Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU men's basketball team announced its 2023-24 roster Thursday, which includes 14 student-athletes, including four that have joined the program as part of its latest recruiting class.
WELCOME BACK
The Colonials return three starters from a 2022-23 squad that notched an overall record of 16-17 (.485), including a mark of 10-10 (.500) in the Horizon League. The Colonials advanced to the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament for the second consecutive year, with guards
Josh Corbin and
Jackson Last and forward
Stephaun Walker returning for RMU in 2023-24. In all, the Colonials welcome back 39.4 percent (902-of-2,287) of their scoring, 45.9 percent (526-of-1,145) of its rebounding and 32.4 percent (148-of-457) of its assists.
FANTASTIC FOUR
RMU welcomes four new players to its roster for 2023-24, including two transfers and a pair of freshmen. Forward
Markeese Hastings is a grad transfer from Western Michigan, while junior guard
Justice Williams joins the Colonials from Louisiana State (LSU). RMU also has two international student-athletes who will make their NCAA Division I debut in 2023-24, including guard
Alfredo Boglio (Italy) and forward
Alvaro Folgueiras (Spain).
NUMEROLOGY
The NCAA passed a rule change in the spring of 2023 that allows student-athletes to wear numbers 0-99 on their respective uniform for the 2023-24 season. For the Colonials, Boglio will sport No. 6 while Folgueiras will wear No. 7. The duo are the first Colonials to wear those numbers in program history. Hastings will sport zero for his uniform, while Williams will wear No. 1. Sophomore guard
TJ Wainwright, who wore No. 1 as a rookie in 2022-23, will now wear No. 5.
ROLLING ROCK
Last is one of four Colonials that played in all 33 games for RMU last season to return in 2023-24 as well as the only student-athlete to be a member of the starting lineup for each contest. He produced averages of 5.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Corbin is RMU's leading returner scorer, averaging 10.5 points in 33 games, including 32 starts. Walker appeared in 31 games for the Colonials, including 30 starts, and averaged 6.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest.
FROM DEEP
Corbin ranked second in the Horizon League during the 2023-24 season in both three-point field goals made per game (2.82) and three-point field goal percentage (.368). RMU's active leader scorer with 640 career points, including 345 with the Colonials, Corbin has knocked down 174 career three-pointers at the NCAA Division I level. Last season his 93 triples tied him fourth in the RMU single-season record book with Scott Shepherd (1988-91), who drilled 93 three-pointers in 1988-89.
REBOUND
In addition to the return of Walker, who produced 44.9 percent (83-of-185) of his caroms in his first year with the Colonials on the offensive glass, RMU will be bolstered in rebounding with the addition of Hastings. In four seasons at the NCAA Division I level, Hastings has grabbed 585 career boards, with 32.4 percent (190-of-585) coming on the offensive end. Hastings tied for 25th in NCAA Division I last season with Nelly Joseph of Iona and Brandon Brown of Wagner with an average of 9.3 rebounds per game. Hastings posted 16 games in which he finished in double figures in caroms, including five games in which he grabbed at least 15 boards. Arguably his most impressive performance of last season came against Northern Illinois (1/31/23), when he matched a career high with 22 points and cleaned the glass to the tune of 19 rebounds.
GEOCACHING
As has become custom for the Colonials, the RMU roster is a true melting pot. The 14 student-athletes that make up the 2023-24 roster hail from eight different states as well as the District of Columbia. In addition, three student-athletes are international. In addition to Boglio and Folgueiras hailing from Italy and Spain, respectively, forward
Kevin Martina is from Switzerland. Included among the states represented by the Colonials in 2023-24 are California (
Ben Krystkowiak, Wainwright), Kentucky (
Trey James), New Jersey (
Cyril Arvanitis), Michigan (Hastings), North Carolina (
Chris Ford), Ohio (Corbin), Pennsylvania (
Tanner O'Grady, Williams) and Utah (Last). Walker, meanwhile, is a native of Washington, D.C.
RMU BASKETBALL SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets for RMU basketball for the 2023-24 season can be purchased by calling the RMU Ticket Office at (412) 397-4949. In addition to a full slate of Horizon League games, the Colonials will also
host an MTE Tournament at the UPMC Events Center as part of their 2023-24 non-conference home schedule.
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