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#4 Roland Dempster. Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

Stony Brook football running back Roland Dempster has been nominated for the 2024 Walter Payton Award, known as the “Heisman of the FCS.” Stats Perform announced Dempster as one of 35 finalists for the award, which recognizes the national offensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football.

Dempster becomes only the second player in Stony Brook program history to receive this honor. Miguel Maysonet, a standout in the 2012 season, finished as the runner-up that year. Dempster is also one of just two Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) players nominated in 2024, joining Monmouth quarterback Derek Robertson.

The redshirt senior delivered a record-breaking season in 2024, leading Stony Brook in rushing yards (1,332), rushing attempts (268), rushing yards per game (111.0), and all-purpose yards per game (138.9). He also set personal bests in receiving yards (335), receptions (32), and yards per catch (10.5) while starting every game.

Dempster consistently showcased his dominance throughout the season, surpassing 100 rushing yards in seven games and 100 all-purpose yards in nine of 11 games. He eclipsed 200 all-purpose yards in three contests and tallied seven multi-touchdown games, including three games with three rushing touchdowns. This feat made him the first Stony Brook player since Miguel Maysonet in 2011 to achieve three or more games with three rushing touchdowns.

Nationally, Dempster finished third in the FCS and second in the CAA in total touchdowns. He led the CAA and ranked in the FCS top six for total rushing yards and rushing yards per game and ninth in all-purpose yards per game. His 2024 performance also earned him the fourth spot in the FCS for total touchdowns.

In Stony Brook’s program history, Dempster now ranks fourth for most rushing yards and second for most rushing touchdowns in a season by a running back. He also recorded the third-most touchdowns in a single season in program history.

Dempster’s accomplishments include being named the first player in program history to earn the FCS National Offensive Player of the Week honor, awarded on Sept. 30. He also received CAA Offensive Player of the Week accolades on Sept. 9 and Sept. 23.

The Walter Payton Award, in its 38th season, is named after legendary running back Walter Payton, who starred at Jackson State during his Hall of Fame career. Previous winners of the award include notable players such as Steve McNair, Tony Romo, Brian Westbrook, Jimmy Garoppolo, Cooper Kupp, and Trey Lance.

All 13 FCS conferences are represented among the finalists for the award. The winner, selected by a national voting panel, will be announced at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Banquet on Jan. 4 in Frisco, Texas.

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Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook women’s basketball team kept Marist to just 12.1 percent from 3-point range (4-for-33) and 30.3 percent overall (20-for-66) on their way to a 69-49 win over the Red Foxes on Nov. 18. The victory marked the Seawolves third straight victory this season

The Seawolves (3-1) had three players score in double figures, led by Breauna Ware, who had a career-high 21 points and seven rebounds. Zaida Gonzalez added 20 points and eight rebounds as Chloe Oliver chipped in a career-high 15 points and three steals off the bench.

Stony Brook out-rebounded Marist 44-36, led by Gonzalez’s eight boards, while scoring 17 points off of 15 Red Fox turnovers.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After falling behind 2-0, Stony Brook went on a 15-0 run with 8:55 left in the first quarter. Stony Brook did most of its first quarter damage in the paint, scoring 14 of its 27 points close to the basket. Ware led through the opening frame with 12 points as Janay Brantley tallied three rebounds and three steals on the defensive end.

The Seawolves kept its first quarter lead intact before going on a 6-0 run starting at the 6:41 mark in the second period, highlighted by a driving bucket from Oliver. Gonzalez led with six points as Oliver added five to showcase offensive dominance on their home court. Stony Brook forced five Marist turnovers in the period and turned them into five points.

Stony Brook continued to preserve its halftime lead before going on a 5-0 run, punctuated by a thrilling three from Oliver with one second to go in the quarter. Ware tallied six points to lead the Seawolves, going 2-for-2 from behind the arc. Those three-pointers from Oliver and Ware accounted for nine of the squad’s 13 points.

