BEREA, Ohio -- The Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team has its sights set on winning the 2013-2014 Ohio Athletic Conference title and making a trip to the 2014 NCAA Division III National Tournament. Head Coach Duane Sheldon has a veteran cast returning and the ingredients for a championship season.
BW opens the season on Tuesday, November 19 agaisnt cross-town rival Case Western Reserve University in the second game of a men's and women's of a doubleheader at 8 p.m. The Yellow Jackets then travel to Wooster to play eighth-ranked The College of Wooster in the first round of the annual Al Van Wie Tournament on Friday, November 22 at 8 p.m.
Sheldon returns 14 lettermen and four starters from last season's 19-6 overall squad. Leading the way will be All-OAC standouts Kyle Payne (Brunswick) and Kevin Krakowiak (Valley City/Holy Name).
Payne, who has 1,152 career points, is a three-time All-OAC pick and the 2011 OAC Freshman of the Year, is one of the top returning players in the Great Lakes Region and all of Division III. Last season, he averaged 16.6 points-per-game and 6.2 rpg. Krakowiak has 952 career points, is one of the best three-point and free throw shooters in OAC history and has the ability to be one of the best perimeter shooters in the country. He scored 14.6 ppg. and had a team-high 48 three-pointers last winter.
Joining Payne and Krakowiak as returning starters are junior point guard Jaron Crowe (Mentor), who averaged 8.2 ppg. and led the OAC in assists last year with 128, and senior forward Tyler Ferrell (Brunswick), who averaged 5.2 ppg. and 2.9 rpg. and is a defensive force on the inside.
Sheldon has a bevy of talent to pick his fifth starter.
He could utilize senior guard Grant Fairhurst (Ashland), who averaged 6.9 ppg. and had 47 three-pointers. Or he could go with a bigger lineup and play 6'9" senior center Aaron Selmek (Delaware/ Columbus St. Francis DeSales), who averaged 2.8 ppg. and 3.2 rpg. He could go with more quickness and play senior guard Justin Roth (Parma), who averaged 10.6 ppg. Or he could play 6'7" senior swingman Skyler Simpson (Centerburg), who scored 2.5 ppg. and had 14 triples. In addition, junior forward Matt Dennis (Spring Hill, Fla./Nature Coast), who averaged 1.4 ppg. in 10 games, is extremely athletic.
Also returning with varsity experience are sophomore forward sophomore guard junior forward Reid Crossen (Jeromesville/Hillsdale), junior forward Josh Ingle (Shelby), sophomore guard Cody Shell (Chagrin Falls/Kenston), sophomore forward Ryan Walsh (Easton, Pa./ Easton Area) and sophomore forward Zach Warner (Clyde).
In terms of newcomers, Sheldon has eight in preseason camp. Look for freshmen Zack Brandy (Hudson), Ben Chase (Bay Village/Bay), Jake Fetherolf (Norwalk), transfer Brandon Gleim (Hilliard/Davidson), Dane Held (New London), Jaelen Hollinger (Akron/Hoban), Steve Johnson (Olmsted Falls) and Joe Palmer (Columbia Station/Columbia).
"We are excited to get the season started," said Sheldon, who enters his 13th season overall with a 131-154 career mark, including a 66-61 slate at BW the past five years. "We have high expectations this season and our young men have been working hard during the preseason to get ready. We are excited to play Case Western Reserve on the 19th."
After the Wooster Tournament, BW travels to Olivet (Mich.) College on November 26 and begins OAC play on Wednesday, December 4 at Ohio Northern University.
FOR MORE BW SPORTS INFORMATION, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu or Assistant SID Jeff Miller by phone at 440-826-2780 and email at jefmille@bw.edu. Fans can access the latest BW athletics information at www.bwyellowjackets.com and we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter at http://twitter.com/bwathletics.
