There's a lot to be excited about with UB Athletics these days, and trust me, it extends well past the basketball court.
As we gear up for this weekend, let's take a minute to check in with UB's incoming winter sport recruits:
Men's Basketball
Nick Perkins
Milan has made it to the district semifinals so far, not really a surprise for a team that boasts not just Perkins, but Youngstown State commit Latin Davis. MLive.com is predicting the Big Reds to win out and claim the Michigan Class B crown. Their only two losses came in high-level competition against U of Detroit-Jesuit and Romulus (Nate Oats!)
Perkins himself is averaging 16.6 points, sometimes drawing attention away from Davis, sometimes benefiting from opponents scheming to stop his teammate
Nate Navigato
We linked it when it happened, but Navigato recently became the all-time leading scorer in Geneva history, passing a mark that was establish in 1963. The Vikings beat fellow high seed St. Charles East to win their region - widely regarded as the toughest in Illinois - and next advance to the DeKalb sectional.
Without knowing specifically how far from a title Navigato is, it seems Geneva is further along than Milan. They move on to face Rockford Jefferson, and it seems Navigato, who's been putting up huge numbers all season, is peaking: he scored 27 of his 31 points against St. Charles East in the second half, connecting on his final eight shots. Entering the postseason, the senior had been averaged 19.1 points a night despite rarely playing in fourth quarters.
Maurice O'Field
It's nice to add a guy to this post just in the last few days. At the same time, I don't have much more to say on O'Field His Midland Chaparrals are 17-13 despite scoring upwards of 80 points a game, with Maurice contributing 15.8 a night. I'm not entirely sure if the Chaps have made it to or advanced in the postseason.
Women's Basketball
Gabi Bade
Returning from injury midway through the season, Bade's rejoined a Pinewood Panthers team ranked in the top ten in California and nationally according to MaxPreps.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, their last game was a setback loss in the "CCS Open." I'm not sure of the structure of what's going on with their schedule, but I gather they are still alive to defend their CIF Division V championship.
Brittany Morrison
I *believe* that Morrison's season is over after her St. Joseph's Jaguars lost to Avon in the district semifinals. Morrison, who you'll remember may have slipped through the recruiting cracks due to her size, put up a double-double in the first 12 minutes, but was held to "just" six points and two rebounds in the second half after picking up two quick fouls in the third quarter. St. Joseph's after that game was 14-10.
Wrestling
Oh man am I excited to tell you about wrestling. There's not a lot to say: Everyone is winning. Maybe John will jump in after his midterm and add some more.
Tommy Forte
Indiana State Champion, his second, at 152 pounds. Top-ranked wrestler in Indiana and eighth in the nation by Intermat at 152.
Justin Patrick
Justin won a Prep State Title in Pennsylvania, and recently finished third at Prep Wrestling Nationals at 132 pounds.
Nate Rose
NYS champion at 195 pounds.
Tom Lane
NYS bronze medalist at 182 pounds.
Alex Herringshaw
NYS champion at 160 pounds.
Nolan Terrance
NYS champion at 285 pounds
So those are some pretty good wrestling recruits.
Swimming
Mason Miller
Mason Miller could step into the Buffalo team today and be one of the fastest swimmers. He is 17. In his final Ohio State championships he put down a 45.27 in the 100 free and 48.58 in the 100 fly, finishing fourth and first, respectively.
Zach Towers
Julia Box and Mallory Buha
I'm having a bit of trouble finding results for either, unfortunately, but what I can do is remind you that Box should be versatile for UB in multiple non-freestyle events and remind you of the outlook from signing day.
Buha:
Backstroke is currently an area of weakness for the Bulls. With best times of 55.11 in the 100 backstroke and 2:00.70 in the 200 backstroke, Buha will be a huge contributor to the team as a freshman. She is currently only .02 off of the NCAA "B" cut time in the 100 backstroke and has already been faster than the current school record time of 55.26.
She will make a major impact at the conference level with her individual swims as well as with her contributions to the medley relays. With her times from last season, she would have finished 5th in the 100 backstroke and 8th in the 200 backstroke at the Mid-American Conference Championships. Swapping her time with the lead-off leg of Buffalo's 400 medley relay would have bumped them from 7th to 4th.
Also coming to the Bulls are New York recruits Zach Towers and Kerry Giovanniello and diver Else Piseczny. Towers was the meet MVP at the 2015 state Catholic Championships for St. Anthony's, Giovanniello (Bellmore, NY) finished her senior season in the fall with a bronze medal in the 200 free and a silver in the 500 free. I can't find anything of Piseczny other than UB's announcement, but she's a diver.
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Can't wait to have all these folks on campus! Go Bulls