As the Terps have racked up setback after setback to the point of dropping their last five games, calls for a new coach among fans have intensified. In spite of that growing sentiment, athletic director Jim Smith has held firm that Locksley will continue in his role to lead the program — at least for the rest of 2025.

As Maryland (4-5, 1-5 Big Ten) prepares to visit Illinois (6-3, 3-3) with the hope of capturing its first victory since Sept. 20 when the team handled Wisconsin, 27-10, the spotlight has shifted to the players who might themselves in the awkward position of defending their coach to fans, boosters or anyone else with critical views.

During Tuesday’s media availability at SECU Stadium, two players said they are playing for everyone, which would presumably include Locksley.

“I think we’re playing for everybody in the building,” said freshman quarterback Malik Washington, a Glen Burnie native and Spalding graduate. “Nobody likes to feel this type of way after losing five straight. You’re playing for the senior guys. This is their last chance, their last opportunity. Some of them have playing football in total, and some in a Maryland uniform. So I think each week, we’ve always been playing for each other.”

Added redshirt junior safety Lavain Scruggs, a Baltimore resident and Spalding graduate: “As a team, we are always playing for one another. Whatever’s going on outside, [the] media, we’re not really worried about that. We’re worried about doing our job, playing against Illinois this weekend. So whatever’s going on, we’re not actually worried about it.”

The lack of concern might be considered admirable in light of the scrutiny that has fallen on Locksley. The five-game skid is tied for the second-longest during his tenure, and the Terps are underdogs against the Fighting Illini.

Saturday’s 35-20 setback at Rutgers assured that Maryland will not finish the season with a winning record in the Big Ten – an accomplishment that has eluded Locksley during his seven-year tenure. The program slipped to 5-18 in November under the former Towson safety.

Despite the lack of success, the players stand by Locksley. Last week, senior safety Jalen Huskey and redshirt senior left guard Isaiah Wright said they would continue to contend for their coach, and Washington and Scruggs did not contradict their teammates’ stances.

For his part, Locksley seemed to chafe at the necessity of the players’ public comments in support of him.

“I don’t like that,” he said. “I’m a big boy. I’ve been a big boy a long time. I’ve done a lot harder things in my life than deal with a five-game losing streak and have to answer questions about what I’ve done. … When you hear those things, it’s encouraging because that means I’ve had a positive impact on the lives of those two guys. That’s doing good work. I’m here to do good work.”

Locksley’s attempt to downplay the players’ defense did not surprise Washington, who implied the coach did not want to add to their already loaded plates.

“I understand why he’s saying it because like I just said, we really just want to focus on being able to play for the person next to you and your brothers that you’ve grinded with this whole offseason to try to make it to this point,” he said.

As troubling as the Terps’ plunge has been, the atmosphere within the program remains the same. Washington said players were cheering each other during Monday’s weightlifting session, and Locksley said he has appreciated their workmanlike approach.

“It’s a little crazy, but the vibes have not changed at all,” Scruggs said. “We’re still the same team because since camp and since all these guys came in, we built this brotherhood, and this brotherhood is very, very strong. And I’ll say the locker room is amazing. The guys want to win. The guys are hungry. We’ve got to get a lot of guys healthy. So the locker is still amazing.”

And for all of the consternation surrounding the program, Maryland could still become eligible for what would be its fourth bowl in the last five years by earning two victories in its last three games against Illinois on Saturday, No. 18 Michigan (7-2, 5-1) on Nov. 22 and Michigan State (3-6, 0-6) on Nov. 29. The odds seem to be stacked against the team, but stranger things have happened before.

Regardless, Locksley said Saturday’s game is the first chance to right the ship.

“It’s to take advantage of the next opportunity,” he said when asked if becoming bowl eligible can inspire the team. “And obviously, the things that we can control is the ability to extend our season, which is something that you would want. Those practices, as I’ve said, are invaluable. And so, priority No. 1 is to get back on the right side of the ledger this week, and then the priority No. 2 is, how do we build on that?”

READER POLL: Should Maryland keep football coach Michael Locksley beyond this season?

Chatter outside of the Jones-Hill House where the Terps practice will not deter them, Washington said.

“We understand that it’s really just the people in the building that matter, the coaches and the faculty and staff that have helped us up to this point and the players that you’ve been working with all offseason to try to get here,” he said. “And now it’s, continue to work for those same people that have worked with you this whole time.”

Could Locksley’s job security serve as another motivation? Not specifically, according to Scruggs.

“We’re motivated every game,” he said. “We’re 0-5 right now. So we’re hungry for this next win. We want to win, we want to win. So that’s what it is.”

That might be the one thing Locksley found himself in alignment with his players.

“We don’t do external motivations in this program,” he said. “It’s a bond. They know I’m going to coach them up until the day I’m not allowed to, and they’re going to play hard for me until they are done playing for me. Those are the types of bonds I’m make in this business, and again, I’ve done the good work throughout 37 years of it.”

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun. 

The fashion choices contradicted what unfolded on the court inside Xfinity Center. The Terps used a 29-10 opening and then withstood a testy lull just before halftime before sprinting to a 84-64 victory before an announced 10,461.

With the win, Maryland (2-1) bounced back from Friday’s 70-60 loss to Georgetown during which the visiting Hoyas led wire-to-wire. So Tuesday’s outcome was a welcome sight for the players and coaches.

In addition to the 29-10 run at the beginning of the first half, the team used a 15-2 burst to open the second to gain some distance from the Braves. Coach Buzz Williams was pleased with those developments even as he watched the Terps let Alcorn State remain competitive.

“I think we probably played 25 minutes the way we want to play,” he said. “I thought the first 10 minutes, a lot of what we want to accomplish was happening on both ends of the floor. Then it really drastically changed from an execution standpoint, a stamina standpoint. And then in the second half, I thought a lot of what happened in the first 10 minutes was very similar — without having watched it — to the first 10 minutes of the first half. Then the air almost went out of the balloon again.”

Senior power forward Pharrel Payne continued his strong start for the Terps, amassing a season-high 22 points and seven rebounds. The Texas A&M transfer entered the game tied for the team lead in points per game at 19 and leading in rebounds per game at 8.5 and is the only player to score at least 10 points in each of his first three games.

Redshirt freshman shooting guard Andre Mills contributed 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. Senior small forward Elijah Saunders finished with 12 points, two rebounds and two assists, and freshman shooting guard Darius Adams compiled 10 points, three rebounds and two assists.

The offense converted 50% of its field goals (28 of 56), outscored the Braves 34-24 in the paint, and scored 14 second-chance points off of 14 offensive rebounds. Mills noted that the team racked up 14 assists.

“I wouldn’t say there was more of a change tonight,” he said, comparing the games from Tuesday and Friday. “We just shared the ball a little more. We are starting to care about the little things. Every single day, we kind of harp on the little things.”

Payne had been tied for the scoring lead with redshirt junior point guard Myles Rice, who dropped 19 points in his debut for Maryland against Georgetown. But the Indiana transfer returned to a walking boot on his left leg and sat out Tuesday’s game.

The Terps did not appear to miss Rice at the outset. They scored six of the game’s first eight points before the Braves (0-4) tied the score at 7-7 almost three minutes into the game.