Stony Brook kept its lead going on a 6-0 run halfway through the fourth quarter, as Gonzalez scored eight points to power the Seawolves past Marist. The Red Foxes narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but Stony Brook cruised the rest of the way for the 69-49 win.

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#84 Dez Williams scored two touchdowns during Saturday's game. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics

In their last game of the season, Tyler Knoop threw for a career-high 408 yards while Dez Williams put up 134 receiving yards and two touchdowns as Stony Brook scored their most points since 2018 but the Monmouth Hawks exploded for 55 points, giving themselves the victory at LaValle Stadium on Nov. 23.  

The Hawks improved to 6-6 on the year and 4-4 in Coastal Athletic Association play, while the Seawolves fell to 8-4 overall and 5-3 in conference match-ups.

Knoop went 37-for-53 on the way to the 408-yard, three-touchdown outing with one interception. Roland Dempster led all Seawolves rushers with 95 yards in the contest, picking up 4.8 yards per carry. Dempster also added one receiving touchdown. Knoop also added 22 yards on the ground. Williams’ 134-yard, two-touchdown performance led the Stony Brook receiving corps. Jayce Freeman also hauled in five passes for 93 yards and Jasiah Williams chipped in with eight grabs for 81 yards as well.

Jordan Jackson showed out for the Stony Brook defense, collecting five tackles and one forced and recovered fumble. AJ Roberts had a team-high nine tackles, while Chayce Chalmers and Shamoun Duncan-Niusulu each tallied seven, respectively. 

Stony Brook also had an outstanding day offensively, racking up 559 total yards, 128 on the ground and 431 through the air, while averaging 6.2 yards per play. The Seawolves were keeping drives alive, converting on 43.8 percent of third-down attempts.

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Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook women’s basketball team held Yale to just 6.2 percent from deep in a 1-for-16 shooting performance on the way to a 62-48 victory over the Bulldogs at the historic John J. Lee Amphitheater in New Haven, C.T. on Nov. 15. 

The Seawolves (2-1) had three players score in double figures, led by Janay Brantley, who scored a career-high 17 points, while adding seven rebounds. Zaida Gonzalez tacked on 15 points and six rebounds as Breauna Ware chipped in a career-high 14 points and two steals. Chloe Oliver also tallied a career-high nine points through 36 minutes of play. Brantley pulled down three offensive rebounds to lead an offense that racked up 12 second chance opportunities for Stony Brook, turning them into seven second chance points. Defensively, the Seawolves forced 17 Yale turnovers, and used those takeaways to score 13 points on the other end of the floor

“Proud of our fight and grit on the road against a very good Yale team. Road wins are never easy, and I’m happy we were able to keep our composure down the stretch and finish out the game. We were focused on getting stops on the defensive end, and I’m most proud of the multiple effort plays that disrupted their offense. This was a great step in continuing to build on our identity which centers around toughness,” noted head coach Joy McCorvey postgame.

 

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The team celebrates their victory after Saturday's game. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook volleyball team earned a three-set sweep (25-22, 26-24, 25-19) against the Campbell Fighting Camels on Nov. 16 on the road at Gilbert Craig Gore Arena in Buies Creek N.C.

The victory moved the Seawolves’ record to 16-12 overall and 9-9 in CAA play to close out the regular season. Stony Brook would clinch their third-straight CAA postseason berth after securing the win.

Kali Moore finished with 14 kills on the day to lead the Seawolves as Abby Campbell, Leoni Kunz, Quinn Anderson, and Ayanna Pierre Louis each contributed to the Stony Brook attack. Defensively, Madison Cigna and Julia Patsos each tallied double figure digs with 16 and 11, respectively.

The team will head to Towson University for the CAA Championships beginning on Nov. 21. Stony Brook earned the No. 6 seed and will face the No. 3 seed with the race for the top spots still being determined in either Charleston, Delaware, Hofstra, or Towson. The match is set for 6 p.m. with coverage available on FloVolleyball.

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ON FIRE: #3 CJ Luster scored 30 points during Saturday's game at Island Federal Credit Union Arena. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics

CJ Luster scored 30 points to help lead the Stony Brook men’s basketball team over St. Joseph’s (L.I.), 93-45, at home on Nov. 16. 

