Jack Lawhorne – Student Reporter
NORTH ANDOVER, Ma. — The Merrimack Men’s Basketball Team is back for year seven at the Division I level and year 10 of the Joe Gallo era. They’ll tip off the season at South Dakota State University on Monday night, November 3, at 9:00 p.m. ET.
Coming off three consecutive standout seasons which ended in dramatic fashion, the Warriors have both a ton to build off of — while at the same time — a ton to live up to.
In 2022-23, Merrimack won the NEC — thanks to spectacular seasons from Jordan Minor, Ziggy Reid, and Javon Bennett. A conference win generally grants an automatic NCAA Tournament bid and the right to play in March Madness. Merrimack, however, was still in their final season of the four-year transition period new Division I schools are required to endure before they are eligible to compete in the tournament.
So instead of playing in March Madness, the Warriors were forced to settle as conference champions, and all three of Minor, Reid, and Bennett transferred.
Meanwhile, FDU, who Merrimack defeated in the NEC Championship, went on to face, and even upset No. 1 Purdue in the Round of 64. It was only the second time ever that a 16-seed took down a 1-seed.
After losing their three stars, Merrimack looked primed for a down year. But with Joe Gallo at the helm, that is never the case.
In 2023-24, stars emerged from the dust, as rising sophomore Jordan Derkack, who averaged 7 points on just 5 FGA the year prior, jumped out and led the NEC with 17 PPG, winning NEC Player of the Year and NEC Defensive Player of the Year. Along with Derkack, freshman Budd Clark came out of the gates to average 13 points (9th in NEC) with 4 assists (2nd in NEC) and 2.5 steals (7th in country).
Merrimack finished first in the NEC for the second consecutive year, and looked destined for the long-awaited March Madness berth, until a devastating knee injury to Derkack derailed the season in the NEC Championship vs. Wagner, who won and went on to play Howard in the First Four before No. 1 UNC in the Round of 64.
NEC Rookie of the Year Budd Clark and Most Improved Player Bryan Etumnu would stay for another year, but Jordan Derkack departed for Rutgers to play alongside top-five 2025 NBA Draft picks Dylan Harper (No. 2) and Ace Bailey (No. 5).
With Derkack gone but a strong core still intact — plus a few key veteran additions — Merrimack entered the 2024-25 season with a glimmer of hope. But as they stepped into a far more competitive conference, the MAAC, the odds were once again stacked against the Warriors.
As you should expect, though, like any Joe Gallo team typically does, the Warriors overperformed. Budd Clark finished top 25 in the country in both points (19.8) and assists (6.0), as he led Merrimack to the No. 2 seed in the MAAC (14-6). In the playoffs, Merrimack defeated Sacred Heart in the Quarterfinals, but fell in a heartbreaker to Mount St. Mary’s, who defeated Iona in the Conference Championship, and went on to play Cooper Flagg and Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
This year, Merrimack lost Budd Clark. They also lost all four of their other starters – MAAC Defensive Player of the Year Bryan Etumnu, multi-year starter Devon Savage, and trusty veterans Matt Becht and Sean Trumper.
Some would argue the Warriors are bound to run out of luck and face a down year. Others would suggest the opposite, pointing to Joe Gallo’s track record of beating the odds — a constant that’s as strong as ever.
Third-year student manager, Liam McLaughlin, who travels with the team, would tend to agree with the latter notion.
“There’s a reason Gallo got that 10-year deal, because everyone realizes that he has such a knack for finding diamond in the rough players,” said McLaughlin.
“Guys like Derk, Budd — who weren’t that sought out by schools out of high school were recruited here because Gallo and the coaching staff saw their potential… they also do a great job of developing the players,” he added.
While Merrimack lost a handful of key guys, there is no shortage of talent on the roster, both with returners and newcomers.
No one can replace Budd Clark, but somebody is going to step into the lead guard role.
Luckily, the Warriors have a list of guys who can contribute to the effort. Both Malik Edmead and Tye Dorset are back, Edmead for his senior year after doing a very good job of backing up Clark last year, and Dorset is looking to build off of an impressive freshman season in which he saw only an increase in minutes and production as the season went on.
Dorset highlighted his keys to success based on what he learned last season: “Personally I’m just going to try and take it game by game, now knowing how long the season is… just me staying aggressive 24/7 this year will be huge for me.”
I spoke with Edmead on how he expects everything to come together: “My role on the team took a major step forward this year,” he said. “As a final-year player at Merrimack, I had to step up as a leader and help guide the new transfers and freshmen, which was a big change from last season when the team was already familiar with each other… The vibes going into the season are exciting. Every player truly cares about one another, and while both teams I’ve been on were different, that sense of brotherhood is the one big thing they shared and it’s the most important thing you need in order to win.”
Kevair Kennedy also joins the mix, coming from similar roots as Budd Clark. They both played in the highly competitive Philadelphia Catholic League, even playing against each other, and they both led their teams to state championships. Kennedy projects to be Gallo’s next two-way star guard, but he is also young. So having not just one but two steady options in the backcourt provides this team with an immense amount of both depth and potential.
Regardless of roles, this team embodies a win-first mentality from top to bottom, something Brendan Johnson echoed.
Johnson is a name Merrimack fans have been excited about for a couple of years. After redshirting his first season due to injury last year, though, he ran into yet another injury hump again this offseason.
