Team/individual accomplishments
Men’s swimming & diving reinstated as America East sport
The America East Conference announced today that as of next season men’s swimming & diving will be returning as a championship sport. This was made possible due to the addition of Virginia Military Institute as an associate member in both men’s and women’s swimming & diving for the 2017-18 season.
“We are excited to bring men’s swimming & diving back as a championship sport and welcome VMI as an associate member for both men’s and women’s swimming & diving,” said America East Commissioner, Amy Huchthausen. “As a conference, we pride ourselves on our broad-based athletic mission and are pleased more student-athletes will be able to compete for America East championships.”
Currently the Binghamton men’s swimming & diving team competes in the ECAC Championships at the conclusion of its regular season. This will give the team a chance to compete in the America East Championships for the first time since 2013.
Softball announces 2017 schedule
The Binghamton softball program has announced its 2017 schedule, which begins Feb. 17-19 at the Michele Smith Pediatric Cancer Invitational in Clearwater, Fla. The 49-game slate includes four in-season tournaments as well as nine home dates at the Bearcats Sports Complex. In addition, seven opponents advanced to last season’s NCAA Tournament and two teams made it to the Super Regionals.
“Our schedule is very competitive this year,” head coach Michelle Burrell said. “We want to face the best teams we can during non-conference play to help us when we get to the conference schedule. We are looking forward to starting the season.”
The event in Clearwater, Fla. features three NCAA Tournament qualifiers. Binghamton faces South Florida on Feb. 17, James Madison the following day and Oklahoma State on Feb. 19. The Dukes, whom the Bearcats faced in the 2015 NCAA Tournament, advanced to the Super Regionals last year. Also at the invitational in Clearwater are St. Joseph’s, whom the Bearcats open up the weekend against on Feb. 17, and Hofstra (Feb. 18).
Cross country announces incoming recruits
The Binghamton cross country and distance program has received a National Letter of Intent (NLI) from three high school seniors as part of the recent early signing period. All of them will join the Bearcats as freshmen next fall.
Kaylee Stone (Windsor, N.Y.) is currently at Windsor High School. She won the Section 4, Class C cross country title last month and was 11th at the Class C State Meet. During the 2016 Outdoor Track season, Stone won the STAC title in the 3,000. Her top times are 4:45 in the 1,500, 10:15 in the 3,000 and 18:58 in the 5,000.
“Kaylee is such an athletic talent and is very underdeveloped at the high school level,” head coach Annette Acuff said. “She is very competitive and will make an immediate impact for our women’s cross-country team. I’m super excited to keep her close to home at Binghamton.”
Matt Goyden (Endwell, N.Y.) is from nearby Maine-Endwell high school. Earlier this fall, he won the Section 4, Class B cross country title and was 10th at the ensuing Class B State Meet. In addition, Goyden was 29th overall at the New York State Qualifier. His top times are 4:27 in the mile, 9:38 in the 3,200 and 16:01 for the 5K.
“Matt is another gifted student-athlete from Maine-Endwell high school,” Acuff said. “We are very happy to have him and keep him close to home at Binghamton. He is really breaking out in his senior year and has a lot of potential for development at the collegiate level. He will be a perfect fit within the vision and culture of our program.”
David Leff (Syracuse, N.Y.) is from West Genesee High School. He has placed among the top 20 finishers at the New York State meet as both a junior and senior. At the 2016 New York State outdoor track & field meet, he was sixth overall in the mile. His top times are 4:17 in the mile, 9:17 in the 3,200 and 15:41 in the 5,000.
“David has been one of the top New York distance runners over the past couple of years,” Acuff said. “We are very excited he chose to come to Binghamton. He is a great student-athlete and could make an impact right away as a freshman. He is another perfect fit within the vision and culture of our program.”
Men’s lacrosse announces 2017 schedule
The Binghamton men’s lacrosse team has released its 2017 schedule, which begins with a Feb. 18 home game against Colgate. The 14-game slate includes seven home games as well as five opponents who were either ranked or receiving votes in the USILA Top 20 poll last year.
“Our 2017 schedule provides us with some great out-of-conference competition in order to get us ready for America East play,” first-year head coach Kevin McKeown said. “With so many great teams in Upstate New York, it is very convenient for us to play top competition early in the season and continue our local rivalries.”
The game against the Raiders marks the first of three straight contests at the Bearcats Sports Complex. Marist comes to town on Feb. 25 followed by Hobart on March 4. The Statesmen received votes in the 2016 USILA poll.