Maryland answered by scoring 13 consecutive points in a 5:55 stretch to assume a 20-7 advantage. When junior point guard Jameel Morris sank a layup with 10:26 left in the stanza, that snapped a 6:59 drought during which Alcorn State missed eight straight shots.

The Terps took off on a 9-1 burst to enjoy a 29-10 advantage with 8:28 remaining. That cushion seemed to put the game out of reach.

Maryland vs. Alcorn State in men’s basketball | PHOTOS

Except someone forgot to inform the Braves. Rather than curl up, they reasserted themselves by scoring 10 unanswered points in just over four minutes. On the flip side, Maryland went 5:46 without scoring until Payne drained a pair of free throws with just under three minutes until halftime.

After Payne converted two more free throws at the 2:13 mark to give the Terps a 33-22 lead, they did not score again until halftime. That opened the door for Alcorn State to score the final five points of the half and trail by just 33-27 at intermission.

Fortunately for Maryland, halftime was a timely moment to reset. The team rediscovered its offense and opened the second half with a 15-2 spurt, which proved too much for the Braves to overcome.

Morris came off the bench to pace Alcorn State with 22 points, three assists and two steals, and senior shooting guard Travis Roberts and junior shooting guard Shane Lancaster added 14 and 10 points, respectively. But the Braves suffered their third loss of 20 points or more while absorbing an 0-4 start for the second year in a row.

“We still turned the ball over way too many times,” he said. “We have to really improve in that area. And they did a phenomenal job of rebounding the basketball. It’s one of the things my team has to understand. Coming into these environments and playing teams of this magnitude with this size and this length, you have to put a body on somebody, and I don’t think we did a great job of that this evening.”

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Needing two wins to become eligible for a bowl, the Terps wasted a prime opportunity against one of the worst teams in the Big Ten and bumbled their way to a 35-20 loss Saturday evening to lowly Rutgers at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Maryland (4-5, 1-5 Big Ten) absorbed its fifth consecutive loss and has just three games left to reverse this downward spiral. To even be considered for what would be a fourth bowl in the past five years, the team must collect two victories at Illinois (6-3, 3-3) on Saturday, against No. 21 Michigan (7-2, 5-1) at home on Nov. 22, and at Michigan State (3-6, 0-6) on Nov. 29.

Coach Michael Locksley, who is now 5-18 in November in his seven years in College Park, acknowledged that the team is in the midst of a difficult period.

“As I told them, it’s my job to remain positive,” he said. “It’s going to be my job to keep showing up for these guys and coach them through this tough stretch. They’ve got the commitment from me and the staff that we’ll do that. We will remain positive about it. It may not feel real good right now, but I can tell you that I know this group will keep pushing, and we’ll keep fighting for each other and finish this thing out the right way.”

Malik Washington paced the Terps with a school single-game record 164 rushing yards by a freshman quarterback. He ran for a score on a 73-yard keeper on the second play of the game and threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to redshirt junior wide receiver Kaleb Webb in the second quarter.

Scarlet Knights senior quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis completed 13 of 20 passes for 229 yards and four touchdowns. Three of those scores went to junior wide receiver Ian Strong, who finished with five catches for 88 yards. And sophomore running back Antwan Raymond set career highs in both yards (242) and carries (41) while rushing for a touchdown.

While Rutgers (5-5, 2-5) won for the second time in its past three games, the team had dropped four of five entering Saturday.

Here are three developments from Saturday’s game.

Maryland’s defense was a sieve

A week after getting gashed for 45 points and 588 yards in a 55-10 trampling by No. 2 Indiana, the Terps’ defense was porous once again. Rutgers outgained Maryland by more than 100 yards through the air (229-98), owned a 25-14 advantage in first downs, and converted 8 of 12 third-down chances.

For much of the first half, the Scarlet Knights went to Raymond early and often. The running back had eight rushes of 8 yards or more in that stanza as he consistently found ample running lanes through the heart of the Maryland defense.

Raymond’s runs softened up the defense to allow Kaliakmanis to dissect the secondary, directing the offense to four straight touchdowns between the second and third quarters.

Strong — whose bobble on a throw from Kaliakmanis contributed to an interception by redshirt junior safety Levain Scruggs (Spalding) that ended a Rutgers drive inside the Terps’ 5-yard line on the Scarlet Knights’ first possession of the game — was particularly adept on slant routes where he could use his 6-foot-3, 211-pound frame to shield the ball from defenders.

Although Maryland increased its interception total to 17 with picks by Scruggs and sophomore cornerback La’khi Roland and nearly had a third by junior cornerback Jamare Glasker, the pass rush produced only one sack by freshman defensive end Nahsir Taylor, and Kaliakmanis often had plenty of time in the pocket to read the field.

Locksley pointed out that the starting unit played its second straight game without junior defensive end Dillon Fontus and that freshman defensive ends Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis and junior linebacker Daniel Wingate (Pallotti) have played through injuries.

“I’ll say this: Our defense has carried us for seven games and have played their butts off, and they’re a little banged up on that side of the ball,” he said. “But the last two games haven’t been good enough on the defensive side to complement what we were able to do offensively a few drives.”

Halloween passed more than a week ago, but the Terps put on their best matador impression against Rutgers.

Washington played superbly — and it still wasn’t enough

It’s difficult to pin blame for the loss on the Glen Burnie native and Spalding graduate.

Washington’s 73-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and a 54-yard scramble in the second quarter, far exceeding the 99 rushing yards he had through the first eight games of the season. His 164 yards on the ground were the most by a true freshman quarterback from a Power Conference since Nov. 16, 2019, when Mississippi’s John Rhys Plumlee ran for 212, and he fell just six yards shy of tying the program record for rushing yards by a quarterback of 170 set by Perry Hills in 2015.

Washington continues to develop as a passer. His 98 passing yards (on a 15 of 28 passing day) marked a career low, he badly overthrew senior wide receiver Octavian Smith Jr. on a pass that resulted in an interception by senior safety Jett Elad near the end of the second quarter, and he put too much mustard on a swing pass to redshirt freshman running back DeJuan Williams (St. Frances) that would have converted a fourth down in Scarlet Knights territory in the third quarter.

“There were some plays we left out on the field,” Washington said of the passing attack. “Also, I wouldn’t say it was so much us being hindered, but the run game being able to work for us. We kind of stuck with it and being able to get the ball in the hands of the guys making plays, and the backs were doing that all night.”

Still, Washington looked like he stepped out of a phone booth and did his best to lift the offense.

Maryland refuses to quit — which is admirable or myopic

After the game, Locksley seemed more dour than he has been in his postgame news conferences this fall. But that should not signal that he has given up — at least publicly.

He spoke of playing for the chance to extend the season for the older members of the team by becoming eligible for a bowl. He didn’t back down from expectations raised by the team’s 4-0 start, and he said that he would continue to contend for his players because they continue to show up for him.

And he bristled at a question asking him to evaluate the team’s progress thus far.

“I’m not going to evaluate us right now,” he said. “I mean, I’m sorry. Maybe at the end of the season, I’ll have an end-of-season review for you. I’m playing for Illinois, I think it is next week. I’m not into the evaluation of us as a program with three games left to play. I’m here to tell you that I’m going to keep showing up with a positive attitude because this team deserves it.

