Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop men's basketball hits the road for the first time this season as it heads to Blacksburg, Va. to take on Virginia Tech Monday night.
WINTHROP (2-0, 0-0 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS (Players Returning/Stats From 2023-24) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
11 |
Kasen Harrison |
6-2 |
Sr. |
15.0 |
2.0 |
0.0 |
2.0 |
'23-24 Big South Preseason All-Conference / Nearing 400 career assists (384) at Asheville |
| F |
12 |
K.J. Doucet |
6-7 |
Sr.. |
14.0 |
1.0 |
4.0 |
0.0 |
'24-25 Big South Preseason All-Conference / 2nd on team in scoring last year / had five 20-point games in '23-24 / 2nd on team with 51 threes |
| G |
55 |
Bryce Baker |
6-5 |
Jr. |
13.0 |
6.0 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
Career-high 16 points in the opener vs. Piedmont |
| F |
15 |
Tommy Kamarad |
6-10 |
Sr. |
7.0 |
7.0 |
0.0 |
1.0* |
Solid numbers in the opener with 7 points, 7 rebounds / Followed that up with season-high 13 points vs. Little Rock |
| F |
4 |
Kelton Talford |
6-7 |
Sr. |
17.0 |
9.0 |
1.0 |
1.0* |
'23-24/'24-25 Big South Preseason All-Conference / '22-23/'23-24 Big South All-Conference First Team / led team in scoring and rebounding in each of the last two seasons / Moved into 6th on the all-time rebound list (677) |
* (blocks per game)
SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: 0-2
Series Streak: L2
Record at Cassell Coliseum: 0-2
Streak at Cassell Coliseum: L2
Prosser vs. Virginia Tech: first meeting
- This marks just the third meeting all-time between the Eagles and Hokies
- The last meeting was Dec, 3, 2013 in Blacksburg as the Hokies won 81-63
- The first ever meeting was Dec. 30, 1998 as the Hokies won 62-55
- Eagles are 5-41 all-time against opponents from the ACC
- The last win over an ACC opponent was Nov. 17, 2014 as the Eagles won 77-74 at Clemson
WINTHROP ON THE ROAD
- Have an all-time road mark of 265-375 and 213-322 at the NCAA D1 level
- Over the last six seasons the Eagles are 62-52 on the road
- Averaged 75.3 ppg while allowing 76.6 in 15 road games (Averaged 71.0 ppg on the road in 2022-23 while allowing 77.5 ppg)
- Eagles shot .449 from the field (opponents .443), 71 percent at the free throw line and were outrebounded 35.1-33.6 last season
- Winthrop had 92 more free throw attempts on the road than opponents (averaging 26.9 attempts per road game)
WINTHROP
- Opened the season with a 125-65 victory over Piedmont, the second-largest margin of victory in program history (+60)
- In the game they Eagles also hauled in 63 rebounds, tying a program record with 28 offensive rebounds
- Ryan Jolly, who transferred to Winthrop after a four-year career at Piedmont, started the opener against his former team and finished with 15 points
- Off to the first 2-0 start since 2021-22 after an 82-67 victory over Little Rock at home on Saturday
- Winthrop dominated the glass for a second straight game, finishing with a 52-32 advantage
- Through two games the Eagles have five players averaging double-figures led by K.J. Doucet at 15.0 ppg
- Kasen Harrison and Kelton Talford are second on the team at 13.5 ppg followed by Bryce Baker (12.0), Ryan Jolly (11.0) and Tommy Kamarad (10.0)
- Voted to finish second in the Big South Conference preseason poll
- Eagles had two players on the preseason all-conference teams
- Talford was voted to the first team and Doucet was voted to the second team
- This marks the 1,411st game in program history and hold an all-time record of 799-612
- Winthrop has more wins than any other Big South school (242) since the 2012-13 season and the closest is UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb with 209
- Mark Prosser starts his fourth season as head coach of the Eagles (8th head coach in program history) and holds a 57-41 record now in his fourth season
- Prosser is three wins away from his 100th career victory (97)
- Prosser is coaching in his 217th career game and 188th at the NCAA D1 level
- Led the team to 23 wins, the most by a first-year head coach in program history
- Prosser tied Towson State's Terry Traux (1992-93) for the most conference wins by a first-year coach with 14
- The newcomers include five transfers and one true freshman
- The transfers are Ryan Jolly (Graduate Student/Piedmont), Tommy Kamarad (Senior/Arkansas Tech), Tai Hamilton (Sophomore/William & Mary), Logan Duncomb (Junior/Xavier) and Bryce Baker (Junior/Old Dominion)
- The one true freshman is Paul Jones III, a guard out of Suffolk, Va.