Luster added nine rebounds and two steals to his 30-point game to lead the Seawolves. Nick Woodard helped out with 11 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, while Joe Octave chipped in with 15 points.

Stony Brook’s defense held Saint Joseph’s (L.I.) to only 16 percent shooting from beyond the arc and 25.4 percent from the field.

After jumping out to a 13-9 advantage, Stony Brook went on a 9-0 run to increase its lead to 22-9. The Seawolves added eight points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 40-19 advantage. Stony Brook did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 24 of its 40 points close to the basket.

Following the intermission, Stony Brook kept widening that lead, expanding it to 68-34 before going on a 7-0 run, finished off by Jeremiah Nyarko’s layup, to grow the lead to 75-34 with 9:18 to go in the contest. 

The Seawolves kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 93-45 win. Stony Brook shot well from three-point range in the second half, connecting on eight shots from deep to account for 24 of its 53 second-half points.

“Good win for us. I thought that we played hard defensively… What we were looking for tonight was elite communication, elite huddles on free throws — we had that. We are still learning each other, we are trying to make each other better. We have a lot of good players. We’ll get there,” said head coach Geno Ford postgame.

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Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics

As part of its continued partnership with SNY, the Stony Brook University Athletics Department announced a linear television agreement with SNY to air 19 basketball games during the 2024-25 season. SNY will air nine Stony Brook men’s basketball games and 10 women’s basketball games this season. Last season, SNY aired 20 Stony Brook basketball games, the largest linear television deal in program history.

The men’s team, who surged all the way to the CAA Championship last season behind upsets of Drexel and Hofstra, return the likes of Andre Snoddy and Jared Frey and welcome eight new faces to the roster in 2024-25. The women’s team, under the direction of first-year head coach Joy McCorvey, welcomes back key contributors like Zaida Gonzalez and Shamarla King. The reigning CAA Regular Season Champions brought in three newcomers and look to return to the CAA Championship for a second straight season.

To purchase tickets, click here, call: 631-632-WOLF or email: [email protected].

Stony Brook Basketball on SNY:
Men’s Basketball:
Saturday, November 16 vs. St. Joseph’s Long Island – 6:31 p.m. (Live)
Sunday, December 1 vs. Norfolk State – 1 p.m. (Live)
Tuesday, December 17 vs. Marist – 7 p.m. (Live)
Saturday, January 4 vs. William & Mary – 12 p.m. (Live)
Thursday, January 9 vs. Drexel – 7 p.m. (Live)
Saturday, January 11 vs. Northeastern – 7 p.m. (Live)
Thursday, January 23 vs. Campbell – 7 p.m. (Live)
Saturday, January 25 vs. N.C. A&T – 12 p.m. (Live)
Thursday, February 27 vs. Hofstra – 7 p.m. (Live)

Women’s Basketball:
Monday, November 18 vs. Marist – 7 p.m. (Live)
Wednesday, November 27 vs. Harvard – 12 p.m. (Live)
Sunday, December 22 vs. Cornell – 1 p.m. (Live)
Friday, January 10 vs. William & Mary – 7 p.m. (Live)
Sunday, January 12 vs. Charleston – 12 p.m. (Live)
Friday, February 7 vs. Hofstra – 7 p.m. (Live)
Friday, February 14 vs. Hampton – 12 p.m. (Live)
Friday, February 28 vs. Delaware – 7 p.m. (Live)
Sunday, March 2 vs. Monmouth – 1 p.m. (Live)
Sunday, March 8 vs. Drexel – 12 p.m. (Live)

All games on SNY will be accessible live via SNY.tv and the SNY app to authenticated subscribers. Authenticated SNY subscribers can access live game broadcasts provided they are within SNY’s broadcast territory.
 

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Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook men’s cross country team returned to competition on Nov. 15, competing at the 2024 NCAA Northeast Regional Championship in Hopkinton, New Hampshire. Four of the seven Seawolf runners placed within the top-100, while Stony Brook placed 13th out of 39 schools as a team, the best finish of all the CAA teams that competed at the regional.

