The Quinnipiac Bobcats have been a program on the rise in recent years. For the past four seasons, the team has consistently improved on their win total, nearly tripling their win total from the 2020-21 season during the 2023-24 season. That rapid improvement led to the team winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular-season championship last season.
MAAC coaches have recognized the program’s recent success, voting them to finish first in the conference this season and naming junior guard Amarri Monroe as the preseason MAAC Player of the Year.
Several factors have contributed to the Bobcats’ success, with consistency being the most crucial. Both the coaching staff and roster have remained stable, with key players returning each year. In fact, the only coaching change in the past four years came from within the existing staff.
This year, there is more of the same from both sides. Eight players, including all five of their starters, return for another season under head coach Tom Pecora, who is entering his second season leading the Bobcats and ninth season with the program.
Among those returning are the team’s big three, Monroe and now-graduate-student guards Paul Otieno and Savion Lewis. Those three had been among the leaders in almost every major statistic for the Bobcats last season, and will also probably be the main source of offense for the Pecora-coached team this season.
But just because the majority of the team returns from last season doesn’t mean that the Bobcats were slacking regarding recruitment. Pecora bolstered the team through regular recruitment and transfer portal periods.
Some major names that have joined the team to look out for this season are a pair of freshmen in forwards Grant Randall and Braylan Ritvo. Both players have received high praise from Pecora in the weeks leading up to the season.
Pecora recently described Randall as “An athletic, multi-positional wing who can affect the game in many different ways.”
Pecora detailed Ritvo as “A big-time shooter who really knows how to play the game.”
Their accolades and stats back these claims up too. Randall ranked seventh in Connecticut by New England Recruiting Report for the 2024 class. Ritvo was impressive last season at Archbishop Stepinac (N.Y.) High School, averaging 14.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game in 30 games.
If both of them can live up to their immediate potential, they’ll be key contributors for the Bobcats this season and beyond.
On paper, Quinnipiac has a great roster. Enough veteran leadership and returning players to have a great sense of cohesion on the roster, but enough new players to keep teams guessing. The main problem with the Bobcats comes down to their scheduling. Many of their non-conference games come against either lower-level Division I teams or teams not in Division I at all. Their hardest game, outside of a Nov. 9 matchup with St. John’s, are either against the Saint Louis Billikens on Nov. 25 or the Yale Bulldogs on Nov. 4. Outside of those, they’re facing the likes of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute or Central Connecticut State University before MAAC play kicks into gear.
So, chances to truly assess the abilities of this team before conference play will be few and far between. However, with Quinnipiac’s success in the past few seasons, they’ll more than likely be in position for a MAAC championship run this season and possibly making some noise in the NCAA Tournament, should they get that far.
