St. Mary's (MD) Seahawks
Date: Monday December 22nd, 2025
Time: 12:00 PM ET
Venue: Charles E. Smith Center (Washington, DC)
TV: ESPN+
Rank: 289th/409th in D3 (Massey)
2024-25 Record: 14-12, 10-6 (T-5th in D3 United East)
2025-26 Projected Record: 11-12, 8-5 (5th in D3 United East)

Offense: 282nd/409th in D3 (Massey)
Defense: 302nd/409th in D3 (Massey)

Strengths (D3 ranks - 2024-25 Season):
Turnovers Forced Per Game: 16.5 TO/G (59th)
Free Throws Made Per Game: 16.4 FTM (65th)
Free Throw Attempts Per Game: 22.9 FTA (79th)
Blocks Per Game: 3.8 BPG (88th)
Steals Per Game: 9.1 SPG (88th)

Weaknesses (D3 ranks - 2024-25 Season):
Defensive Rebounds Per Game: 24.38 DRPG (311th)
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 0.78 AST/TO (333rd)
Fouls Per Game: 19.8 PF/G (352nd)
Turnovers Per Game: 17.4 TO/G (372nd)

Projected Starting Lineup:
#24 G Ben Kobil (Junior; Washington, DC) - 1.9 ppg; 52% FG, 71% 3-PT, 67% FT per 7.2 mpg/20 GP at D3 St. Mary's (MD) last season
#3 G Korey Blair (Freshman; Baltimore, MD)
#23 G/F James Crimaudo (Sophomore; Riva, MD) - 8.2 ppg, 4 rpg; 55% FG, 34% 3-PT, 88% FT per 18.4 mpg/23 GP at D3 St. Mary's (MD) last season
#21 G/F Jake Koverman (Senior; Severna Park, MD) - 12.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.4 apg; 48% FG, 39% 3-PT, 78% FT per 31.5 mpg/25 GP at D3 St. Mary's (MD) last season
#1 F Evan Quintero (Freshman; Fallston, MD)

Key Bench Players:
#11 G Khairi Hyde (Freshman; Gaithersburg, MD)
#44 F JD Salo (Senior; Dunkirk, MD) - 3.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg; 48% FG, 41% FT per 10.4 mpg/16 GP at D3 St. Mary's (MD) last season
#14 G Sekou Bangoura (Sophomore; Olney, MD) - 1.6 ppg; 40% FG, 60% 3-PT, 83% FT per 4.1 mpg/10 GP at D3 St. Mary's (MD) last season
#10 F Tristan Thompson (Freshman; Urbana, MD)
#0 G Noah Brazil (Freshman; Columbia, MD)

Key Losses:
Kyree Smith (Transferred to D2 Bluefield State; Baltimore, MD) - 16.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.5 spg; 49% FG, 19% 3-PT, 70% FT per 35.3 mpg/25 GP
Yassine Idrissa (Transferred to D2 Clarion; Rockville, MD) - 13.6 ppg, 8 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.1 spg, 2.5 bpg; 65% FG, 31% 3-PT, 73% FT per 30.3 mpg/26 GP
Tjay Beckles (Left Team; Baltimore, MD) - 10.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2 apg; 40% FG, 36% 3-PT, 77% FT per 28.1 mpg/23 GP

Preview:
Every time we face a non-D1 opponent during the season I find myself surprised with just how many schools there are across divisions. With the addition of New Haven this year, there are now 365 division 1 institutions. In division 2, there's another 300+ schools. Division 3 has even more schools (just over 400). There has been a lot of conversation about the demographic cliff since COVID. With the expected number of high school students set to decline at the start of 2026, it's fair to question just how many institutions remain open over the next few years. School closures already started happening during COVID, but it's only going to get worse.

That doesn't count situations where schools are merging or athletics are being cut altogether. A few months back, D1 universities Queens (NC) and Elon announced that they would be merging. Queens is a relatively new school in the division 1 ranks, having made the transition in 2022. This is the first year that they are eligible for the NCAA tournament, since the four year transition period has been reduced to three (the rule is still stupid). The crazy part is that as of now, the plan is to keep the two athletic departments separate, since Queens is in the Atlantic Sun and Elon is in the CAA. I'm skeptical that this will hold up long-term, but it will be interesting to see how that situation unfolds.

