WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The Hartford men's basketball team begins their 2026-2027 campaign looking to build on last season's growth, finishing 13-12 overall and 7-9 in Conference of New England (CNE) play. The Hawks' returner heavy roster looks to take another jump this season, with a mindset focused on growth.  

"We took a good step as a program last year but still fell short of our goals." Said Head Coach Aaron Toomey. "Our success as a team this year will come down to our mindset and how we approach each and every day. We still have a ton of room for growth in our program, and I am excited to see this group push for more." 

Running it Back:
Head Coach Aaron Toomey returns for his third season at the helm, assisted by Mathew Kittner. Toomey enters the season bringing back 11 returners, six of them seniors. One of the top returners is senior Kyle Winters (Corte Madera, Calif.) who made a huge impact in his first season at Hartford after transferring from Siena College. Winters averaged 15.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists on 35.8 minutes per game in his 2025-2026 campaign.

Our mindset this season is to keep building on the progress we made last year and take that next step as a program. We've seen what we're capable of competing with anyone, and now it's about staying consistent, holding each other accountable, and continuing to raise our standards every day. We have a group of guys who are hungry to compete and prove ourselves.

Another key returner for the Hawks is Senior Kaosi Chijioke (Atlanta, Ga.). Chijioke was a member of Toomey's first team as the Head Coach here as a freshman and looks to make an impact during his senior season. In the 2025-2026 season, he averaged 11.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on 26 minutes per game.

"Our team's mindset is to really have a next play mentality." Said Chijioke. "We can't worry about anything negative for more than a split second because the game isn't over until that final buzzer." 

The Portal:
With a returner and senior heavy team, the Hawks are only bringing two transfers and a freshman onboard for the 2026-2027 season. The transfer class for this season includes Junior Bryce Hawkins (Bridgeport, Conn.) and Sophomore Harry Geng (Nantucket, Mass.).

Hawkins appeared in one game during his time at Cheyney but looks to make an impact for the Hawks this season.  

Geng comes to Hartford after one season at St. Micheals College where he played in two games.  

Family Ties:
The sole freshman, guard Sawyer Eberhardt (Berlin, CT) is the brother of Junior River Eberhardt (Berlin, CT). Ri. Eberhardt averaged 8.8 points and 6.3 rebounds last season. 

Season Outlook: 
 The Hawks open their season on Friday, November 6th at the Farmingdale State Tip-Off Tournament against Montclair State University. This is the beginning of a 25-game slate with the home opener set for Friday, November 14th, against Saint John's University (Minn.). The team will have an additional 10 home games this season.  

The 16-game CNE slate starts on November 18th at home against the Wentworth Institute of Technology. Other key conference games include a December 5th matchup against Endicott College and January 23rd at Western New England University. Another notable conference matchup will take place on February 13th against the University of New England, who knocked the Hawks out of CNE playoff contention last season.  

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. 

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