“And I’m going to tell you that this team will play with pride the next three games. We’ll keep trying to build on some of the things we’re doing well and the things we aren’t, including getting some guys healthy. That’s been the main thought process. We’ll deal with the end of the season at the end of the season.”

Locksley’s sentiment was backed by Wingate and Washington, who cited passage John 1:5 during their session with the media.

“Right now, it’s dark. It’s really dark,” Washington said. “It might be black for a few folks. But all darkness is, is a place that light can shine. There’s still light at the end of the tunnel. We’re going to have to find a way there. We might be feeling our way through the darkness to find our way there, but we’re going to get there.”

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun. 

Four days after beginning the campaign with a sound 22-point victory over Coppin State, the Terps’ positive vibes evaporated Friday night in a 70-60 setback to visiting Georgetown before an announced 16,594 at Xfinity Center in the resumption of an area rivalry that had been dormant for almost a decade.

Maryland dropped to 1-1 for the second time in the past three years. The team had been seeking a 2-0 start for the 11th time in the last 22 seasons and its 49th consecutive victory in a home opener and 24th straight win against an unranked, nonconference opponent.

The promise of a strong beginning under new coach Buzz Williams seemed attainable after the Terps had pulled away from the Eagles in the second half for an 83-61 win at the Naismith Hall of Fame Series at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore. Instead, they wasted a prime opportunity to defeat the Hoyas.

Georgetown scored the game’s first 11 points and led wire-to-wire to forge its first victory in the series since a 75-48 throttling on Nov. 30, 2008. Junior point guard Malik Mack led the team with 19 points and added six rebounds and two steals.

Junior shooting guard KJ Lewis, an Arizona transfer, racked up 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists, while sophomore small forward Caleb Williams compiled 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Williams credited the Hoyas with being aggressive early.

“I thought they were physical from start to finish,” he said. “We didn’t handle their physicality very well. Forty-two percent of our shots were in the charge circle, and we made 33% of them. So we have to finish at a higher rate regardless of the shot, but particularly when you’re that close to the rim.”

Graduate student shooting guard David Coit noted that the Terps were outscored 21-2 in the first four minutes of each half.

“How we started both halves was bad,” he said. “I would say the environment got to us a little bit, not getting into our offense, getting good shots that we wanted. We made it tough for ourselves in the first half not rebounding, not really guarding the ball well, fouling them and getting them to the line. I would say a lot of things accumulated to that, but overall, it was on us, for sure.”

Redshirt junior point guard Myles Rice, an Indiana transfer, starred in his debut for Maryland. After missing the season opener because of an ankle injury, Rice came off the bench to pace the offense with 19 points and seven rebounds.

Senior power forward Pharrel Payne chipped in with 17 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Coit finished with 10 points.

But after sinking 10 3-pointers against Coppin State for a school-record mark in that department for a season opener, the Terps misfired on 17 of 21 long-distance attempts against the Hoyas, finishing at just 19% for the game.

From the field, the offense converted only 25% (13 of 52) for the game. That was the program’s lowest rate of efficiency at home since Jan. 10, 2007, when that squad shot 22.4% in a loss to Miami.

Hoyas coach Ed Cooley said that defense was a point of emphasis from the coaches to the players.

“I thought our physicality showed, I thought our stamina showed,” he said. “That’s how we were able to guard at such a high level for 40 minutes.”

Despite being roundly booed before the game, Georgetown struck early and often, scoring five points in the first 34 seconds and 11 in the first 2:07. Maryland went scoreless for 3:14 before Payne converted a pair of free throws.

The Terps tried to cut into the deficit, making 18 trips to the free-throw line and sinking 15 in the first half. But the deep-range prowess they displayed on Monday was nowhere to be seen as the players missed their first nine 3-point shots.

Graduate student shooting guard Coit’s 3-pointer ended Maryland’s dry spell with 3:32 left in the opening frame and trimmed the gap to 25-21. But the Hoyas responded by embarking on a 5-1 run and threatened to take a 32-24 advantage into halftime. But a 3-pointer by Rice with six seconds left narrowed the score to 32-27 at intermission.

After Georgetown whiffed on all eight 3-point attempts in the first half, Mack dropped back-to-back long-distance shots in a 24-second span to start the second half. Mack’s bombs ignited an 18-3 run that compelled a good number of Terps fans to make their way out of the arena.

When Lewis drained two free throws near the midpoint of the second half, the Hoyas owned a 50-30 advantage that seemed insurmountable.

Maryland did chip away at Georgetown’s cushion, employing an 11-5 spurt to draw within 61-54 with about four minutes to go in regulation. But Mack’s third 3-pointer of the game helped the Hoyas keep the Terps at bay long enough to emerge triumphant.

The game also included the return of junior shooting guard DeShawn Harris-Smith, who averaged 2.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in two seasons at Maryland. He finished with three points, one rebound and one technical foul while being booed lustily by Terps fans every time he touched the ball.

Friday’s meeting was the first between Maryland and Georgetown since Nov. 15, 2016. The win ended a two-game losing streak in the series for the Hoyas (2-0), who are undefeated against Maryland-based teams after disposing of Morgan State, 87-70, on Monday.

Friday’s game is also the first of a four-game series between the two schools with next year’s game set to take place at Capital One Arena in Washington. Cooley, who had arranged for the rivalry’s return with Williams’ predecessor, Kevin Willard, applauded the programs’ willingness to play each other.

“We think it’s really good for our region, we think it’s good for our recruiting, we think it’s great for television,” he said. “I felt the energy the last two days building up to the game.”

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun. 

As the Terps lumbered their way through an embarrassing 55-10 spanking administered by No. 2 Indiana on Saturday, chants of “Fire Locksley” rained down from the stands inside SECU Stadium. Three days later, the seventh-year coach empathized — even as he objected to who was behind the chants.

“We sucked last Saturday,” he said during the team’s weekly availability at the stadium. “I would have probably chanted it, too, if I had a few beers and we played the way we played. But that’s not going to move me. I’ve done harder, I’ve been through worse.

“As I’ve said, I didn’t hope my way to be the head coach here at Maryland. So we’re in the entertainment business, and I get judged to win games. I’d like to follow those guys to their jobs that scream ‘Fire Locksley,’ put a camera on them, and watch them do their work, and see how motivated they are to do theirs. I know I’m motivated, but not because of them, but because of the kids in that locker room, the staff I put together. That’s what motivates me.”

As expected, the players disagreed with those calling for a leadership change and defended Locksley.

“It’s frustrating just because you know all the faith that you have in your coach, a tremendous amount of respect for him, and you definitely don’t want to see your coach go through anything like that,” senior left guard Isaiah Wright said. “So just sticking together as a family is the most important thing, and we’re going to do that, continue to do that.”

Added senior safety Jalen Huskey: “I know I’m all in on my coach, and I believe wholeheartedly in my coach and his messaging and his plan for our team, and I believe that we will turn this around, and then by the end of the season, that won’t be the same song that they’re singing.”

