Brockport Men's Basketball Season Preview: Looking for its first E8 crown

BROCKPORT, N.Y.—The Brockport Golden Eagles basketball team, led by head coach Joe Clarke, steps into the 2025-2026 season with their eyes on the Empire 8 title. But not the regular-season title, which the Golden Eagles earned last year; they want the Empire 8 conference championship.  

The 2025 Brockport Men's Basketball Team. (Photo Credits: Liv Metz)

The Golden Eagles kicked off the season with a 96-87 win over Ithaca. The rest of the Golden Eagles’ non-conference schedule is a bit different than last year’s.  They’ll take on Oswego on Nov. 18 and then head to Ohio for the Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic. Their first home game is not until Dec. 30 when they take on Penn State Behrend. La Roche is the Golden Eagles’ final non-conference test until they open Empire 8 play against Elmira on Jan. 6 at the Jim and John Vlogianitis Gymnasium.  

Coming into conference play last year, the Golden Eagles sat with a 1-6. With three of those losses coming to teams ranked in the pre-season top 25, the Golden Eagles challenged themselves.  

“It was tough, I had never been 1-6 in anything in my life, so it was new territory for me,” Brockport head coach Joe Clarke said. “I leaned on my mentors and just asked them some questions, and the advice I got was to coach them harder and stay the course. We got back from winter break, and it was a grind. I put them in situations that were so hard that when it came to the game, it was easy.”  

Brockport grabbed its first win after six losses in a row against SUNY Delhi (85-74) and started conference play right after. The Golden Eagle ended conference play with a 14-2 record and won the Empire 8 regular season title, but fell to SUNY Poly in the conference semifinals, 92-89. The Golden Eagles ended their season with a 17-10 record.  

“That loss has motivated me and Jacob (Oka) a lot because it’s our last year and we don’t want it to be the same result,” senior guard Zach Rice said. “It hurt because going into it we were the one seed, at home and we really weren’t supposed to lose.” 

Last year, the Golden Eagles led the Empire 8 in points per game (81.7), while shooting 44.2% from the field and 36.4 % from beyond the arc. Mekhi Beckett was the Golden Eagles’ leading scorer, averaging 13.0 points per game to lead the balanced attack, but he will not be returning this year.  

The Golden Eagles will be looking at seniors Rice and Oka to head this Brockport team. Last year, Rice averaged 11.4 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game, and had 31 steals on the season. The 6’2” high-flying guard shot 45.5% from the field and 39.2 % from three-point land.  

Senior Zach Rice going up for a layup in a preseason scrimmage against Cortland. (Photo Credits: Liv Metz)

Oka, the 6’4” guard/forward, averaged 7.5 points per game and grabbed 5.2 rebounds per game. Oka added 25 steals on the year, along with 18 blocks.  

“I think I’ve stepped up as a leader by telling them, it’s okay to throw a turnover or make a mistake, move to the next play,” Rice said. “I want to make sure they don’t get down on themselves because I know that I can get down on myself, and I don’t want to see them do that.”  

“It’s really the same thing from those guys, being versatile, making plays, but playing like a senior,” Clarke said. “You’ve got to act like a senior; it’s not just how they play, but it’s their body language, its leadership, its talking, its being coachable. Its showing the younger guys what Brockport basketball culture is.”  

Junior guard Nate Gordon is returning for the Golden Eagles but will start the season sidelined with an ankle injury. Last year, Gordon put up 7.8 points per game, 2.6 rebounds per game, and shot 38.6 % from three-point land.  

Brockport will be without three of its top five scorers from last year, losing Beckett, Tony Arnold (senior), and junior Alex Tavarez to a season-ending surgery. The Golden Eagles also lost guards Jakhi Lucas and

Colby Jordan and forwards Milo Scheeve and Adewale Fasanmi due to graduation. It’s a freshman class of six and four transfers that need to step up to fill those voids.  

The transfers looking to make an impact for the Golden Eagles include Camron Dyer who averaged 10.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game last year at Niagara County Community College. Marco Evans put up 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game at SUNY Orange County Community College while Cameron Pownall averaged 3.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game at Mohawk Valley Community College last season. Omar White added 6.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game at Monroe Community College last year.   

Headlining the freshman class is Pharell Aybar, who is the first true freshman starting point guard for the Golden Eagles since Derek Klein in the 2009-2010 season. Aybar earned the Empire 8 Rookie of the Week after having 19 points, five rebounds, and seven steals in the Golden Eagles’ first game of the year.  

Other freshmen coming in for the Golden Eagles are 6’0” guard Seth Charlton, 6’2” guard Jack Clancy, 6’2” guard Ajani Flemming, 6’1” guard Kameron Langdon, 6’5” forward Jayden Linton, and 6’5” forward Bryce Marshall.  

“They were all recruited heavily knowing we were going to lose a lot,” Clarke said. “Every transfer and new guy fits that dog mentality, and they have big-time talent. The Suny Poly semi, we just weren't tough enough to win those games, and when it came down to it, getting a loose ball, getting a rebound, making those tough plays, we didn’t do that. And that's what we brought in. That's what we focused on when we did recruiting.” 

The 2025 Brockport Golden Eagles Coaching staff (L-R) JJ Jerebko, Joe Clarke and Shawn Harris. (Photo Credits: Liv Metz)

Another recruit for the Golden Eagles was JJ Jerebko as an assistant coach. Jerebko played for the Golden Eagles and graduated in 2022. He was an assistant coach for one year here before going to the University of Colorado Springs to be an assistant coach. Coach Clarke went and got his guy back.  

“I joke, but it was a recruiting process for him too,” Clarke said. “He’s a guy with experience, a guy that’s really good with the x’s and o’s, very high game IQ and he’s a super hard worker. We are super lucky to have him.” 

Brockport looks to win its first conference title since 2020, when the Golden Eagles won the SUNYAC. In Brockport’s second year in the Empire 8, the Golden Eagles start their quest for Empire 8 supremacy with conference play opening on Jan. 6 against Elmira.  

89.1 the Point will be broadcasting all Brockport Men's Basketball home games this season. Tune into our live broadcasts at 891thepoint and keep up for updates throughout the season on our Instagram 891thepoint.