Chose enters his season year just 18 points shy of the 1,000-point plateau (PHOTO BY Lewis Glass/SportsPix) |
Skyhawks also listed among teams receiving votes in NABC preseason coaches' poll
D2SIDA East Region Preseason Poll
NABC Division II Preseason Coaches' Poll
EASTON, Mass. (December 8, 2020) – The Stonehill College men's basketball team is ranked No. 4 in the D2SIDA East Region Preseason Media Poll and listed among teams receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II preseason coaches poll the organizations have announced.
Stonehill, coming off an NCAA Tournament run last season, earned 29 points in the D2SIDA East Region poll and ranked second among the five Northeast-10 Conference programs appearing in the preseason top ten. Saint Thomas Aquinas College (25-5) from the East Coast Conference is picked first in the poll and received all six first place votes for 60 points in the poll, followed by NE10 Champions Saint Anselm College (21-8) in second, also from the NE10's Northeast Division, with Daemen College (24-8) of the ECC third and then Stonehill in fourth and NE10 Southwest Division rival Adelphi University (18-11) rounds out the top five.
Stonehill and Saint Anselm also represent the NE10 among those receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II preseason poll. 2019 NCAA Division II Champions Northwest Missouri State University received all 16 first place votes and tops the NABC's preseason top 25. St. Thomas Aquinas (12th) and University of Bridgeport (24th) represent the East Region in the top 25.
Stonehill, under the direction of head coach Chris Kraus '06 in his eighth season at the helm of his alma mater, returns seven letterwinners and three starters from last year's squad which saw its season end prematurely two days from the program's 15th NCAA Tournament appearance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Skyhawks posted an 18-11 record overall, including 13-6 in the NE10 to finish second in the Northeast Division behind Saint Anselm, reaching the semifinal round of the NE10 Tournament before being edged by the University of New Haven (101-100) in a triple-overtime thriller at Merkert Gymnasium.
Urmilevicius started 26 of 29 games in his first season for the Skyhawks and made 53.4% of his shots from the floor and grabbed 4.7 rebounds per game (PHOTO BY Mike Tureski/SportsPix) |
Seniors Owen Chose and Monty Urmilevicius, along with junior Andrew Sims headline Stonehill's list of returnees as its three returning starters. Chose enters his senior year 18 points shy of the 1,000-point plateau after scoring in double-figures in 23 of the Skyhawks 29 games last season, averaging 14.5 points on 48.4-percent shooting, including 46.4% (71-for-153) from three-point distance – good for second among NE10 leaders, while also ranking second in the Conference for free-throw percentage at 89.9% (71-79).
Urmilevicius started 26 of 29 games in his first season at Stonehill after transferring from Division I Bryant University. He chipped in 8.3 points on 53.4% shooting, with 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Sims had a strong sophomore season as he added 8.3 points on 47.8% shooting and 5.3 rebounds per game with ten starts in 24 games played.
Senior Owen de Graaf and juniors Josh Mack and Shamir Johnson round out the list of returning lettermen for Stonehill. Mack chipped in 4.5 points in 18.4 minutes per game last season, while de Graaf canned 64.5% (20-31) of his three-point attempts in 9.1-minutes per game off the bench in 27 games played, with Johnson adding 2.5 points in 9.8 minutes per game off the bench in his first season on the court for the Skyhawks.
Stonehill will add junior Isaiah Burnett, who sat out last season after transferring from the United States Naval Academy, where he saw action in 25 games during the 2018-19 season. Coach Kraus also welcomes junior tranfers Jack Schwietz, who played two season at University of Maryland-Baltimore County, and Myles Hanson, who comes in from Xavier University.
Incoming freshmen for Stonehill this season are guards Jackson Benigni, Emmanuel Bonsu, John O'Reilly III and Will Rywolt, along with forward Toni Buchmann.
Stonehill and the NE10 continue to work towards a meaningful championship schedule for all sports after the New Year.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