Other schools have ended athletics completely. St. Francis Brooklyn, one of the original D1 institutions to not make the NCAA tournament, made this decision back in 2023. Of course, this is happening across divisions. St. Mary's (MD), our next opponent, plays in the United East Conference in D3. Last year's top team in the league was Bryn Athyn in Pennsylvania. The Lions went an impressive 15-1 in league play (20-9 overall). Back in March, the school suddenly announced that they would be discontinuing all 11 athletic programs. I think that speaks to just how little support there is at that level. Given that the school has an undergraduate population of under 300, I'd imagine the school itself is unlikely to survive in the near future (athletics programs generally help boost enrollment numbers as well). Anyways, you would think there would be a little bit of backing coming off a successful year, but that's not the case. Hartford went D3 within a couple years of making the big dance, and St. Francis (the Pennsylvania version) is following suit after this season just a year removed from getting in as a 16 seed.

Anyways, the St. Mary's (MD) Seahawks are led by Chris Harney, who enters his 21st year at his alma mater. As you'd imagine for a small athletic department, Harney wears many hats. He was named assistant AD in 2016 and later became an Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Designee in 2021. Under Harney, the Seahawks have won four conference tournament titles and six regular season titles. He has won over 300 career games and has a winning percentage of over 60 in conference games.

All of Harney's titles came when the Seahawks were part of the Capital Athletic Conference (now known as the Coast to Coast Conference). Apparently, the ACC and Big Ten aren't the only conferences with schools on both the east and west coasts. The conference was renamed when UC Santa Cruz (shoutout to the Banana Slugs!), the only D3 school in the UC system, joined the primarily east-coast based conference in 2020. Given that, I guess it makes sense why St. Mary's (MD) decided to leave for the United East a year later, as the travel costs were probably not practical. According to David Wilson's conference ranks, the UEC is one of the weakest in D3, but SMC has struggled since moving over. Their last really good season was back in 2014-15 under Harney, but I'm sure success on the court isn't as important as off the court for the school.

Looking back at St. Mary's (MD) schedule from this year and in the past, they are 0-20 against D1 teams since 2010. Howard beat them by 54 earlier in the year. To my knowledge, going back even further I don't believe they have won against a D1 team in 36 career games (the wins against Loyola MD and UMBC were back when both schools were non-D1). The Seahawks last got within 20 points of a D1 team back in 2020-21 against Delaware State and have only lost by single digits three times. I was not surprised that two of times were against Loyola (MD) (in the 80s) and The Citadel (back in 2010-2011) but the third time was incredibly against St. John's. That Red Storm team coached by Steve Lavin was not good, but that's still a surprising result.

Season          Opponent          Result
2025-26           Howard            L 115-61
2024-25     George Mason       L 91-62
2024-25             VCU               L 102-44
2023-24         Longwood          L 95-43
2023-24        Loyola (MD)        L 91-57
2022-23     Coastal Carolina    L 97-43
2022-23       Norfolk State        L 91-41
2022-23    MD-Eastern Shore  L 87-56
2021-22       Morgan State       L 118-55
2021-22    MD-Eastern Shore  L 79-43
2020-21       Morgan State       L 99-41
2020-21         Richmond          L 90-49
2020-21      Delaware State     L 75-58
2020-21       Norfolk State        L 72-51
2019-20            UMBC             L 79-57
2018-19     Mount St. Mary's    L 83-44
2017-18           Towson             L 90-57
2016-17          Maryland           L 93-45
2011-12          St. John's          L 77-70
2010-11         The Citadel        L 72-64

St. Mary's (MD) has a fairly young roster this season - eight of the 13 players on the roster are freshmen. Three of their top four double figure scorers depart, including top scorer Kyree Smith and forward Yassine Idrissa. Both players moved up to the D2 ranks. Idrissa was 13th in all of D3 in blocks per game as a freshman. Replacing that is next to impossible, and quick fixes aren't as readily available from the transfer portal.

The leader this year without a doubt is Jake Koverman, who spent two seasons mostly riding the bench at the D1 level (High Point) before a cup of coffee in D2 (Frostburg State). He's been with the Seahawks in D3 for the last three years. For his St. Mary's career, he is a 35% three point shooter and converts a respectable 76% of his FTs. Koverman is in a bit of a slump to start the year shooting-wise, and has also coughed up the ball a bit too much. Still, he leads the team in rebounding at over six a game after ranking second on the team last year, and also paces the squad in steals (2 spg).