Still, the first obvious sign of disillusionment raises the question whether the Terps’ four-game losing skid is driving away fans whose hopes were raised by the team’s season-opening four-game winning streak. For Alex Kirshner, a 2016 graduate, the seeds of positivity have not bloomed as he anticipated.

“I am generally a somewhat pessimistic Maryland sports fan, and I think that’s because my freshman year was the year that Maryland had to start a true freshman linebacker at quarterback [Shawn Petty in 2012] for a third of the season, and I don’t feel like it’s gotten a ton better since then,” said Kirshner, a former managing editor of the Testudo Times who co-hosts a college football podcast called “Split Zone Duo.” “But I am not currently optimistic. I was optimistic three weeks ago because I thought there was an opportunity for Maryland to really build some fan support with some wins in October, and it just hasn’t materialized that way.”

Saturday was a prime opportunity for the Terps to energize a fan base that had not witnessed the program knock off a top-10 opponent since Nov. 10, 2007, when that squad upended No. 8 Boston College and quarterback Matt Ryan, 42-35. Instead, the team absorbed its 25th straight loss to a top-10 foe and its 15th consecutive setback to a top-five opponent.

“The fan base is beat down because they want a signature win,” said Chuck Douglas, a 1985 graduate and former vice president of player personnel and assistant general manager for the Washington Wizards for 20 years. “They want something that they can hold on to and say, ‘Hey, we’re back on the national map, we’re legit.’ Or at least it looks like we’re headed towards being back on the national map. Unfortunately for Locks, he hasn’t been able to do that other than the bowl wins. He hasn’t been able to satisfy that in the fan base.”

Since being hired in June to succeed Damon Evans as Maryland athletic director, Jim Smith has tried to visit tailgates before games and project a new era around the department. Speaking two weeks ago, he said he did not notice fans being driven away by the program’s recent showing of futility.

“I think that they’re disappointed just like we are,” he said. “We started off great. We played 3 1/2 quarters in our past three games and came up on the short end in all three of those. A few plays in any one of those games, and we’re 7-0. So I understand the frustration, but I’m also looking forward and you want to see how the rest of the season goes to see if we continue to make that progress that I believe we’re going to make.”

Locksley said he is well aware that the team raised the bar by opening with that four-game winning streak. And he said the team continues to play to match those high expectations.

“We’re going to keep showing up, so we’re going to ask them to do the same,” he said. “We’re going to have relentless faith, and we’re going to ask our supporters to have the same. The real ones that show up each week and see it weren’t happy yet last week because none of us were, but I can tell you that it’s still not your same old Maryland. I’ll continue to shout that because I know what’s going on inside the building and the supporters, and people that really know us get a really good understanding. We’ve got a pretty solid foundation to build on.”

Huskey said he has confidence that the Terps are close to turning the corner.

“I think it’s honestly just the way that we’ve come to work every single day and the positive attitude and that despite the four-game losing streak that we’re on right now, everybody is still so together, and everybody still believes in what we have in this locker room,” he said. “There’s no splintering, there’s no loss of faith. Everybody still believes in what we have, and we’re also committed to winning football games.”

A victory is clearly the antidote for what ails Maryland. Ben Page, a 2001 graduate who founded the Old Line Tailgating Club in 2016, cautioned that apathy is beginning to settle in, but also said that he will make the trip to Piscataway, New Jersey, for Saturday’s game against Rutgers (4-5, 1-5) at 2:30 p.m.

“The fans still want the best outcome — a win,” he said.

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun. 

But one letdown for the Timonium resident that lingers is the cancellation of what would have been her senior year of basketball at Dulaney in 2020-21 caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“The whole COVID situation sucked in general,” she recalled. “But it was definitely sad. In all honesty, I was more excited that we were able just to go back to school because that was a cool thing. But yeah, it definitely was disappointing to not be able to play basketball.”

White will get a chance to make up for lost time as she is staying with the Wildcats to suit up for their women’s basketball team this winter. The Wildcats begin their season Wednesday against IU Indianapolis. The 5-foot-6 graduate student will use her fifth year of eligibility primarily as a shooting guard for coach Joe McKeown, who monitored White’s readjustment to the sport during summer workouts from late June to early August.

“Each day, she got better,” he said. “She’s so smart that any drill or any offensive or defense scheme, she would pick it up really quick. A couple times, I was like, ‘Sammy,’ and she looked at me like, ‘I got you, Coach.’ It was like riding a bike and the pedal broke, but she jumped right back on.”

White is the latest lacrosse star to transition to a different sport. The most famous example is Pat Spencer, the Davidsonville resident and Boys’ Latin graduate who was a four-time All-American attackman at Loyola Maryland before spending one season at Northwestern and is now a member of the Golden State Warriors.

Former Virginia defenseman Cole Kastner filled a reserve role at Stanford men’s basketball last winter. And Penn State attackman Chris Hogan and Maryland attackman Jared Bernhardt made the leap to the NFL, where they played wide receiver for the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons, respectively.

White is no ordinary rookie. She reached 1,000 points in three varsity seasons with the Lions, scored 23 points per game as a junior, and was named the Towson Times’ Female Athlete of the Year twice.

White began playing organized basketball when she was 5 years old and picked up lacrosse two years later. Her commitment to basketball became apparent to former Dulaney coach Jessica Szymanski, who recalled an instance when White fumed about missing 3 of 4 free throws at the end of an eventual win against Loch Raven.

“She was so bummed after the game,” she said. “I said, ‘Sammy, that one point mattered,’ and she was like, ‘Yeah, but I should’ve went 4-for-4.’ So her father took her to the YMCA after the game, and she came in the next day, and she said, ‘Coach, I shot over 100 free throws. It will not happen again.’ She just wanted to be good, and that was just so awesome.”

White remembered that moment and chalked up her determination to take advantage of what her father called “free points.”

“It was more of the sense of, I wanted my team to be able to trust me in those hard situations and those difficult situations,” she said. “I just knew that if I could prepare better for situations like that, I would feel more comfortable when those times arise.”

As much as White enjoyed basketball, college lacrosse coaches had been attending her club games long before. As a high school freshman, she made the decision to concentrate on lacrosse rather than basketball.

“Lacrosse was a sport that was able to open more doors for me and kind of give me the opportunity to go to a school that I wanted to go to, and being from Maryland, it was just lacrosse everywhere,” she said. “So that definitely influenced me picking lacrosse in general.”

Selecting Northwestern over Duke, Florida, Notre Dame and Princeton, White devoted her energies to lining up as a four-year starting defender for the Wildcats, leading them in ground balls and ranking second in draw controls in 2023 and 2025. Her efforts culminated in the program’s eighth national championship in 2023.

White kept her focus on lacrosse, saying she did not consider a return to basketball until last summer. She participated in a league near her family’s home and then broached the idea with women’s lacrosse coach Kelly Amonte Hiller.

“I knew she was a fantastic basketball player,” said Amonte Hiller, who led Maryland to NCAA titles in 1995 and 1996, ranks fourth in program history in all-time points, and is tied for second in career assists. “That was one of the reasons why we recruited her. I knew how much she had passion for competing and playing. She came to me in the fall last year and told me, and I said I would help as much as I could to help her make it happen.”

