2024-25 Roster
2024-25 Schedule
2023-24 Statistics

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team brings back key returners to pair with a talented incoming class, as the Cardinals look to make the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) tournament for the second year in a row and play for their eighth title in program history.

"We are very excited about the season ahead of us. We have a strong group of returners who are eagerly working to continue the progress the program made last year," said head coach Mike Blaine, "We are also excited for our newcomers to join us as we believe that each of them offers us something exciting to add to our dynamic. The sooner we can find our connections as a unit, the more successful we will have a chance to be this year in the chase for a SUNYAC championship."

The Cardinals had a strong 2023-24 campaign finishing the season 14-12 (11-7 SUNYAC), earning a SUNYAC tournament appearance where the fifth-seeded Cardinals fell to the fourth-seeded Cortland Red Dragons 78-77 in overtime in the first round. The team snapped a four-season drought to make the postseason, as they last played in SUNYAC playoff action in 2019. Blaine enters his sixth season and will be looking to repeat last year's success as the Cardinals open their regular season at home against Skidmore on Nov. 8.

The team returns All-SUNYAC second-team honoree Kevin Tabb (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson) who was the Cardinals' top scorer and other key pieces in their rotation in Ikechukwu Ezike (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Paul Robeson), Franklin Infante (East Rockaway, N.Y. / East Rockaway, and Jeremiah Smith (Brooklyn, N.Y. / East New York Family Academy).

This year, the Cardinals welcome seven newcomers with four coming via transfer and three first-years to lengthen the roster.

Guards

The backcourt group will see a lot of familiar faces who were key pieces in the rotation last year. Tabb averaged a team-best 15.7 points per game (PPG) and a team-high 2.2 steals per game (SPG). Infante was a strong contributor, as he averaged 9.8 PPG, 4.5 rebounds per game (RPG), and 2.4 assists per game (APG).

Other returners to the guard unit include Matt Kone-Bradshaw (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Adams Street Academy), Sasha Vidrini (Trieste, Italy / Liceo Rogazionisti), and AJ Williams Jr. (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Paul Robeson).

Newcomers Jaiden Gladney (Charlestown, W. Va. / Jefferson) and Kareem Welch (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson) will look to bring depth to an already solid positional group. Welch joins the Cardinals as a transfer from SUNY Sullivan where he was a NJCAA Division II All-American, an All-Region XV Player of the Year, and First-Team All-Region after averaging 21.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 5.2 APG.

Wings

The wing group returns Ezike and Smith who both played important defensive roles on the team last season while also contributing to the offensive side. Ezike averaged 8.8 PPG and Smith 7.0 PPG while also leading the teams in blocks per game (BPG) averaging 1.6 and 1.0 respectively. Also returning is Jeremy Jolly (Queens, N.Y. / Springfield Gardens), after he appeared in eight games last year.

The Cardinals add depth to the wing group with Damari Johnson (Binghamton, N.Y. / Johnson City) from Tompkins Cortland Community College and first-year Nate Pondexter Jr. (Washington, DC / Archbishop Carroll). Johnson earned NJCAA Region 3 All-Tournament Team honors and was a MSAC All-Conference Honorable Mention after an 11.8 PPG and 7.1 RPG season which helped the Panthers capture the MSAC Championship.

Frontcourt

The frontcourt group returns Orlando Dawkins (Mount Vernon, N.Y. / Mount Vernon), Ladan Graves (Pelham, N.Y. / Pelham Memorial), and Aidan McGuire (Turin, N.Y. / South Lewis) who all played roles as reserves last season and look to compete for larger roles within the forward group in 2024-25. Dawkins has the most experience of the group as he played in 20 games last season while Graves and McGuire played in 17 and eight games respectively.  

The Cardinals welcome transfers Irwayne Connell Jr. (Brooklyn, N.Y. / National Christian Academy) and Wol Machteng (Utica, N.Y. / Utica Academy of Science) and first-year Colin Hartig (Hohen Neuendorf, Germany / Neues Gymnasium Glienicke). Connell Jr. last played at Monroe Community College where he averaged 8.3 points but also gained experience playing at NCAA Division II Saint Thomas Aquinas College where he was coached by Tobin Anderson, the current head coach at Iona. Machteng is coming off an 11 PPG and 7 RPG season at Cayuga Community College and will look to make an impact in the frontcourt group. 

Schedule

The Cardinals had a strong 2023-24 campaign finishing the season 14-12 (11-7 SUNYAC), earning a SUNYAC tournament appearance after a four-year drought. The fifth-seeded Cardinals fell to the fourth-seeded Cortland Red Dragons 78-77 in overtime in the first round.

The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team opens their regular season at home against Skidmore on Nov. 8 before traveling to Norwich on Nov. 16. The team heads back home on Nov. 19 and welcomes St. Lawrence. The Cardinals end November on the road as they travel to Middlebury on Nov. 25 before heading to the Union tournament where they will play Colby College on Nov. 30 and either Union or Vermont State University (VTSU) Lyndon on Dec. 1.

The Cardinals open their SUNYAC schedule on the road against Morrisville on Dec. 6 and then Cortland on Dec. 7 in their final games before winter break.

Plattsburgh State are back in action in January as they host Vermont State University (VTSU) Johnson before jumping back into conference play with three straight road games at Fredonia (Jan. 10), Buffalo State (Jan. 11), and Potsdam (Jan. 14). The Cardinals then start a seven-game homestand beginning with Canton (Jan. 17) and Oswego State (Jan. 18). Plattsburgh next welcomes Oneonta on Jan. 24 and defending conference champions New Paltz the following day on Jan. 25. The Cardinals wrap up their homestand with three games the week of Jan. 26 playing Potsdam (Jan. 28), Cortland (Jan. 31) and Morrisville (Feb. 1).

After a heavy home slate to begin the year, the team heads on a four-game road trip, first traveling to central New York to take on New Paltz (Feb. 7) and Oneonta (Feb. 8). The following weekend, the Cardinals head to Oswego State (Feb. 14) and Canton (Feb. 15) in their final regular season road games of the year. Plattsburgh then wraps up their season at home as they host Buffalo State (Feb. 21) and Fredonia (Feb. 22) to conclude their 2024-25 regular season schedule.

The top six teams qualify for the SUNYAC tournament, while the top two seeds earn byes to the semifinals and the bottom four seeds begin the tournament in the first round on Feb. 26. The regular season champion will then host the final four teams with the semifinals set for Feb. 28 and the championship game set for Mar. 1.