Sophomore Henry Gartner was the Seawolves’ top performer, finishing 47th with a time of 31:05.35 in the 10K race.

Three more Stony Brook runners recorded top-100 placements, with Michael Hawkes (60th, 31:16.62), Steven Struk (93rd, 31:53.68), and Nick Tardugno (98th, 31:57.76) doing so. Thomas Burfeind (137th), Neel Chittur (197th), and John Fontanez (250th) rounded the Seawolves’ field of runners.

“Considering we ran without two of our top five guys from the conference championship team, I was pleased with the overall effort of the men’s team,” head coach Andy Ronan said. “Henry and Michael led the way, with both of them battling hard throughout the 10,000-meter event.

The Stony Brook women’s cross country team placed 15th at the event. Grace Weigele was the team’s top performer, finishing 22nd overall and earning a second consecutive All-Region distinction. Weigele completed the 6K championship course in 20:27.13, the second-best finish for a CAA competitor.

 Next to cross the finish line was Rebecca Clackett (65th, 21:19.47). Right behind Clackett was Amelie Guzman (70th, 21:26.82). Grace Sisson (109th), Danielle Cirrito (129th), Niamh Durcan (135th), and Miranda Gatto (140th) rounded out the Seawolves’ field of runners at the regional championships.

“White it was positive for Grace to make the All-Region team, there was some disappointment attached as she fell short of our goal of a top-10 finish, which may have given her a shot to make Nationals,” head coach Andy Ronan said. “She was a little off her game today, but battled to finish in the top-25. I was pleased with the rest of the girls, they competed for the entire race and produced a nice top-15 finish. We had been ranked outside the top 15 going into the meet.”

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Coach Billy Cosh. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics
First-year head coach Billy Cosh has been named the 2024 AFCA Region 1 Coach of the Year after leading Stony Brook to its most wins since 2018, following a winless 2023 season. The announcement was made this morning by the AFCA organization. Cosh becomes only the second head coach in program history to receive this honor.

The second-youngest coach in Division I football, Cosh has transformed a team predicted to finish last in the CAA Preseason Coaches Poll into a national contender. Under his leadership, the Seawolves have achieved their highest national ranking since 2018, their most wins since 2017 and their first winning season since 2018, with an impressive 8-3 (5-2 CAA) record.

Stony Brook has taken the FCS by storm this season, ranking in the top 10 nationally in several offensive and defensive categories. The Seawolves lead the CAA and rank in the FCS top 10 for fumbles recovered, turnover margin, turnovers gained, and blocked punts allowed. They also rank in the CAA’s top three—and the FCS’s top 25—in fourth-down conversion percentage, defensive touchdowns, passes intercepted, red zone offense, red zone defense, tackles for loss allowed and time of possession.

This season marks the biggest turnaround in the FCS, with the Seawolves improving from 0-10 to 8-3. Cosh has also secured the third-most wins among first-year head coaches in the FCS and is the fastest head coach in program history to achieve eight career victories.

Cosh has been instrumental in the emergence of key players, including Roland Dempster, Tyler Knoop, Rudy Silvera, Rodney Faulk, and Rushawn Lawrence. Dempster ranks in the FCS top five in rushing touchdowns, rushing yards, rushing yards per game, and scoring. Silvera is eighth in the nation in pass breakups, while Knoop leads the CAA and ranks seventh in the FCS in completion percentage. Faulk and Lawrence both rank in the FCS top 20 in forced fumbles and sacks.

The Seawolves return home for their regular-season finale on Saturday, November 23, against Monmouth, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. on FloFootball. The game will also serve as Senior Day, with Stony Brook honoring its graduating football student-athletes in a pregame ceremony.

The AFCA began recognizing district coaches of the year following the 1960 season. The awards were established the same year Eastman Kodak agreed to sponsor the AFCA Coach of the Year award. Prior to 1960, the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain had sponsored the program, which recognized one national Coach of the Year. The AFCA first recognized eight district winners in each of two divisions: university and college. In 1972, a ninth district was added in each division.