After conversations with Amonte Hiller and White, McKeown invited White to join the team after Northwestern fell to North Carolina in the women’s lacrosse national championship final on May 25. He said he was pleased to see White connect with her new teammates and emerge as a leader, as she was in lacrosse.

“She started to shoot the ball better,” he said of her progress. “She started to get really comfortable at the 3-point line. So I think she’s ready. … I think when she comes back, she’s a lot more comfortable now than when we started in late June, and that’s the biggest change. I think when she walks on the court now, she feels like she belongs.”

White laughed when informed of McKeown’s comments and countered that she still has room to improve. But she is eager to capitalize on a prospect rarely afforded others.

“Obviously, I’ve been given a really cool opportunity to play basketball again,” she said. “So I’m not going to let this one go without a fight. I’m just really excited to be able to play another year because I didn’t know that was going to be possible.”

White grew up admiring NBA all-time leading scorer and four-time champion LeBron James. But she said she has no expectations about starting or playing time when Northwestern begins its season.

“I’m just really grateful to be able to be on the team,” she said. “This isn’t a normal thing for people to do, and Northwestern and Joe giving me the opportunity to do this is truly unbelievable. I just want to be able to be a leader and be able to help the girls and be there for the girls. So whatever that may look like, I’m willing to do.”

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.

Towson has two.

Tied at 28 at halftime with Loyola Maryland, the Tigers needed junior shooting guard Tyler Tejada and redshirt junior point guard Dylan Williamson to combine for 28 of the team’s 39 second-half points to roll to a 67-56 win in the Naismith Hall of Fame Series on Monday night at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore.

Tejada, the reigning Player of the Year in the Coastal Athletic Association and the preseason Player of the Year, scored a game-high 24 points and compiled four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Williamson, an All-CAA second-team choice who was named to the preseason first team, racked up 14 points and five assists.

Graduate student shooting guard Jack Doumbia Jr., a Wright State transfer, came off the bench to pump in 13 points, seven rebounds and two steals.

Tejada said his output was the result of work he had done before the first game.

“I felt like I made a lot of improvements in the offseason with my body, with my energy, being more vocal, trying to be more of a leader and be more active on the defensive side of the ball,” he said. “I think that’s starting to carry over now into this season.”

After totaling just 10 points on 3 of 8 shooting in the first half, Tejada and Williamson erupted in the second for Towson (1-0). Tejada scored 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting, while Williamson added 10 on 3 of 5 shooting.

Williamson said he and Tejada have taken advantage of chemistry they have built over the past three years.

“This is my guy right here,” he said. “Once we get going, there’s just a flow that we get into. It’s going to be hard for other teams to stop us this year.”

Coach Pat Skerry noted that the Greyhounds’ 1-3-1 zone flustered the Tigers’ offense, including Tejada and Williamson. But he challenged everyone to grab defensive rebounds and turn them into offensive chances.

“Obviously, I trust these guys, I trust their work,” he said of Tejada and Williamson. “They’re proven. And that’s where I’ve got to figure out some other things. I’ve got to do a better job getting that rotation in.”

That duo alone matched the Greyhounds’ entire production in the second half. Loyola missed 8 of 9 3-point attempts in the final stanza and went 5:20 without scoring a point, opening the door for the Tigers to turn a 43-38 lead into a 56-38 advantage.

But Tejada and Williamson were the catalysts for Towson, Greyhounds coach Josh Loeffler pointed out.

“I thought Coach Skerry did a really nice job of putting them in spots to find them shots,” he said. “They did a better job of executing against our zone and finding shots for guys who really value shots. Credit to Towson for also putting those two in excellent position.”

Junior guard Jacob Theodosiou led Loyola with 13 points, four rebounds and two steals. Sophomore guard Braeden Speed, junior guard Jordan Stiemke (C. Milton Wright) and sophomore forward Sam Springer each scored nine points.

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun. 

Maryland may have soothed a few nerves among its fanbase by outmuscling Coppin State for an 83-61 victory in the Naismith Hall of Fame Series on Monday night at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore.

The Terps (1-0) improved to 77-30 in season openers and collected their 12th opening win in a row. They helped new coach Buzz Williams go 16-3 in season openers.

“I’d say it went pretty good,” senior center Pharrel Payne said of the team’s debut. “Me and my team were able to pull it out. Lot of energy. We fought, and we were able to come out with a win.”

Maryland faced a multitude of questions about its basketball prowess after coach Kevin Willard bolted for Villanova just two days after the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 since 2016. Willard’s departure incited a mass departure of players, and reserve junior guard Lukas Sotell was the only player to return to this year’s 16-member roster.

To add to the preseason angst, the Terps barely outlasted UMBC, 82-81, in an exhibition on Oct. 27. In that game, they competed without three projected starters in junior point guard Myles Rice (ankle), graduate student shooting guard David Coit (ankle) and junior shooting guard Isaiah Watts (eye), and two reserves in senior small forward Solomon Washington (ankle) and sophomore shooting guard Rakease Passmore (season-ending torn Achilles).

Rice and Washington continued their absence into Monday, but neither player wore walking boots or used other aids to move around. And Coit and Watts returned to come off the bench.

Coit and Watts were replaced in the starting lineup by freshmen Darius Adams and Guillermo Del Pino, who became the first freshmen to open the first game of the season since a 73-67 victory over Delaware on Nov. 6, 2018, when power forward Jalen Smith finished with a game-high 13 rebounds and a team-best 19 points and shooting guard Aaron Wiggins racked up seven points, seven rebounds, five steals and three assists.

Maryland boasted five players in double figures — a group led by Payne, who scored 15 of his game-high 21 points in the second half and grabbed six rebounds. Adams, who was once committed to UConn, demonstrated why he is one of the top prospects in the nation, compiling 16 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Senior power forward Elijah Saunders totaled 14 points, three rebounds and two assists. Redshirt freshman shooting guard Andre Mills and Coit both finished with 13 points, with the former amassing six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

“I understand it’s a small sample size, but I thought there was more continuity on both sides of the ball for building block [No.] 1,” Williams said. “I thought the energy was more pure. I thought at times, our execution and what we want to do was more apparent. And I think the guys on the court — regardless of who they were — they were at least trending in the same direction instead of spraying and unsure.”

READER POLL: Will Maryland men’s basketball make the NCAA Tournament?

Perhaps just as significantly, Mills and Coit combined to fuel a 3-point offense that converted 34.5% (10 of 29) of its deep-range attempts. The 10 3-pointers matched the most made in a season opener since 1995 when the Terps dropped 10 in an 85-67 victory over Old Dominion on Nov. 25, 2020.

Maryland also pounced on opportunities to turn Coppin State miscues into points. The team scored 30 points off of 20 Eagles turnovers and finished with an 11-4 margin in steals.

In the first game for both teams, senior small forward DeMariontay Hall gave Coppin State (0-1) a 2-0 lead just 63 seconds into the contest. That proved to be the Eagles’ last advantage.

Maryland responded by embarking on a 20-4 run during which the offense drained four 3-pointers, including two by Mills. The Texas A&M transfer led all scorers in the first half with 11, while Coit had 10 and Adams had nine.

