New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz enters the 2023-24 season with high expectations, returning a veteran group and adding four experienced transfers as it fights to make program history.
 
"Building off of last season, the expectations are really high," said Hawks senior guard Rylan Blondo. "Coach got [four] really good transfers. We've got no freshmen. We have all the pieces and no excuses, so our expectation is to win it all. Everyone is on the same mindset. We've got everybody back. We have a lot of returners, so yeah, we're looking for it all this year."
 
SUNY New Paltz ended last year at 13-14 overall and 10-8 in conference play, earning a fifth seed in the SUNYAC Tournament where it went on the road to beat No. 4 seeded Oneonta and placing itself back in the semifinal round for the second consecutive year. There, they met No. 9 nationally ranked Oswego who went onto not only win the conference but made a deep run into the NCAA Tournament.
 
Although the Lakers are re-stocked once again, entering the season at No. 6 in the country, the Hawks feel confident they have the depth to knock off the perennial giant and earn the program's first SUNYAC title.
 
"I definitely feel like this is the deepest team I've ever been on. We've got 14-15 guys who can start at any SUNYAC school in the conference. We've got depth at every position — point guard, wings, center, which makes it very competitive in practice," said guard Sean St. Lucia. "My sophomore year coming in here we had a very young team. There was an upside, but that was also a big disadvantage for us. Now coming in this year, we have basically 14 of our 15 guys with playoff experience and that's going to be great for us. No one is going to be a stranger in the moment."
 
 
Blondo returns for his final season with the Hawks after his second trip to the All-SUNYAC squad in 2023. He led the team last season in points (427) and points per game (15.8), while averaging 5.6 rebounds per game, second on the team. He also paced SUNY New Paltz in steals (48) and finished second in assists (94), while shooting 47 percent from the field and nearly 30 percent from 3-point range.
 
"Since this is my last year, I believe there is a little more urgency than past years because it is my last year and I can't have any regrets," Blondo said. "I want to end this season with this program making history, and I'll be disappointed if we don't make history in my last year."
  St. Lucia enters his third playing season as he quarterbacks the team from the point guard position, coming off a season where he averaged nearly eight points per game and led the way with nearly six assists a contest. Center Tyreik Frazier also enters his final season, as he finished third on the team in rebounds (148) and second in rebounds per game (5.7) with a team leading 49 blocks.
 
Dakoda Smith, RJ Meyers-Turner and Solomon Neuhaus all appeared in 20-plus games for the Hawks. Smith shot nearly 45 percent from the field and totaled 78 rebounds, 26 assists, 18 steals and 11 blocks last season and brings a defensive presence every time he steps onto the floor. Meyers-Turner was dynamic off the bench last season as he shot 40 percent from the floor while totaling 123 points, 40 steals and 27 steals a season ago. Neuhuas has the ability to light up from behind the arc, as the senior knocked down 33 percent from the perimeter and finished in double-figure points in five games last season including posting game-high of 17 twice coming off the bench.  
SUNY New Paltz coach Keith Kenney also brought in four transfers to round out a deep roster entering 2023-24. Kobe Bogart who spent the last two seasons at Cazenovia College led the Wildcats with 23 points per game. A.J. Knight was also brought into the fold after a season at Fredonia State where he averaged 16.4 points and nearly five rebounds per game, while adding 68 assists and 56 steals on the year. In his two games against SUNY New Paltz, Knight put up 16 and 24 points, respectively, while shooting about 46 percent from the field.
 
Diamonte Mcmillan starred for Rockland Community College where he was named NJCAA Freshman of the Year and earned a spot on the NJCAA All-Conference team while averaging nearly 17 points per game. Ethan St. Lucia rounds out the list of transfers as he joins his brother Sean after spending the last two seasons at SUNY Geneseo. He played in 24 games last season with 10 starts and shot 38 percent from the field. He totaled a season-high of 20 points against Cortland.
 
"I think we've become a lot better," said Sean St. Lucia. "The loss of Isaiah [Bien-Aise] and Brandon [Scott] was obviously huge, but we're looking to pick up right where we left off. The four transfers that came in were all vets. We're going to get them up to speed right away. We're not teaching a lot; we're just getting ready to go."
 
SUNY New Paltz opens up its 2023-24 campaign Friday on the road against Skidmore College. The Thoroughbreds last year finished similar to the Hawks, going 13-13 overall and 11-7 in the Liberty League where they made an appearance in their conference tournament, falling in the first round to RPI.
 
Tip-off against Skidmore is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. at Williamson Sports Center.
 
"Going into the season opener, what I expect is a lot of energy and intensity from the beginning," Blondo said. "Guys have been playing in a long preseason. We've been playing against each other; we've had two scrimmages and we're ready to get into action in a real game and give it everything we got from the first minute of the game and keeping building up from there. Really making an impact from the first game of where we want to be in our first game against Skidmore."

Season Preview Featuring Rylan Blondo & Sean St. Lucia


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