WASHINGTON, Pa. - The Washington and Jefferson college men's basketball team looks to rekindle some of their previous success from past seasons with a revitalized roster for the 2024-25 season.
 
The Presidents commence their season at the Oberlin College Tip-off Classic, facing Clarkson in the first round, Friday (Nov. 8). The victor of the first bout will faceoff against Oberlin or Lawrence in the championship game while each losing team will face each other in the consolation game on Saturday (Nov. 9).
 
2023-2024 Season Review: The Presidents capped off last season with a 9-16 overall record and 8-12 Presidents' Athletic Conference record.
 
Having lost some key pieces through graduation last season, the Presidents had to reidentify their philosophy on the court. The team started the season with a 1-2 record in nonconference play, dropping bouts to Baldwin Wallace and Marietta. The Presidents' first win of the season came at the Marietta Shrine Tournament, with a 75-61 victory over Kenyon.
 
Following their first triumph of the season, the Presidents opened conference play with a 106-82 win over Westminster. Following their first PAC win, the Presidents entered an 11-game losing streak to both in and out of conference foes. W&J launched back into the win column in the month of January, posting four wins against Allegheny, Chatham, Waynesburg and Franciscan.
 
During a narrow loss to Saint Vincent, Nick Gearhart became the 26th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points, marking the second-straight year that a men's basketball student-athlete has reached the milestone mark. 
 
The Presidents closed out their 2023-24 campaign with a win against Allegheny, 96-91, narrowing missing the PAC Tournament.
 
"We all learned from an extremely disappointing season last year," stated head coach Ethan Stewart-Smith. "It was an extremely humbling experience for our coaching staff and team, and we are excited to see our response this upcoming year."
 
Alex Acosta (Acworth, Ga./North Cobb) represented W&J on the All-Conference teams, garnering an All-PAC First Team selection. He led the PAC in points per game (18.4) and field goal percentage (62.1 percent). Acosta scored in double figures 22 of 25 games in his sophomore season and ranked 16th in the NCAA Division III field goal percentage category.

Acosta scored a career-high 38 points in the Presidents matchup against Bethany College. The total was just one point shy of the league single-game high of 39 points last season. Acosta later put up a game-high 30 points in a 92-89 overtime win against the eventual PAC Champion Geneva. 

Acosta earned recognition on the D3hoops.com Team of the Week (Feb. 13) and as PAC Player of the Week (Jan. 15).
 

2024-25 PAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
School (first-place votes)	Points	2023-24 Record (PAC)
1. Geneva College (10)	100	24-4 (18-2 PAC)
2. Saint Vincent College (1)	85	23-5 (17-3 PAC)
3. Chatham University	75	18-9 (15-5 PAC)
4. Waynesburg University	67	14-12 (11-9 PAC)
5. Washington & Jefferson College	63	9-16 (8-12 PAC)
6. Grove City College	58	14-13 (9-11 PAC)
7. Bethany College	46	9-17 (8-12 PAC)
8. Thiel College	31	8-17 (7-13 PAC)
T9. Franciscan University	28	8-16 (5-15 PAC)
T9. Westminster College	28	10-14 (8-12 PAC)
11. Allegheny College	24	6-19 (4-16 PAC)

 
2024-25 PAC Men's Basketball Players to Watch: Alex Acosta, Matthew Carte, Brandon Jakiela, Nathan Plotner, Matt Seidl
 
Key Returners: The Presidents return their young core for the 2024-25 season with no seniors.
 
"We are excited about the return of this core and feel really good about their growth up to this point," said Stewart-Smith. "They were motivated to have a great off-season after last year, and we expect them to take another step in all aspects this year."
 
Their stacked junior class of contributors are headlined by Acosta, Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills), Brandon Jakiela (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette), Josh Chambers (Hanover, Md./Indian Creek) and Nick Colucci (Havertown, Pa./Haverford).
 