Maryland vs. Coppin State in men’s basketball, November 3, 2025 | PHOTOS

Later in the first half, the Terps extended their advantage to 36-20 for their largest of the game. While Coppin State answered by going on a 9-5 spurt in a 1:18 span, Maryland still did enough to carry a 47-32 lead into halftime.

Early in the second half, five consecutive points by the Eagles trimmed the deficit to eight points — a single-digit gap for the first time since the score was 15-6 with 15:23 left in the first. A 3-pointer by senior guard Torrin Andrews drew Coppin State within seven at 54-47 with 14:26 remaining.

But Watts followed up with a 3-pointer, and the Terps used a 23-for-25 performance at the free-throw line to outrace the Eagles the rest of the way.

“Not trying to forecast the future too much, [but] I do think we will probably need to be in that range in regards to aiding our points per possession, stopping the clock, but just as importantly getting our defense set,” Williams said of the team’s frequent trips to the foul line. “We’ve always wanted to make more than the opponent attempts, and I think mathematically, that’s a good number that aids you not only offensively but defensively.”

Junior power forward Khali Horton came off the bench to pace Coppin State with 19 points in only 19 minutes on the floor. Junior power forward Tyler Koenig added 12 points and two rebounds.

Eagles coach Larry Stewart pointed to the team’s inability to protect the ball and Maryland’s 3-point prowess as factors in the outcome.

“Tough loss there,” he said. “Thought we did some good things for us having a lot of guys who haven’t been practicing together all summer leading up to this game. So I felt we did some good things, but we had too many mental mistakes in that basketball game to come out with a victory.”

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun. 

Then she changed her mind after reacquainting herself with new coach Darrell Mosley, who recruited her when the former was the coach at Division II Lincoln University and the latter was a standout point guard at Riverdale Baptist in Prince George’s County.

“Because it’s him, he had a little bit more [sway] for me to come here,” McBride said.

Change was the overarching theme for both women’s basketball programs at Baltimore’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In addition to Mosley — previously the associate head coach at Arizona State — replacing Jermaine Woods at Coppin State, Nadine Domond was lured away from Division II Virginia State to succeed Ed Davis Jr. at Morgan State.

Both coaches have big shoes to fill. Davis Jr. racked up 469 victories in 33 years of coaching, including the last nine with the Bears.

Domond, who led the Lady Trojans to back-to-back 20-win campaigns and their first NCAA Tournament appearance in March, has already changed the culture at Morgan State, emphasizing playing and practicing with pace and accentuating team defense.

“Our motto this year is, standard over feelings,” she said. “Everybody knows that we’re going to play fast, we’re going to play smart, and we’re going to execute. It’s going to be a fun style of basketball.”

Senior shooting guard Gabrielle Johnson said the players had to adjust to hearing a new voice on the court and in the meeting rooms. But she said they appreciate Domond’s involvement in the program.

“I feel like it’s good for the long run,” the Baltimore resident and Western graduate said. “… We know she has our best interest at heart, and she just wants everybody to be great and on the same page. That’s why she’s so hands-on.”

Perhaps because she wasn’t hired until April, Domond got a late jump on the recruiting trail. Eight players returned, seven joined via the transfer portal, and there are no freshmen. Domond acknowledged the uniqueness of fielding a roster with zero freshmen.

“This is a new era of women’s basketball,” she said. “So you have to look at it, and I tell everybody this all the time: you have to look at it like club ball overseas. You’re lucky if you can keep your kids three or four years because they change clubs.”

In the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference where Howard and Norfolk State are the preseason favorites, Johnson insisted that what would be the Bears’ first league championship since 2022 remains a realistic goal.

“There’s probably not going to be any growing pains for us during the season,” she said. “We may take some tough losses sometimes, but it’s never going to be because we didn’t play hard.”

Tempered expectations might be a reasonable reaction at Coppin State, which advanced in March to the second round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament — the school’s first postseason appearance since 2009. Woods, who was the architect since 2022, left for Norfolk State in April.

The Eagles return only one player from that squad. Mosley had to recruit 14 new players and compile a coaching staff. Still, he said he does not feel pressure to match Woods’ success nor will he try to lower his own standards.

“We’re going to show up, and we’ve got to coach them up, and we’ve got to develop,” he said. “We’ve just got to show up and punch the clock every day and just put our best foot forward and just come with effort every day, and that’s how we’re gonna play.”

McBride played her first two years at North Carolina Central and two more at Morehead State with a redshirt season in her first winter at Morehead State. She said Mosley is unlike coaches she has played for.

“He’s not going to sugarcoat anything with you,” she said. “He’s going to tell you what it is upfront. He’s very supportive outside of the court. He’s not just a coach that’s here just for basketball. He wants his athletes to be better people. He wants to know them on a personal level.”

To accomplish that, Mosley organized a couple team-bonding exercises. The icebreaker was a lip-sync contest won by sophomore forward Shanaii Gamble, who hit a back flip during her performance.

Another entailed the players citing a hero, highlight and hardship in their lives and fielding questions from their teammates. That meeting was so intensive that Mosley and the players agreed to spread it out to another day.

Mosley hopes the camaraderie built since his arrival will contribute to success on the court.

“For me, it’s just the pedigree of how hard we play,” he said. “The talent might not be there, but the grit and the toughness, you can start to instill that in your team.”

Coppin State

Coach: Darrell Mosley, first season

Last season: 19-15, 8-6 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Postseason: Women’s National Invitational Tournament second round

Preseason conference poll: Sixth of eight teams

Starters gone (5): PF Laila Lawrence (16.1 points per game, 10.6 rebounds per game, 2.5 steals per game, 2.4 assists per game), PG Angel Jones (15.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.5 apg), SG Tiffany Hammond (7.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg), SG Tyler Gray (5.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.3 apg), SF Dani McTeer (3.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.6 apg)

Starters back (0): None

One-liner: Sophomore shooting guard Mickelle Lowry (Poly) is the lone player to return to the Eagles from last year’s squad after Jermaine Woods left for Norfolk State.

Loyola Maryland

Coach: Danielle O’Banion, fifth season

Last season: 9-21, 3-15 Patriot League

Postseason: Patriot League Tournament first round, No. 9 seed

Preseason conference poll: Third of 10 teams

Starters gone (1): PG Laura Salmerón (13.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.5 apg)

Starters back (4): SG Amandine Amorich (10.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.6 apg), PF Koi Sims (9.5 ppg, 10.2 rpg), SG Kailey Kalet (3.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg), SF Marta Espinal (2.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg)

One-liner: The Greyhounds are eager to see what they can do with a healthy roster after injuries prematurely ended the seasons of graduate student power forward Alexa Therien (15.7 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 1.9 apg in 2023-24) and junior shooting guard Kimmie Hicks (14.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg in 2024-25).

Maryland

Coach: Brenda Frese, 24th season

Last season: 25-8, 13-5 Big Ten

Postseason: NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, No. 4 seed

Preseason conference poll: Second of 18 teams

Starters gone (4): SG Shyanne Sellers (14.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.1 apg), PG Sarah Te-Biasu (10.6 ppg, 2.6 apg, 1.9 rpg, 2.0 spg), PF Allie Kubek (9.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg), PF Christina Dalce (8.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg)

Starters back (1): SG Kaylene Smikle (17.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg)

One-liner: The Terps have plenty of weapons to complement Smikle, including three returners in shooting guards Saylor Poffenbarger, Bri McDaniel and Mir McLean (Roland Park) and two transfers in shooting guards Yarden Garzon (Indiana) and Oluchi Okananwa (Duke).

