WEST HARTFORD, Conn.  –  The Hartford men's basketball team is starting fresh in 2025-26 after finishing last season with a 5-20 overall record and a 3-15 record in the Conference of New England (CNE). This season the Hawks have their eyes set higher after returning a lot of key pieces and bringing in some newcomers ready to make an instant impact. 

FAMILIAR FACES
Head coach Aaron Toomey returns for his third season as the head coach of the Hartford men's basketball team, bringing with him 11 returners to the 2025-26 roster. Among the top returners is junior Kaosi Chijioke (Suwanee, Ga.) who had a breakout year averaging 13.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 29.2 minutes per game in 2024-25. 

"This year the things that are going to be different are playing more together and with that comes the confidence that we have in one another. We started this year off in our first scrimmage really well and we are going to continue to build from there."

Senior Drew Stack (Madison, N.J.) is another key returner to the mix averaging 11.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 30.2 minutes per game in his first season as a member of Hartford in 2024-25. 

"This year we have a lot of new guys that are going to help us. Last year we did not win as many games as we were hoping to. We have some really good pieces and hopefully we can put them together with the obvious goal of a CNE championship."

Other key returners for the Hawks include junior Joshua Petion (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and sophomore Reggie Selden (Franklinville, N.J.).

Petion started 24 games for the Hawks in 2024-25 averaging 10.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 1.2 assists and 1.0 blocks in 25.5 minutes per game. 

Selden played in all 25 games for the Hawks in his freshman season making three starts. Reggie averaged 7.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 24.4 minutes per game. 

HITTING THE PORTAL 
The Hawks will be bringing in seven newcomers in 2025-26, with plenty of minutes up for grabs. The class is headlined by transfer guards Kyle Winters and Kent Olewiler who both came to Hartford to get the opportunity to compete. 

Winters played his first two seasons at Siena University with 37 games played and six starts. Kyle logged 380 minutes scored 79 points for the Saints. 

"I think the group we have joining the team has meshed really well so far. From the moment we got onto campus I think we all have been together working really hard. I know myself and Kent came in and are just trying to be great additions to the group coming back."

Olewiler comes to Hartford after playing a single season at Bloomsburg University seeing action in 27 games with six starts. Kent averaged 6.7 points in 18.1 minutes per game. 

Besides the two incoming transfers, Toomey brings in five freshman student-athletes including two from the state of Connecticut. 

FULL INCOMING CLASS
Guards (4): Ben Miller (Milford, Conn.), Kent Olewiler (York, Pa.), Dayn Campbell (New York City, N.Y.), Kyle Winters (Corte Madera, Calif.)
Forwards (3): Solomon Mihelcic (Houston, Texas), Jalen Fleming (Plainfield, N.J.), Daniel Nason (New Fairfield, Conn.)

SEASON OUTLOOK
The Hawks have a 25-game slate in 2025-26 with 12 home games in Chase Family Arena. Hartford will open the season on Friday, November 7th against the College of Wooster with a 7:00 PM start.

The 16-game CNE slate starts on December 2nd at Western New England University. Other key conference games include January 10th against Endicott College, January 20th against Roger Williams University and February 21st in the final conference game of the season at the University of New England. 

All home games will be live streamed on the CNE Network powered by HUDL, while other game coverage can be found on the schedule home page.