WEST HARTFORD, Conn.  – The 2024-25 Hartford men's basketball team is anything but normal having 11 underclassmen on the roster of 12, but the Hawks although young are hungry to compete in the Conference of New England (CNE). 

In 2023-24, the Hawks would end the year with a 7-18 record with a 5-13 conference record. This season Hartford will be eligible for post-season play for the first time since the 2021-22 season.

THE RETURNERS
The Hawks return five student-athletes from the 2023-24 roster while also picking up a single transfer student-athlete headed into 2024-25. Returners include sophomore Kaosi Chijioke (Atlanta, Ga.), sophomore Jared Similien (Brunswick, Maine), sophomore Jaylen Brown (Baldwin, N.Y.), sophomore Joshua Petion (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and sophomore Zach Skinner (Berlin, Conn.). Junior Drew Stack (Madison, N.J.) is the incoming transfer coming from the University of Portland. Prior to the season Chijioke, Similien and Skinner were named team captains for the 2024-25 season. 

Chijioke played his way into a starting role by the end of the 2023-24 season averaging 7.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game in 24 appearances with 17 starts. 

"Our acronym we use is TRUST and we use all those five letters for us. We want to continue to be a unit, play as a team, cheer on everybody no matter if it is someone getting shine or anybody else. We always want to be there for everyone and be a family. Last year we did not have a tournament, so this year it is great knowing we can compete for a banner for men's basketball."

Similien saw action in 18 games in his freshman season for the Hawks scoring 25 points in 160 minutes of game action and will be looking for a bigger role in his second season.

"As sort of a younger group in this conference we want to show everyone what we can do. Show that we can really hoop and make an impression. This is our first year we can play in the conference tournament and I really think we can make some noise. We are all really excited for that."

Skinner made eight starts in his first season in West Hartford in 21 overall appearances averaging 1.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game and continues to be a vocal leader in the locker room. 

"My team expectations are to bring energy to practice, work hard and I think a lot will follow from there. We want to live up to our coach's expectations and work hard everyday. With this young group we are excited. We work our asses off everyday and we think we can compete with any team on the court and I am excited to go."

FRESHMAN FRENZY
The Hawks will add six freshman to the roster in 2024-25 with plenty of opportunity for the young student-athletes. 

Guards (4): Troy Santos (Taunton, Mass.), Reggie Selden (Franklinville, N.J.), Jaron Broomfield (Bronx, N.Y.), Cooper Galdenzi (Clinton, Conn.)

Guard / Forward (1): Rivier Eberhardt (Berlin, Conn.)

Forward / Center (1): Chidera George (Atlanta, Ga.)

TRUSTING THE PROCESS
Head Coach Aaron Toomey enters his second season as the leader of the Hawks in 2024-25 continuing to build a team culture with trust. 

"Our expectations are high, the expectations from me are to compete at a high level every single day. We talk about it everyday in practice and we have high standards for our guys in terms of effort and energy level. If we do those things the results will take care of themselves, but for us the process of being at it every single day is the biggest thing for us for right now. It is a little bit of a different feel than last year having a championship to fight for. We are really excited for the opportunity. Like I said we are just wanting to compete at a high level and give ourselves a chance at the end of the year in the tournament. "

Joining coach Toomey on the staff will be Matthew Kittner in his second season and newcomer Brendan Fitzpatrick who arrives after spending last year at SUNY Oswego. 

"Our expectations for the year is improvement", said coach Kittner. "We want to see consistent growth throughout the season and that we are significantly better at the end of the season then what we are right now. Excitement is our culture right now. All our guys understand that opportunity is rich here for them to develop and to grow. They all get to write the first chapter of what this culture is. So the culture and the story behind it is being written every single day."

"My expectations are to continue to grow every single day", said coach Fitzpatrick. "We have a really young group, so our goal is to get better every single day. Obviously our goal is to win as many ballgames as we can and we are pushing for that every single day. Our main goal is developing our young guys right now to compete at a high level this year."

SEASON OUTLOOK
The Hawks have a 25-game slate in 2024-25 with 13 games in Chase Arena. The season tips-off on November 9th when the Hawks host inner-state foe Mitchell College at 2:00 p.m.. 

The 18 game CNE schedule kicks off on December 4th when the Hawks travel to CNE preseason favorite Western New Engand University. 

Hartford was selected in 7th in the CNE Preseason Poll receiving 37 points. Western New England was selected to win the conference followed by Nichols College and Endicott College. 

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