Morgan State

Coach: Nadine Domond, first season

Last season: 13-17, 6-8 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Postseason: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal, No. 6 seed

Preseason conference poll: Fifth of eight teams

Starters gone (2): PF Naya Ojukwu (17.1 ppg, 9.0 rpg), PF Laila Fair (9.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg)

Starters back (3): SG Ja’la Bannerman (8.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg), PG Gabrielle Johnson (8.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.1 apg), C Jael Butler (7.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg)

One-liner: Domond might not have to search far for starters to replace Ojukwu and Fair because junior guard Dakota Alston, sophomore Michaela Bogans and forward Success Prysock started at least nine games each last season for the Bears.

Mount St. Mary’s

Coach: Antoine White, fifth season

Last season: 15-16, 12-8 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

Postseason: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal, No. 4 seed

Preseason conference poll: Third of 13 teams

Starters gone (2): SG Jo Raflo (14.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.5 apg), SG Anna LeMaster (12.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.0 apg)

Starters back (3): SG Gabrielle Kennerly (10.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.9 spg), PG Giana Hoddinott (5.6 ppg, 3.4 apg, 2.5 rpg), PF Jaedyn Jamison (3.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg)

One-liner: After leading the conference in 3-point shooting efficiency at 35.2% and ranking second in 3-pointers per game at 8.3, the Mountaineers will lean on Kennerly, a league preseason second-team selection who made 51 3-pointers, to offset the departures of LeMaster (80 3-pointers) and Raflo (56).

Navy

Coach: Tim Taylor, sixth season

Last season: 19-12, 11-7 Patriot League

Postseason: Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal, No. 4 seed

Preseason conference poll: First of 10 teams

Starters gone (1): SG Toni Papahronis (3.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.5 apg)

Starters back (4): SG Zanai Barnett-Gay (19.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 3.1 apg, 2.3 spg), SG Julianna Almeida (9.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg), SG Maren Louridas (4.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.7 apg), PF Morgan Demos (5.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg)

One-liner: The Midshipmen might get even stronger courtesy of the return of 6-foot-4 center Kate Sampson (5.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.5 bpg in 2023-24), who made only 11 starts last winter because of a lower body injury.

Towson

Coach: Laura Harper, fourth season

Last season: 12-20, 8-10 Coastal Athletic Association

Postseason: Coastal Athletic Association Tournament quarterfinal, No. 11 seed

Preseason conference poll: Seventh of 13 teams

Starters gone (2): SF Deja Bristol (6.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg), SG Jordan Wakefield (3.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg)

Starters back (3): SG India Johnston (12.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.5 apg), SG Semaya Turner (5.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg), PG Shariah Baynes (3.6 ppg, 2.1 apg, 1.5 rpg)

One-liner: Johnston, who was named to the conference’s preseason second team, paced the Tigers offense in total 3-pointers (52) and 3-point percentage (.347).

UMBC

Coach: Candice Hill, second season

Last season: 14-15, 7-9 America East

Postseason: America East Tournament quarterfinal, No. 7 seed

Preseason conference poll: Eighth of nine teams

Starters gone (4): SF Jordon Lewis (11.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg), PF Jaden Walker (9.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg), SF Talia Davis (9.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg), SG Jaliena Sanchez (8.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.0 apg)

Starters back (1): PG Carmen Yanez (4.5 ppg, 3.2 apg, 1.9 rpg)

One-liner: Yanez and redshirt junior guard Tiara Bellamy join North Carolina A&T transfer Delaney Yarborough to captain a youth-infused roster for the Retrievers.

UMES

Coach: Malikah Willis, second season

Last season: 14-17, 8-6 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Postseason: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference semifinal, No. 3 seed

Preseason conference poll: Third of eight teams

Starters gone (2): PG Zamara Haynes (11.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.9 apg), C Mahogany Lester (7.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg)

Starters back (3): SG Ashanti Lynch (8.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.9 spg), SF Brianna Barnes (8.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg), PF Dakieran Turner (6.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg)

One-liner: The Hawks’ hopes of challenging Howard and Norfolk State for league supremacy should be headlined by the play of Lynch and Barnes, both of whom were selected to the conference’s preseason second team.

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun. 

Despite that accomplishment, Mount St. Mary’s was tabbed last month to finish ninth in the league. What might seem like a snub did not bother coach Donny Lind.

“I wasn’t surprised,” he said. “We’re still kind of the new guy on the block in the MAAC, and I think we have to establish who we are. Doing something once is great and obviously takes a lot of work, but you know if we’re going to be the type of program in the MAAC that we were in the NEC and we were in Division II before that, we’ve got to show and prove that we have a consistency in who we are.”

Lind’s diplomatic reaction was echoed by graduate student point guard Xavier Lipscomb, who was named to the conference’s preseason third team.

“Honestly, whatever the coaches say,” he said of the latest preseason poll. “That’s not a reflection on how we feel. Each and every day, we’re trying to get better in order to win a championship again, but that takes consistent effort each and every day.”

As much umbrage they might take with the preseason voting, this year’s Mountaineers squad is vastly different from last year’s version. In fact, Lipscomb is the only returning starter, and senior shooting guard Arlandus Keyes joins Lipscomb as the only players with significant experience in the program and the league.

The transfer portal took a toll on Mount St. Mary’s. Small forward Dola Adebayo, the team’s leading scorer, and shooting guards Dallas Hobbs and Carmelo Pacheco — who ranked No. 2 and 4, respectively, in points — departed for George Mason, Rice and Central Florida, respectively. Power forward Jedy Cordilia exhausted his eligibility and is playing professionally overseas.

The turnover in personnel surely factored into the conference coaches’ voting. But Lipscomb expressed faith in the current roster of seven returners, six transfers and two freshmen.

“It was awesome what we did last year, but I think we build our culture on the next-man-up mentality,” he said. “I think you saw that when we had our run in the MAAC Tournament and people were injured and had to step up that weren’t either playing or had a more increased role during that time period. So when we got a new team this year, it’s really just trying to improve upon yourself so that the next man up is able to compete and play.”

The cupboard is not entirely bare for the Mountaineers. Sophomore power forward Anastasios Rozakeas, a transfer from Florida State, made Greece’s Under 20 national team that placed fifth at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket Tournament over the summer, and graduate student shooting guard Trey Deveaux and redshirt senior small forward Justin Amadi started 14 and four games last winter at Western Illinois and Tulsa, respectively.

With so many new faces, some growing pains might be expected. While Lund did not dismiss that possibility, he also emphasized that the onus is on him, the assistant coaches and the players to prevent potential problems from lingering.

“One of the biggest things that I strive to teach our team is that we’re not defined by what happens to us,” he said. “We’re defined by how we respond to situations, and last year’s team was able to learn that, and I believe that’s a huge reason why we had success. We know that things aren’t going to go great. I’m going to make a lot of mistakes, the players are gonna make a lot of mistakes. That’s human nature, but if we can be a team that learns how to respond to adversity better than most and better than the people that we’re going to cross every day, I think we give ourselves a chance to be really successful.”