Sophomore James Crimaudo has taken a sizable leap, leading the Seahawks in scoring this year while shooting 44% from 3, moving the ball on offense, and pitching in with roughly six boards a game himself. Crimaudo can be a bit pesky on defense. A pair of first-years in Korey Blair and Evan Quintero have also made big impacts for the team so far this year. Blair is currently second in scoring and can ramp up the pressure along the perimeter. He has a bright future, but is prone to typical issues of a freshman like turning the ball over. So far, he averages nearly two turnovers for every assist. Quintero is in a similar boat (11 assists to 23 turnovers on the year), but that's a bit more forgivable as a first-year big. He has pretty good size for a D3 player (6'9"), is efficient near the hoop, and rebounds decently well. Quintero's rim protection is also vital for the Seahawks with Idrissa's departure. Harney needs him to stay on the floor, but avoiding foul trouble has been an issue. He fouled out in each of his first three games of college basketball.

The final starting spot was expected to go to James Lerner, who has started 57 games for St. Mary's over the last three years, but he's no longer on the roster and has not played in the last two games. That's a big loss, as Lerner led the team in assists last year and the quartet above have all struggled with turnovers to a degree. Another freshman in Khairi Hyde replaced Lerner in the lineup. He's flashed playmaking ability but has struggled mightily in the shooting department. 35/14/58 splits won't get it done. Hyde also missed their last contest. Ben Kobil got the starting nod in their last game against Goucher. The 5'11" DC native attended Jackson-Reed HS (Jun's school). He is not a high usage player and prefers to get to the rim.

Other consistent rotation options for Harney this season include JD Salo, Sekou Bangoura, Noah Brazil, and Tristan Thompson (no not that one). Salo, a senior, has been Quintero's primary backup but has not been quite as effective. He can get a bucket near the hoop, but his range is quite limited. Bangoura will add to the guard rotation, but has had a really rough go of it shooting the ball. He has made 8/9 FTs, which suggests better shooting days are ahead. Brazil and Thompson see roughly eight minutes a game. The former player is another guy who prefers to penetrate on offense, while the latter carries a bit more defensive upside. Thompson figures to play the 4 against D3 teams, but against GW he will definitely be at a height disadvantage.

Given this is an exhibition for the Seahawks, it would not be surprising to see them play everyone. Rounding out the roster are Sam Caldwell, Nick Baron, and Josh Maher - all freshmen. Despite all three players standing at 6'3" tall, Baron is classified as a guard while the other two are forwards. Caldwell is a bowling ball who can finish through contact at 260 lbs. Maher is a Virginia native who attended Massanutten Military Academy, which has a fairly well-regarded HS basketball program.

The main purpose of this game is to avoid having the guys go 2.5 straight weeks without playing a game. It's a win as long as GW finishes the game with everyone fully healthy. Hopefully, it's useful for CC to tinker with different lineups on both sides of the ball and figure out what combinations work best prior to the start of conference play at Richmond.

Projected Score: GW 105, St. Mary's (MD) 51. Massey predicts a 100% win probability, but after the Delaware game I'm putting it at 99.9%. ESPN predicts a 99% victory.
 

Feeling pretty bad for St Mary’s College, which is suffering for the Delaware loss. Castro and Hunger might both finish with 20 points…

Anyone know if Garrett is OK? Not playing and I don’t see him on the bench.

One of these days Mo will get his bucket.  Sadly, today was not that day.

Gwmayhem wrote:

A game that only further clouds the answer as to whether Ty Bevins (14 points, 3-5 from 3, 7 rebounds) can be an effective part of the team's rotation or whether this was simply nothing more than his being much better than the opponent.

My guess is that CC likes Ty's development as a sophomore.  He has length, fight, good motor, nice form on his shot, and has been working on his D by using his legs rather than reaching in.  He played the most minutes today because the opportunity arose.  He should stay ready because CC needs his skillset. 
I was surprised that we had 16 turnovers and had the ball stolen 10 times in this game. Most of the minutes in these rotations should attempt to address the ballhandling/passing issues.  
 

Alum1 wrote:

ESPN box score had attendance at 1,868. Those who were there is that a false count or does it include season tix count regardless if they show? If 1,868 showed up for that game, it might be the biggest surprise of the year.

should have been part of the $5 student ticket deal

attendance - intentionally overstated =
Season ticket sales for the game plus partial season ticket packages for the game plus previous online sale (not from resellers like stub hub) plus day of walk-up sales

a more accurate measure would be based on the turnstile - but that would exclude all no shows of previously sold tickets  

I have no idea how free student admissions are handled

It was a D-1 team scrimmaging a D-3 team for which we paid full price