shout out to Coach Mueller about yesterday's win: Huge congratulations to Head Coach Jon Mueller for earning his 500th career win!! "I was hoping to get there with this group. We were picked last and finished 5th. To do it on my son Jaxon's birthday makes it sweeter. It's a number that includes too many former players, coaches, administrators, and all the people in my life who have been a part of this ride. Especially my wife and kids who have lived this journey with me. GO DANES!!!" - Head Coach Jon Mueller From UAlbanysports Instagram account.

From the Instagram Account grayed_danes_nil: This next incoming frosh is someone I am really excited to watch develop. This is Tayoni Galante - a 6’2” attack / midfielder out of Salamanca High School. We love those hybrid types running out of the midfield…think Graydon Hogg and Ben Wimmer. Salamanca has been one of our feeder program as of late and Tayoni will be following in the footsteps of Keelan Seneca and the great Famous Amos Whitcomb. All three of these guys came out of the womb with a stick in their hands and by 3 months they were already going behind the back. If he’s anything like Keelan and Amos, I gotta believe we’re getting another high character human being. Welcome to the family.

From the Instagram Account grayed_danes_nil: Too soon to start our look at 2025? Looking forward to watch this kid put on purple next year - this is midfielder Brendon Barnard from Chittenango NY. I’m just going to say it - he reminds me of one of my all time favorite players - Sean Eccles…and not just because he plays with his socks below his ankles. He’s a 5’11” lefty midfielder who loves to attack the goal - exceptional stick skills and plays with his head on a swivel. Check out his video and tell me he doesn’t play like an Eccles. Fun fact - Jack VanValkenburgh’s father is his shooting coach so we know he already has some of that Great Dane blood in his veins…

If anyone had said a few weeks ago that a post-season would be part of this team's future, I would have chuckled. No one is chuckling now... Baseball Clinches Playoff Spot With Win

Sadly, not to be 9-3 loss to Penn State however, overall, exceeded expectations.

Win or go home time.... May 18 (Sat) 5:30 PM ET Penn State Bryan-College Station Regional First Elimination Game College Station, TX ESPN+ Live Stats Preview History

While the majority on the forum may have a preference for CAA full affiliation, I believe the greater fan base outside this forum prefers the America East for all sports except Football and Women's Golf. Will the America East look at taking on Football? The question is: Does Maine, New Hampshire, UAlbany and Bryant agreed on this and can you get Rhode Island, Stony Brook, Nova and Monmouth on board? Well, then there are the schools without football, ex. Vermont, Binghamton, NJIT UMBC., which may put up a roadblock.

A flash from the past, Greg Stire... got married in Tampa, FL, where he has lived for the last few years. Congratulations.