The newness of the upcoming season is still fresh to Lipscomb, who said he is happy to be around a group of teammates seeking to hone each other’s skills so that they can collect another title.

“The mindset among the players is really just trying to get after each other every day,” he said. “Just competing as much as we can because a lot of this stuff is new for people but also it’s a refresher for the people that are returning. So really just locking in and competing against each other each and every day.”

Here’s what else you need to know about the other Baltimore-area men’s college basketball teams:

Coppin State

Coach: Larry Stewart, third season

Last season: 6-24 overall, 4-10 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Postseason: MEAC Tournament quarterfinal, No. 7 seed

Preseason conference poll: Eighth of eight teams

Starters gone (3): SG Toby Nnadozie (12.6 points per game, 2.5 steals per game), SF Peter Oduro (8.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg), PG Cam’Ron Brown (3.6 ppg)

Starters back (2): PF Khali Horton (7.9 ppg), SG Camaren Sparrow (4.9 ppg)

One-liner: Horton, who was named to the conference’s preseason first team, and forward Taj Thweatt, who earned a spot on the league’s second team after averaging 11.8 points and 6.2 rebounds at Fairmont State last winter, give the Eagles a 1-2 punch.

Loyola Maryland

Coach: Josh Loeffler, second season

Last season: 12-19, 6-12 Patriot League

Postseason: Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal, No. 8 seed

Preseason conference poll: Sixth of 10 teams

Starters gone (2): PF Milos Ilic (14.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 3 assists per game), PF Veljko Ilic (7.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg)

Starters back (3): PG Jacob Theodosiou (13.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.7 spg), SG Braeden Speed (8.0 ppg), SF Jordan Stiemke (12.1 ppg)

One-liner: Theodosiou and Stiemke compose the second-highest returning scoring duo in the conference, and the Greyhounds’ projected starting backcourt of Theodosiou, Stiemke and Speed combined to average more than 33 points and eight rebounds last winter.

Maryland

Coach: Buzz Williams, first season

Last season: 27-9, 14-6 Big Ten

Postseason: NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, No. 4 seed

Preseason conference poll: 13th of 18 teams

Starters gone (5): C Derik Queen (16.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg), PG Ja’Kobi Gillespie (14.7 ppg, 4.8 apg, 1.9 spg), SG Rodney Rice (13.8 ppg), PF Julian Reese (13.3 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 1.5 bpg), SF Selton Miguel (11.6 ppg)

Starters back (0): None

One-liner: Williams’ debut after spending the last six seasons at Texas A&M will depend heavily on whether the Terps can restock an offense that ranked third in the conference in points per game (81.1) and 3-point percentage (.373) with a 16-player roster that includes 10 transfers and five freshmen.

Morgan State

Coach: Kevin Broadus, seventh season

Last season: 14-18, 7-7 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Postseason: MEAC Tournament semifinal, No. 5 seed

Preseason conference poll: Fourth of eight teams

Starters gone (4): PG Kameron Hobbs (16.5 ppg), SF Will Thomas (14.1 ppg), SG Amahrie Simpkins (12.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg), PF Daniel Akitoby (9.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg)

Starters back (1): PG Rob Lawson (7.4 ppg)

One-liner: After leading the league in points per game (80.0) and ranking second in field-goal percentage (.477), the Bears lost six of their top seven scorers, including shooting guards Wynston Tabbs (15.1 ppg) and Kiran Oliver (5.9 ppg).

Mount St. Mary’s

Coach: Donny Lind, second season

Last season: 23-13, 12-8 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

Postseason: MAAC Tournament champion, No. 6 seed

Preseason conference poll: Ninth of 13 teams

Starters gone (4): SF Dola Adebayo (13.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg), SG Dallas Hobbs (12.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.3 apg), PF Jedy Cordilia (10.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg), SG Carmelo Pacheco (9.5 ppg)

Starters back (1): PG Xavier Lipscomb (6.8 ppg, 4.3 apg, 4.2 rpg)

One-liner: Replicating a defense that ranked third in the league in field-goal percentage (.411) might be easier for the Mountaineers than trying to match an offense that ranked second in field-goal efficiency (.441).

Navy

Coach: Jon Perry, first season

Last season: 15-19, 10-8 Patriot League

Postseason: Patriot League Tournament final, No. 5 seed

Preseason conference poll: First of 10 teams

Starters gone (0): None

Starters back (5): PG Austin Benigni (18.8 ppg, 4.3 apg, 3.3 rpg), SG Jordan Pennick (10.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg), C Aidan Kehoe (9.0 ppg, 8.9 rpg), SF Donovan Draper (8.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg), SG Jinwoo Kim (6.8 ppg)

One-liner: Perry, who was mentored by Ed DeChellis for 12 years with the Midshipmen, inherits a team that returns 87% of its points, 88% of its rebounds, and 89% of its assists, including Benigni, who was named the Patriot League’s preseason Player of the Year after leading the conference in points and free-throw percentage (.863).

Towson

Coach: Pat Skerry, 15th season

Last season: 22-11, 16-2 Coastal Athletic Association

Postseason: CAA Tournament semifinal, No. 1 seed

Preseason conference poll: First of 14 teams

Starters gone (3): SG Christian May (7.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg), PF Tomiwa Sulaiman (7.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg), SF Messiah Jones (3.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg)

Starters back (2): SG Tyler Tejada (16.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg), PG Dylan Williamson (14.6 ppg)

One-liner: While May transferred to conference rival UNC Wilmington and small forward Mekhi Lowery joined UIC, the Tigers are one of only five Division I teams to return a conference Player of the Year (Tejada) and the only CAA program to welcome back an all-league player (Tejada and Williamson) from last winter.

UMBC

Coach: Jim Ferry, fifth season

Last season: 13-19, 5-11 America East

Postseason: America East Tournament quarterfinal, No. 8 seed

Preseason conference poll: Seventh of nine teams

Starters gone (3): SG Bryce Johnson (16.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.6 apg), SG Marcus Banks Jr. (16.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg), PF Louie Jordan (7.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg)

Starters back (2): SF Josh Odunowo (11.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg), PG Ace Valentine (8.0 ppg)

One-liner: The Retrievers will be tasked with matching last year’s offense that led the America East in 3-point percentage (.387) and ranked second in points per game (80.0) and field-goal percentage (.485) without four of their top six scorers, including shooting guard Marlon Short (8.7 ppg).

University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Coach: Cleo Hill, Jr., second season

Last season: 6-25, 2-12 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Postseason: MEAC quarterfinal, No. 8 seed

Preseason conference poll: Seventh of eight teams

Starters gone (3): SG Ketron Shaw (18.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.1 apg), PG Evan Johnson (14.0 ppg), SG Cardell Bailey (8.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg)

Starters back (2): PF Christopher Flippin (9.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg), SF Maurice Vassel (2.8 ppg)

One-liner: Point guard Michael Teal, a South Carolina State transfer who averaged 6.5 points and 2.3 assists in limited play last year and was named to the league’s preseason third team, figures to join Flippin, a preseason first-team choice, in the starting lineup for the Hawks.

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