By: Luca Gomez
Finishing fourth in the conference, the William & Mary Men’s Basketball team had its hopes high going into the CAA Tournament last year. Their high seeding even led them to get byes in the first two rounds of the tournament and advance straight to the quarterfinals; the team had their eyes on the coveted CAA Championship and automatic NCAA March Madness Tournament bid the champion gets. Unfortunately for the Tribe, a very hot 12-seeded University of Delaware team beat them in the first game they played. This team has been retooled and adjusted, but they look to refine their overall success from last year and take the next step toward becoming champions.
While the loss to Delaware left a sour taste in the mouth of this team, this was actually the end to a banner season for the Tribe. In his first year, Head Coach Brian Earl had taken his team to a winning record of 17–15, up from 10–23, and finished fourth in the CAA, up from 13th. Brian Earl, prior to being hired by William & Mary, coached Cornell for seven years, earning Ivy League Coach of the Year honors as well as leading that team to a March Madness berth. Earl certainly looks to further his previous successes in the Ivy League in the CAA in the 2025–2026 season.
One of the ways that this team has improved from last season is in its roster additions. The first player they added was Reese Miller, a guard from Texas who last played at Blinn Community College. The second was Ethan Connery, a guard from Ohio who last played at Casper College. Both players received National Junior College Athletic Association All-Region honors last year. The final roster addition is Jo’el Emanuel, a grad student transferring after graduating from FDU. His being from FDU piqued my interest, and my suspicions were confirmed—he was a member of the historic 2023 FDU March Madness team that upset No. 1-ranked and title favorite Purdue.
The most important part of reviving the success they had last season was returning players from that great run, and the Tribe returned many, including starters from last year like Chase Lowe. Lowe, a senior, averaged more than 20 minutes a game, but that wasn’t even as good as his sophomore season, where he averaged 12.5 points per game on 26 minutes per game. Another returning starting senior this year is Kyle Pulliam, who averaged around 20 minutes and 10 points per game last season.
Taking the next step as a team is one of the most difficult things to do in sports. Countless times across many different sports, we see teams with young, new head coaches and momentum fizzle out as they fade back into mediocrity. If this team wants to be different, they certainly have the potential, while also getting off to a good start. At the time of writing, William & Mary is three games into their season, going 2–0 against Georgian Court and Norfolk State before dropping Tuesday’s tilt against Richmond. This team hopefully can carry this amazing start to the season into the rest of their schedule. Coming up, the Tribe is still on a road trip, as they have been so far to start, but in that stretch is a date with No. 5 nationally ranked St. John’s on national TV (Saturday, November 15, 6 p.m. on truTV), before opening a home stint at Kaplan Arena on November 21 against Regent at 11 a.m. The Tribe Men’s team has a real chance to prove they aren’t going to fall into the mediocrity of old seasons. This is a team with good talent and good coaching, meaning it’s one you can never count out—but they have a desire to be more than that.
Photos courtesy of Tribe Athletics
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