In 1983, the award was changed to recognize regional winners instead of district winners. The number of divisions was also increased from two to four and five regional winners were selected in each division. This resulted in a more equitable selection process and better represented the make-up of the membership. At the same time, the new system increased the number of honorees from 18 to 20. In 2006, the AFCA Division II Award was split into separate Division II and NAIA divisions, giving us the 25 winners we now recognize.

2024 AFCA Regional Coach of the Year Winners

Football Bowl Subdivision

Region 1: Jeff Monken, Army West Point
Region 2: Clark Lea, Vanderbilt University
Region 3: Curt Cignetti, Indiana University
Region 4: Kalani Sitake, Brigham Young University
Region 5: Spencer Danielson, Boise State University

Football Championship Subdivision

Region 1: Billy Cosh, Stony Brook University
Region 2: *Chennis Berry, South Carolina State University
Region 3: Nathan Brown, University of Central Arkansas
Region 4: Tim Polasek, North Dakota State University
Region 5: Tim Plough, UC Davis

Division II

Region 1: *Jim Clements, Kutztown University
Region 2: Tremaine Jackson, Valdosta State University
Region 3: Adam Dorrel, University of Central Oklahoma
Region 4: Todd Knight, Ouachita Baptist University
Region 5: Jerry Olszewski, Augustana (S.D.) University

Division III

Region 1: *Curt Fitzpatrick, SUNY Cortland
Region 2: Sherman Wood, Salisbury University
Region 3: Andy Frye, Centre College
Region 4: Peter Stuursma, Hope College
Region 5: Ryan Munz, University of Wisconsin-Platteville

NAIA

Region 1: Myles Russ, Keiser University
Region 2: Aaron Mingo, Taylor University
Region 3: Paul Hansen, MidAmerica Nazarene University
Region 4: Steve Ryan, Morningside University
Region 5: Berk Brown, Southern

To purchase season, single game, mini plans or group tickets, click here or call 631-632-WOLF (9653) or email [email protected].

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Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook football team was in control for a majority of the afternoon on Nov. 16, including a 21-point lead, but the New Hampshire Wildcats score 22 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to ultimately take the victory at home.

The Wildcats improved to 7-4 on the year and 5-2 in Coastal Athletic Association play, while the Seawolves fell to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in conference matchups.

Tyler Knoop led Stony Brook’s passing attack with 194 yards through the air, tossing three touchdowns without throwing an interception. Roland Dempster paced the Seawolves rushing attack by accumulating 85 yards over the course of the game, averaging 4 yards per carry. Knoop also added 32 yards on the ground.
Cal Redman reeled in five catches for 66 yards and one score. Jayce Freeman got in on the action in the passing game as well, hauling in three balls for 55 yards and one touchdown.

Rodney Faulk led the Stony Brook defensive effort, collecting four tackles, 3.0 TFL, two sacks, and one forced fumble. A.J. Roberts added six tackles, 1.0 TFL, and one recovered fumble and Shamoun Duncan-Niusulu had seven tackles and one interception in the loss. Both teams forced two turnovers in Saturday’s contest, with Stony Brook turning those takeaways into three points. The Seawolves defense took up residence in New Hampshire’s backfield all game, collecting four sacks and nine total tackles for loss.

“Lost the game, credit New Hampshire for doing a great job of responding and coming back to win,” said head coach Billy Cosh. “Their players played hard and made plays. We made too many mistakes as an organization to win that game. It starts with the coaches to the players and we just didn’t execute at the end of the game. We got to learn from this one. We’ve had a good stretch, lots of things we need to get better at this week.”

Up next, the returns home for the regular season finale on Saturday, Nov. 23 against Monmouth for a 1 p.m. kick off on FloFootball. Next week’s contest will be senior day, as Stony Brook will honor its graduating football student-athletes pregame. Stony Brook is 3-6 all-time against Monmouth.

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