Men’s basketball defeats Big West power Long Beach State
Binghamton men’s basketball (4-3) exploded for 55 second-half points to overtake Big West power Long Beach State (1-6) 72-64 Thursday night at FGCU’s Alico Arena. The neutral-site win over a nationally-prominent program ranks as one of the best regular-season victories in BU’s Division I tenure. The teams finished competition in the Battle4Atlantis Mainland on Thanksgiving night.
Playing the team’s third game in as many nights, the Bearcats trailed 24-17 at half before producing for their highest second-half point total in three years. In the decisive second half, Binghamton shot 52 percent and drained 7-of-14 from three-point range to defeat a 49ers team that was picked to win the Big West after reaching national postseason tournaments four times in the last five years, including NCAA berths in 2012 and 2014. Long Beach State entered the game ranked No. 19 in the latest Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
Volleyball coach Kiriyama, rookie Kornmann earn top honors from America East
Freshman outside hitter Lauren Kornmann has been named the America East Volleyball Rookie of the Year while Glenn Kiriyama heads up this season’s conference Coaching Staff of the Year. The announcement was made on Thursday night at the America East Conference Annual Awards Banquet, which precedes the conference tournament.
In addition, Kornmann was named first-team all-conference while junior middle hitter Kristella Morina, sophomore outside hitter Gaby Alicea, and junior setter Sarah Ngo were all named to the second team. Ngo also earned a spot on the All-Academic Team.
Kornmann is the second player in three years from Binghamton to be named the Rookie of the Year, joining Lexi Lagoy in 2014. She was named the conference’s Rookie of the Week four weeks in a row (Oct. 18- Nov. 7). She also earned player of the week on Oct. 25th. Kornmann finished the regular season ranked second in the conference in kills (3.50/set) and second in the conference in points (3.86/set).
Golf team signs recruit
The Binghamton golf team has announced the signing of an NLI for the 2017-18 season. Justin Lane will be joining the Bearcats next season.
“We are very excited for Justin to join our golf team next year,” remarked head coach Bernie Herceg. “He is among the highest ranked junior golfers to sign with our program. He’s a tremendous competitor. With his skills, matched up with his work ethic, I look forward to seeing Justin have an outstanding career with Binghamton.”
Lane arrives from Woodstock, N.Y., where he’s won over 95% of his matches as a member of the golf team at Onteora High School. In 2014 he won the 2014 AJGA Killington Championship, and has four top-ten AJGA finishes overall. He’s also won the 2016 Ulster County Men’s Amateur Championship and qualified for the 2016 Junior PGA Championship.
The Binghamton golf team competed in five tournaments this fall, including a fourth place finish at its home tournament in October.
Wrestling season preview
Following a successful first weekend of its 2016-17 campaign, the Binghamton wrestling program continues its season with a pair of meets this weekend. On Saturday, several of the Bearcat wrestlers head to the Navy Classic. The following day, Binghamton takes other members of the team to the New York State Championships.
At the highly competitive Jonathan Kaloust Open this past Sunday, six Binghamton wrestlers placed in the top six.
“Moving forward, we have to continue to build upon what we accomplished this past weekend,” head coach Matt Dernlan said. “The Kaloust Open sets the stage for our season. Our year is going to be built on the backs of a bunch of small successes, like we had on Sunday.”
Women’s basketball signs two recruits
The Binghamton women’s basketball program has received a National Letter of Intent (NLI) from two high school standouts as part of the NCAA’s early signing period. Both Lizzy Spindler (Taylor, Pa.) and Kaylee Wasco (Midland, Mich.) will join the Bearcats as freshmen for the 2017-18 season.
“We are really excited for Kaylee and Lizzy to sign with us and become a part of the Binghamton family,” head coach Linda Cimino said. “This is a great class for us as we’ve added a strong inside presence and a talented combo guard. Lizzy and Kaylee are from great families and are of the highest character aligning with our mission statement of excellence, integrity and service. They are competitive, know how to win, and will be a great addition to our program. Both were highly recruited and we are very fortunate they have chosen Binghamton University to continue their education and basketball career.”
Men’s soccer season ends in quarterfinals
Brian Wright scored the game-winning goal, lifting Vermont (13-5-2) to a 2-1 double-overtime victory over Binghamton (7-6-6) in an America East Tournament quarterfinal game on Saturday afternoon at Virtue Field. The victory sends the Catamounts to Albany on Wednesday night for a semifinal game.
Wright was in the right place at the right time as an initial shot by Shane Haley was deflected towards an open net. He then tapped in the rebound for his 11th goal of the season.
Less than 25 minutes earlier, Binghamton appeared heading for the semifinal date at Albany.
Women’s basketball season preview
In its third season under head coach Linda Cimino, the Binghamton women’s basketball team is poised to become one of the top programs in the America East Conference.