The 6’4” guard is a seriously talented player who in his senior season of high school won Player of the Year in the Baltimore Catholic League, the same league that produced NBA stars such as Carmelo Anthony and Immanuel Quickley.
Johnson is carrying a ton of optimism going into the year. “I’m excited for the season,” he said. “With 10 new guys, we were able to mesh quickly and the overall talent of the team is amazing.
Team of unselfish, dedicated, and hardworking players. Everyone from 1-15 on the roster has the same goal in mind and that’s to win.”
On the wings, Devon Savage and Matt Becht were sharp last season, each shooting 34% or better from downtown on 7 attempts per game apiece. But the Warriors may have upgraded.
Gallo added Division II transfer Ernest Shelton as well as La Salle transfer Andrés Marrero, who together provide a higher ceiling than even the sniper duo did last year. Shelton is an elite athlete, while Marrero is a deadly shooter (39.4% from 3 in 2023-24).
Marrero has only attempted 24 shots at the basket over the past two seasons, according to Sam Federman’s annual MAAC Season Preview, but he told me bluntly: “I’m going to be more than a shooter this year.” Plus, as Federman mentions, Becht and Savage together only attempted 47 shots at the rim last year, so there is no issue for Gallo here.
Shelton, though, isn’t just an athlete. He’s a lights-out shooter, too. Over two seasons at Gannon, Shelton shot 37% from beyond the arc on over 400 attempts.
Overall, this wing duo maintains the shooting the Warriors had last year, while also bringing another element in terms of athleticism and scoring.
Marrero also looks to bring a veteran presence to a team full of new guys and young guys: “I’m an older guy, if not the oldest I think I’m up there with Jay Stins… I have been blessed to be able to play four years of college basketball and I think that the experience from the oldest on the team helps balance out the talent and the youth that we have this year… everyone is really good at what they do and I look forward to just helping and guiding so we can put all the pieces together and everyone can perform at their highest level.”
Speaking of “Jay Stins,” Jaylen Stinson is back for his fourth season as a Warrior after redshirting last year. Stinson provides even more steady guard depth and veteran leadership.
“I believe my role on the court is to simply make plays for others and I,” he said. “Off the court… really to make others feel like our team is a brotherhood… keeping everyone involved… a huge way to just naturally build chemistry.”
In the frontcourt, Sean Trumper and Bryan Etumnu depart, but Todd Brogna and Aliou Cisse enter the equation.
Brogna is a transfer from Stonehill who was just 0.3 percent shy of shooting 40/50/90. On an impressive 12.3 PPG, the 6’7” forward shot an astounding 50.2% from the field, 39.7% from 3, and 90.7% from the free throw line. Simultaneously, as Sam Federman of Mid Major Madness mentions, he led the NEC with 4.2 PPG off of post-ups, with a sizable gap between him and second place (2.6). Brogna is going to be a problem offensively, whether it’s at the 4 or 5 next to Cisse.
Aliou Cisse is another freak athlete Gallo added in the transfer portal from Division II, just like Ernest Shelton. When asked how he expects to utilize his athleticism in Gallo’s system, Cisse said: “Making plays on the defensive end that lead to highlight and big-time plays on the offensive end… running the floor hard, giving my teammates opportunities to make plays for all of us.”
Gallo seemed to agree with that notion when he told Mid Major Madness: “He’s a mantis… he gets his hands on everything. He’s much more comfortable playing in the full court than the half court. I’d be a horrible coach if I just made him kind of stand in the corner in the halfcourt.” Basketball nerds everywhere will be in heaven watching the “Chaos Director” Gallo mix the athleticism and ability to push the ball he now has in his arsenal with his signature 2-3 zone defense, which thrives on limiting threes above the break and making chaos.
Additionally, Brogna and Cisse are both upperclassmen who are looking to bring leadership to this new, young locker room. “On and off the court, I’m being a leader and constantly talking to the younger guys, especially freshmen,” Cisse said. Brogna said he’s looking forward to “being a steady presence for my teammates through the good and the bad of the season.”
Merrimack has even more firepower to work with. KC Ugwuakazi transfers back to his home state of Massachusetts from East Texas A&M and brings versatile defense and experience while Dylan Veillette, who impressed Gallo this summer, offers size and athleticism. Jacob Moore and David Munro are two more potential-filled freshmen who offer forward depth. Brandon Legris also returns for his fourth season. He hasn’t played over the past two seasons, but was efficient when he saw the court as a freshman, and provides even more veteran leadership.
Another intriguing storyline is freshman Quinn Kwasniak, who is redshirting this season. Kwasniak is Ohio’s all-time leading high school scorer, a ridiculous feat, not only because LeBron James played his high school ball in Ohio, but definitely especially because of that.
Overall, while there were many key departures from last year’s team, Joe Gallo did his thing in the offseason, putting together a phenomenally talented and balanced 15-man roster — and one that is emphatic to compete with one another.
“The team is great, and getting better every day. We’re very tight both on and off the court,” Andres Marrero told me. Aliou Cisse doubled down: “The vibes are amazing. We all bought in from day one and clicked fast, especially given that there are 10 new guys.”
“We can’t wait to play another jersey,” Marrero concluded.
Between veteran leadership, high-end talent, and depth, Joe Gallo’s Warriors are primed for another exciting season as they continue in their pursuit of a MAAC Championship and NCAA Tournament berth.
