Between the men’s and women’s basketball teams, last season was Fairfield University’s winningest ever as the beautiful new Leo D. Mahoney Arena is quickly becoming a key epicenter for MAAC hoops.
At season’s end, the men’s basketball team finished with 24 wins, making the MAAC tournament final and the College Basketball Invitational semifinals. All in all, the season greatly exceeded expectations, especially considering head coach Chris Casey’s appointment as the team’s interim head coach occurred just a month prior to the start of the regular season, making his return to head coaching in MAAC with a six-year tenure at Niagara in his resume.
Last year’s Stags team was deep with twelve players averaging more than seven minutes-per-game and that depth allowed Casey to push an aggressive, up-tempo two-way style that will continue this upcoming season despite widespread roster turnover. “We’re going to look to play the same way,” says Coach Casey, “We want to get up and down, play an up-tempo game that fans enjoy watching and give our guys a chance to show what they can do individually and collectively.”
Fairfield’s high octane attack sparked career years for guards Caleb Fields (graduated), Jalen Leach (Northwestern) and Brycen Goodine (Oklahoma), while guard Jasper Floyd was a two-way maestro in his first season in Division 1, transferring next season to North Texas. All in all, Fairfield’s top six scorers either graduated or transferred, leaving returnees Louis Bleechmore, Peyton Smith, Birimia Seck, Michael Rogan and Matt Curtis the opportunity to grow into bigger roles this upcoming season.
Expected to earn a full-time starting role is sophomore center Peyton Smith. The start of Smith’s freshman season went strongly, starting the first 21 games of the season before an injury coincided with the debut of veteran forward Alexis Yetna, forcing Smith to cede playing time to the physical and talented Parisian. “I thought Peyton was on track to be on the All-Rookie Team until he injured his ankle at Iona. It was hard for him to come back fully from that,” says Coach Casey, “He’s got a big upside too.”
Prior to his ankle injury, Smith averaged nearly nine points, five rebounds and a block per game while shooting a solid 52 2P%, 26 3P% and 74 FT%. Listed at 6’10 250, Smith is one of the biggest players in the MAAC. While he is strong in the low-post, Smith is a decent shooter and strong passer for his size.
Returning rim-running senior Birima Seck will, yet again, provide an athletic complement to Fairfield’s center position. Finishing last season as the team’s second most efficient offensive rebounder, Seck’s quick feet and length makes him a defensive asset down inside and out in the perimeter.
Expect Smith and Seck to play the lion’s share of center minutes this season, but incoming freshman Isaac Munkadi owns a ton of potential after finishing his high school career at neighboring Bridgeport Prep. “Isaac has a knack for involving himself in absolutely everything,” says Bridgeport Prep Assistant Head Coach Ponce James, “He’s a quality rim protector with the ability to space the floor offensively beyond the three-point line. He runs the floor and can make plays off the bounce. His tank is empty after every game!”
After two seasons at Harcum College and playing sparingly in his only season at Saint Joseph’s, Louis Bleechmore started 26 games in his first season at Fairfield, showcasing his versatility and toughness in the frontcourt.
“Louis did great for us at the 4 spot and I see him doing even better this year,” says Coach Casey, “He’s worked hard on his game, his shooting, among other things, and he gives you versatility on the defensive end – he can guard the post and he can guard the perimeter.” Last season, only Birima Seck and Jack Brown posted lower usage rates than Bleechmore, so it would be safe to assume Bleechmore to post career offensive numbers after averaging seven points and four rebounds per game last season.
Bleechmore will be joined at the forward position with Lafayette grad transfer Kyle Jenkins. The 6’7 220 Higganum, Connecticut native averaged nine points and four rebounds per game last season while shooting an efficient 56 2P% and 40 3P% in Patriot League conference play. Jenkins finished the season as a Third-Team All-Patriot League selection. “Louis and Kyle are going to give us a lot at the 4 spot,” says Coach Casey, “Kyle’s going to help us score on the perimeter and around the basket and he’ll play multiple positions.”
With Jenkins’ shooting and passing ability, it would not surprise to see both Jenkins and Bleechmore share the floor together, providing the Stags with the potential of bigger lineups than the typical three or even four-guard looks last season.
More size at the 3 spot will be on tap with the return of redshirt sophomore Michael Rogan and the addition of Milwaukee transfer Makuei Riek.
The 6’7 195 Rogan started the first four games of last season, scoring a total of 43 points across Fairfield’s first three games and in total made half of his three-point attempts until a torn labrum ended his season in early December. “He’s one of the guys that if he sees his first three-point shot go in, it can be a long night for the defense,” says South Kent Head Coach Raphael Chillious, Rogan’s high school coach, “Michael’s able to play the small ball four in the MAAC as he as the size, length and ability to move his feet well enough on defense to keep other small ball 4’s in front of him. He’s gotten a lot stronger since he first arrived at South Kent so he should be able to wrestle guys off the glass as well.”
Redshirting in his first season at Milwaukee, Makuei Riek is a 6’6 170 athletic wing who profiles similarly to the recently transferred James Johns Jr. “Makuei can have an impact for us this year,” says Coach Casey, “He’s playing the big guard spot for us. He’s long and his length allows him to defend well on and off the ball, rebound, and he’s shooting the ball well. He plays hard and you can tell it’s important to him by the way he’s putting in extra time in the gym.”