Acosta led the PAC and team in points per game (18.4) and field goal percentage (62.1 percent). He ranked fourth in the league in rebounding (8.6 per game) and sixth in blocks (1.5 per game). Acosta racked up 10 double-double efforts during this past season. 
 
"We are excited for Alex to take another step this year," replied Stewart-Smith. "He was incredibly consistent for us last year, and we have really high expectations for him to produce and execute on both ends of the floor at a really high level."
 
Acosta also earned recognition on the D3hoops.com Team of the Week (Feb. 13) and as PAC Player of the Week (Jan. 15) during his sophomore season. The now junior looks to head the Presidents' efforts in the paint as one of the PAC's best again in 2024-25.
 
Seidl looks to return to his freshman season form after an up-and-down sophomore season. The North Hills product finished the season averaging 12.2 points per game and a career-high 77 assists. Seidl posted a 40% shooting percentage from the field while knocking down 23 three-point attempts. Early on in the 2023-24 campaign, Seidl was added to the Marietta Shrine College All-Tournament Team after averaging 22.5 points per bout during the early season tournament.
 
Jakiela remained consistent during his sophomore season for the Presidents. He posted a 10.1 points per game mark with a career-high 30 assists. Jakiela also compiled 77 total rebounds and shot a 44.5% mark from the field. His freshman season numbers remained comparable to his sophomore season, presenting some consistent production to the Presidents' lineup for the 2024-25 campaign.
 
Chambers earned 2023-24 Academic All-District® Basketball honors from the College Sports Communicators in 2024-25. Chambers averaged 4.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game this past season. Chambers had 42 assists and 40 steals during his first season as a starter. Chambers was named Washington Health System Male Student-Athlete of the Month back in November. This is the first Academic All-District honor for Chambers. 
 
Colucci filled in as a rotational piece for the Presidents, appearing in 11 games. His first start came against Muskingum, as the 6-3 guard dropped a season-high nine points in 26 minutes of work. In his limited time of the court, Colucci averaged 3.8 points per game while averaging over 50% shooting from the field and beyond the arc.
 
Sophomores Matthew Carte (Ravenswood, W.Va./Ravenswood) and Nathan Plotner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) look to continue their pivotal roles on the court for W&J this season.
 
Carte stepped into a starting role early on last season, finishing with a points per game average of 7.8 and 37.6% mark from the field. He also added 14 steals and 46 assists to his freshman season totals as one of the Presidents' best guards just a season ago.
 
Plotner filled in the rotational for W&J as one of their post playmakers. Without starting a game in his freshman season, Plotner still managed to average 6.3 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per game with 118 total. Plotner also tacked on 26 blocks to finish second on the team behind Acosta.
 
"They (Carte and Plotner) did a great job as freshmen and have had a great off-season to prepare for their sophomore campaign. Both have had have become better players in every area of their game since last season," stated Stewart-Smith. "They now have a better idea of what to expect with a collegiate season under their belt, so we expect them to have a steady, veteran presence on a nightly basis."
 
The team also welcomes back Brandon Learn (New Stanton, Pa./Hempfield), Michael Pfeuffer (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon), Nick Sukernek (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair), Harrison Sowers (Irwin, Pa./Hempfield), Mark Johnson Jr. (Princeton, N.J./John Curtis Christian School (La.)) and Austin Milliner (Carnegie, Pa./Carlynton).
 
Newcomers: Six new players will join the squad in 2024-25 for the Presidents, including four freshman and two juniors. 
 
"We feel like these additions have immediately improved our program," said Stewart-Smith. "We have really high expectations for a few of our freshmen, and they're off to a great start in practice and scrimmages. We are thrilled to see their growth as the year progresses."
 
Michael Plasko (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette)
Cameron Rowell (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional)
Quinton Burlenski (Bridgeport, Ohio/Central Catholic)
Jackson Pierce (Berea, Ohio/Saint Ignatius)
Raine Gratzmiller (Butler, Pa./Butler)
Connor Roberts (Washington, Pa./Trinity)
 
Coaching Staff: Ethan Stewart-Smith (Penn State Altoona '07) is the 15th men's basketball coach in Washington & Jefferson College history. The 2024-25 season marks his 10th season as the head coach of the Presidents. Faced with the task of rebuilding the program from the ground up, the Presidents have enjoyed success in six winning seasons in the past seven.
 