Last year, the Bearcats were the eighth-most improved Division I program in the country. After being picked to finish last (ninth) in the America East last year, Binghamton tied for third during the regular season. In the conference tournament, it reached the semifinals for the first time since 2012.
To fully appreciate Binghamton’s success last year, it must be noted that starting point guard Jasmine Sina, the 2015 America East Rookie of the Year, missed the season with an injury. That forced several other players to either pick up more minutes or play a different position. In the end, however, the Bearcats exceeded all outside expectations.
This season, Sina returns along with a pair of all-conference selections in Imani Watkins and Alyssa James as well as an all-rookie pick in Rebecca Carmody. In addition, five talented freshmen figure to make a substantial impact on the program. With all but two players back from last year’s squad, the Bearcats are in position for an even better 2016-17 campaign.
“We have some really good pieces this year,” Cimino said. “We are a little deeper than we have been in the past. The kids are working really hard and I have been really impressed with their growth so far. I have seen a lot of progress, especially with our five freshmen.”
Men’s basketball season preview
Saturday is referred to as “moving day” during a professional golf tournament - the day the most talented players are expected to take control of the tournament, leaving the wannabees behind. Similarly, 2016-17 is setting up to be “moving year” for Binghamton men’s basketball. Now stocked with an experienced, deep roster that has both star power and role players, fifth-year head coach Tommy Dempsey is gearing up for a similar move up the standings.
After his 2015-16 squad earned its highest postseason tournament seed in seven years, Dempsey’s squad worked through a seamless offseason and the addition of several key newcomers has now positioned the 2016-17 team as the most talented one in his tenure with the Bearcats.
“My confidence in this group is really high,” Dempsey said. “We have grown through our struggles and are older and more ready now. I’ve seen a sense of urgency in the way we prepared for this season. We have good size, depth, versatility and it’s a close-knit team. This is the year we expect to turn the corner.”
Sixteen players are in the fold - the most Dempsey has ever had to start a season. All five starters return from a year ago and 11 letterwinners have experience in Dempsey’s system.
“There is a good feeling around the program right now,” Dempsey said. “We are excited and more than ready to get started.”
Reigning champ baseball releases 2017 schedule
After a memorable run to the NCAA tournament in 2016 and a record-setting gift for stadium upgrades in the offseason, Binghamton baseball is riding high as the 2017 season nears. The Bearcats, who have advanced to the NCAAs in three of the last four years, released their 2017 schedule and the reigning America East champions will open with a three-game set at New Mexico on Feb. 17-19.
The 53-game slate begins with 14 straight non-conference road games before the America East portion begins March 18-19 at Hartford. By the time BU welcomes UMBC to its new turf and lighted stadium on April 8, the Bearcats will have played 25 straight road games to open the spring. The home complex upgrades were made possible by an anonymous $2.2 million gift to the program. Construction began in October with lights already erected and FieldTurf to follow.
A big challenge awaits right out of the gate when BU opens against a New Mexico team that won 39 games en route to the Mountain West title and NCAA berth last spring. Binghamton will also face teams from the ACC (Virginia Tech, March 3-5), Atlantic 10 (Richmond, Feb. 26), CAA (Delaware, March 11-12), MAC (Toledo on Feb. 24-25) and Big Ten (Penn State, March 28) among others.
Baseball scout day attracts record numbers of pro scouts
Binghamton baseball hosted its 15th Annual Scout Day on Wednesday and the workout drew professional scouts from 20 different Major League Baseball organizations.
It was the most attended Scout Day in program history - testament to BU’s reign atop the America East and its recent flurry of draft picks. Five Bearcats have been selected in the last five years and eight in the last nine drafts. Last year, a pair of BU seniors caught the eye of the pro scouts and pitcher Mike Bunal was taken in the 17th round by Colorado and infielder Reed Gamache signed a free agent contract with the New York Mets.
Six former Bearcats just completed their 2016 seasons in pro ball, highlighted by Scott Diamond and Murphy Smith, who finished up at Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo.
Head coach Tim Sinicki enters his 25th year at the helm this spring and his Bearcats have advanced to the NCAA Regionals in three of the last four years as America East champions. Last spring, BU swept the regular season and tournament titles and played at the NCAA College Stational Regional against No. 1 Texas A&M and Minnesota.
“This is a good opportunity for our guys to showcase their skills to the professional scouts,” Sinicki said. “Any time we have a chance to get a couple of guys on a pro team’s radar to follow us in the spring and eventually have an opportunity to play pro ball ... that’s what today is all about.”
The 2017 Bearcats begin their quest for a fourth NCAA trip in five years when BU travels to New Mexico for a three-game set on Feb. 17-19.