Between the fifth-year veterans Bleechmore and Jenkins, the healthy return of Rogan and the addition of Riek, Casey is now rich with a quartet of 6’6-6’7 versatile pieces that he can mix and match at the 3 and the 4, providing the Stags with more size than last year’s three and four guard rotations, which should provide opportunities for the Stags to improve on their biggest bugaboo last season: rebounding.
Averaging combined 57 points-per-game, Fairfield’s foursome of Caleb Fields, Jalen Leach, Brycen Goodine and Jasper Floyd were part of the best backcourt in the MAAC, but with all four gone, Loyola (MD) transfer Deon Perry headlines Fairfield’s new-look group of guards.
A Second-Team All-Patriot League selection last season, Perry is a 5’8 160 combo guard originally from Baltimore and led the Patriot League in usage rate while still ranking within the top-20 in offensive efficiency, per KenPom.com. Last season, Perry averaged 17.3 points, 2.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game while converting on 35% of his three-point attempts.
Similar to Jalen Leach, Perry projects as an elite endgame closer thanks to his career 91 FT% and his impressive 5.3 fouls drawn/40 in conference play, which ranked fourth highest in the Patriot League. Naturally, as an undersized guard, Perry’s efficiency near the basket is not a strength, but his 2P% improved from 32.6% his freshman season to 41.5% his sophomore season.
Fairfield’s new-look backcourt is deep, but Perry is perhaps the only surefire guard expected to start every game this season, but Matt Curtis, the team’s only returning true guard, ended last season with a lot of momentum.
Playing sparingly throughout the first four months of his freshman season, injuries to Goodine and Leach forced incoming sophomore Matt Curtis into a starting role in the College Basketball Invitational. Scoring just a total of fifteen points entering the tournament, Curtis finished the CBI averaging 12 points and 2.3 three-pointers per game, signaling the scoring and spacing potential he showcased at Northwest Catholic High School (CT) as the program’s all-time leading scorer. “To his credit, not having played a lot earlier in the season and then to be able to do that on a postseason stage was a terrific accomplishment,” says Coach Casey.
Fairfield’s most experienced backcourt transfer addition is grad transfer Jamie Bergens, a 6’2 195 native of The Netherlands who played the last two seasons at Drexel before starting his career at Oral Roberts. “Just a tough shot maker, especially in the two games of his I called against Hofstra,” says Hofstra radio play-by-play announcer Dylan Brett, “He created well off the dribble and I was shocked at how good he is with a hand in his face. Got downhill quickly more often than not too, and worked well off the pick and roll game.”
Bergens will be joined in the backcourt with 6’3 185 incoming junior Prophet Johnson who started fifteen games last season with Southern Utah, averaging nine points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal per game. Mostly an interior scorer – less than 15% of his field goal attempts were from three – but like Deon Perry, Johnson is excellent at drawing fouls (4.8 fouls drawn/40, good for 17th in the WAC) and is a proficient free throw shooter (77.8 FT%).
With three 20+ point and two 0 point games, Johnson’s biggest area of improvement is game-to-game consistency. “In terms of Prophet Johnson, Fairfield got a player that is a good interior spot up shooter, but has to get stronger in order to attack the rim at a higher level,” says Kyle McDonald of WAC Hoops Nation, “He has the potential, but just has to get stronger.” Last season, Johnson showcased his versatility by playing all three backcourt positions, so expect Johnson to play a similar role at Fairfield.
Originally a three-star recruit from The Bronx, Fordham transfer Noah Best, like Makuei Riek, lacks experience, but has length and athleticism to develop into an important piece for the Stags. Best played only eight games last season and was redshirted his freshman season to help add muscle to his wiry, athletic frame. Previously listed at 6’5 175, Best is known as a catch-and-shoot scorer whose handle and vision gives him three-level scoring potential, but his length and athleticism will allow him to defend multiple positions.
Ranked as the 76th best JUCO prospect by JUCORecruiting.com, Indian Hill CC product Braden Sparks is Fairfield’s only junior college offseason addition and is the team’s purest point guard. Averaging 11.3 points and 3.7 assists per game while shooting nearly 42% from three, Sparks plays a calming veteran style of play.
“I love Braden, he is an awesome young man,” says former Indian Hills CC head coach and current Drake assistant head coach Josh Sash, “He’s the type of guy that you want to be around. He’s humble but confident and secure in who he is as a person. He’s a very intelligent basketball player. He’s a PG that can run a team. He isn’t a guy that is going to make a bunch of ‘wow’ plays, but he just consistently makes the right plays. Sneakily, he’s a better defender that most people would give him credit for. He is solid and he takes pride in it.”
When asking about a possible common theme amongst their offseason additions, Coach Casey shared that the team was open-minded and simply wanted to look for the best players, rather than hunting for specific needs. With that being said, this Stags roster looks quite different from last year, but is similarly rich with depth that will allow for different players to step up every game, especially considering the deep rotations Fairfield is expected to continue to run with.
With that being said, Fairfield boasts the talent, depth and coaching to remain a title contender this upcoming season and will certainly be one of the more difficult teams to prepare for as different players are expected to make an impact on the court each game.
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