After a slow start to the season, the Presidents finished the season winners in seven of the last 10 games. The winning streak included an overtime upset win over eventual PAC regular season and tournament champions Geneva College. Alex Acosta earned First Team honors for his breakthrough sophomore season.
 
W&J reached 20 wins for the second-straight season by finishing 20-7 overall in 2022-23. The Presidents finished 16-4 in the league to lock down the top seed in the PAC Tournament for consecutive years. 
 
Stewart-Smith led the Presidents to a school-record 24 wins and a PAC Tournament title in 2021-22. The conference title was W&J's first since the 1994-95 season, as the Presidents rallied to a 68-63 win over Chatham in the title game. For his efforts, Stewart-Smith was voted PAC Coach of the Year for the first time. He coached Michael Bigley to PAC Newcomer of the Year honors while Kyran Mitchell and Nick Gearhart earned First Team All-PAC honors.
 
Stewart-Smith currently holds a 94-125 overall record since the 2015-16 season.
 
Evan Bonnaure joined the Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball program as its Intern Assistant Coach for the 2020-21 academic year.
 
Bonnaure was influential in helping W&J claim the PAC regular season and tournament titles in the 2021-22 season. The Presidents tallied a program-record 24 wins and finished PAC play with a 16-2 record. The Presidents rattled off 12 consecutive road wins before falling to eventual national-runner up Elmhurst University in the 2022 NCAA Division III Tournament First Round. Both Kyran Mitchell and Nick Gearhart were named First Team All-PAC. Mitchell also earned All-Region honors from the NABC and D3hoops.com following the season. 
 
Bonnaure, a native of Western Pennsylvania, comes to Washington after spending the 2019-20 season as an Assistant Coach at Allegheny College, a fellow member of NCAA Division III. He helped Allegheny to an appearance in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament and its best finish since the 2009-10 season.  
 
Prior to his time in Meadville, he spent two seasons as a graduate assistant coach for East Stroudsburg University. During his time at ESU, the Warriors qualified for a pair of NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championships, which included a run to the 2018 Elite Eight. The Warriors claimed a pair of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East titles and the 2018 PSAC Championship while amassing a 48-14 overall record during his time on the bench.
 
Stweart-Smith on the consistent presence Bonnaure has brought to the program: "He has done an incredible job transforming our defensive philosophy. Our program is grateful to have such a veteran presence in his role. He really does operate like an Associate Head Coach, and I really appreciate our collaborative approach to how we coach our team. He embraces every aspect of coaching and has been such a big part of our success."
 
Looking at the Schedule: The Presidents are set to compete in a 25-game schedule for the 2024-25 season.
 
The season is scheduled to include five non-conference matchups. The Presidents will faceoff with Clarkson (Nov. 8) and Oberlin or Lawrence (No. 9) at the season-opening tournament. W&J is then slated to have their home opener on Tuesday (Nov. 12) at 7 p.m. against nonconference foe Baldwin Wallace. With a short pause due to PAC play, the Presidents soon travel to Carnegie Mellon (Dec. 17) and host Capital (Dec. 19).
 
League play starts on Nov. 20 against Franciscan as W&J opens the season on the road. The Presidents will open the New Year on the road as well when they travel north to face Allegheny (Jan. 4). 
 
W&J will play a double round robin schedule against conference opponents. The PAC Tournament is scheduled to be held from February 25 (Quarterfinals), 27 (Semifinals) and March 1 (Championship). 
 
Final Words from Stewart-Smith: "We expect to show up and compete on a nightly basis in a league full of good teams & coaches. You have to show up and execute each night or you're going to get beat. Our goal is simply to max out and finish in the Top six to guarantee an opportunity at a conference championship."