- Jolly scored more than 1,000 points in his career at Piedmont
- Kamarad started 28-of-30 games last year and was named to the Great American Conference All-Tournament Team as his team captured the championship
- Baker played in 59 games in his first two seasons at Old Dominion
LOOKING BACK AT 2023-24
- Winthrop returns four starters with all of them being the Top 4 scorers from 2023-24
- Leading the way is two-time Big South All-Conference selection Kelton Talford
- Talford led the team in scoring (14.1) and rebounding (5.7)
- K.J. Doucet, Kasen Harrison and Nick Johnson are the remaining returning starters
- Doucet was second on the team in scoring at 12.4 ppg and second in made threes (51)
- Harrison led the team in assists at 3.8 per game (ranked 3rd in Big South) and also averaged double-figures (11.3)
- Johnson was fourth in scoring at 10.4 ppg and led the team with 44 steals
- Johnson's ranked 4th in the league at 1.4 per game and was the first Eagle with 40 or more steals in a single-season since Chandler Vaudrin had 45 in 2019-20
- Yoro Diallo and Noah Van Bibber also return as Diallo played in 28 games and Van Bibber saw action in 18 games
- Eagles finished 8-8 in the Big South, finishing fourth in the standings
SEASON HONORS/AWARDS
- Kelton Talford, Senior-Forward (Big South Conference Preseason First Team)
- All-Big South First Team Selection in 2022-23 and 2023-24
- Started 28-of-31 games as he led the team in scoring (14.1) and rebounding (5.7)
- Ranked 13th in the Big South in scoring and 11th in rebounding while leading the conference in field goal percentage
- K.J Doucet, Senior-Forward (Big South Conference Preseason Second Team)
- Started 30-of-32 games and was second on the team in scoring at 12.4 ppg
- Second on the team in three-pointers made (51) and field goals made (129)
CAREER MILESTONES
- Kasen Harrison
- Reached 1,000 career points last season and just went over 1,200 points in the game vs. Little Rock (1,208)
- He reached 350 career assists and closing in on 400 (388)
- Played in his 100th career game on Mar. 2, 2024 vs. Gardner-Webb
- Kelton Talford
- Reached the 1,000 points and 500 career rebound plateau's in 2023-24
- Enters 2024-25 with 1,348 career points, ranking 9th all-time in scoring at Winthrop
- His 677 career rebounds rank 6th all-time and trails 5th place by 15
- He became the 104th player in Big South Conference history to reach 500 career rebounds
- Became the 67th player in league history to join the 1,000/500 club
- He became the 65th player in league history to reach 600 rebounds
- Became the 48th player in Big South history with 1,000 points and 600 rebounds
- Has 13 career double-doubles after his 15 points, 10 rebounds against PC on Feb. 21
- Has 518 career free throw attempts, ranking him 6th all-time in program history
- Nick Johnson
- Reached 1,000 career points in the win at Radford last season (1,050)
- Reached 400 career rebounds vs. UNC Asheville in 2023-24 and is now four rebounds from 450
- Dished out his 100th career assist vs. Queens and surpassed 100 steals
- K.J. Doucet
- Surpassed 1,000 career points after 22 points at Coastal Carolina and reached 1,100 vs. Toccoa Falls and reached 1,200 in the win over Charleston Southern Feb. 7
- Just surpassed 1,300 career points (1,323) and reached 450 rebounds (451) in the win over Little Rock
- His 51 threes in 2023-24 were a career-best for a single-season
- Ryan Jolly
- Scored 1,371 career points in his collegiate career between Piedmont and Lander
- Had 15 points in the opener and now has a career total of 1,393
- Has 333 career assists, 414 career rebounds and 155 career steals
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE
Get your men's basketball season tickets TODAY! Season tickets are $149 for 18 home games, which includes the games played in the Rock Hill Classic at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center (Nov. 15-16). Purchase Today–
Click Here.
SINGLE-GAME TICKETS ARE ON SALE
Fans can purchase single-game tickets for all home contests for the 2024-25 season by visiting
www.winthropeagles.com/MBBTickets2425 or call text ticket office at (803) 323-2345.
25th ANNIVERSARY
This year celebrates the 25
th anniversary of the 1999-2000 team that captured a second straight Big South Conference championship. Under the guidance of second-year head coach Gregg Marshall the Eagles posted an overall record of 21-9 and were 11-3 in the conference (2
nd place). Winthrop defeated fourth-seeded UNC Asheville 75-62 in the Big South title game and faced 3
rd-seeded Oklahoma in Tucson, Ariz. in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
TUNE IN TO THE EAGLES
Fans can listen to the games all season long on OTS Media of Rock Hill (94.3 FM), which is the flagship station for Winthrop Athletics. In addition, most games will simulcast on 730 ESPN Charlotte and AM 1450 WGNC Gastonia.
All home games as well as all Big South games home or away are available to watch through the Big South Network on ESPN+. To watch live Big South games on ESPN+, you need a subscriber. ESPN is currently offering a discount between Oct. 25-Dec. 2 to get 12 months for the price of nine. For more information how to subscribe,
click here.
UP NEXT
Winthrop returns home for a weekend full of action as it hosts the Rock Hill Classic, Nov. 15-17 at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center in downtown Rock Hill. The Eagles open on Friday, Nov. 15 against William & Mary at 5 p.m.
To keep up with the latest news on the Winthrop men's basketball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter (@Winthrop_MBB), Instagram (@Winthrop_MBB) and Facebook (/WinthropMBB).
