Vermont rounds out their 2024 recruiting class

Vermont finished their 2024 recruiting cycle with a commitment from 6'4" G Ben Wesson from Charlottesville, VA. Wesson played his high school basketball at Albemarle High School and was named the regional player of the year this past season. He is only 17 years old and was considering a potential prep year to get ready for the college game. Vermont swooped in and offered him the last 2024 slot and he will have a chance to redshirt this season and hit the ground running the following season. The coaching staff has done a great job this cycle adding immediate impact transfers (Jayhlon Young and Shy Odom) and future contributors (Sean Blake, Drew Bessette, and Wesson). Due to their strong veteran rotation, all of the freshman next year will be able to sit for a year and adjust to the college game, giving them a leg up for the 25-26 season when they will have minutes available to potentially add depth to the rotation as redshirt freshman. Freshman across the country are about to have their chance to impact college basketball again as teams get much younger following this season. This feels like a return to the previous era when the Vermont coaching staff always added a combination of freshmen and transfers (when they used to have to sit out) to balance and plan for current and future seasons simultaneously. The Vermont program has had a strong track record with redshirt season development. Now back to Wesson. He is a great fit in the Vermont program. A bit of a late bloomer who has elite shooting potential and playmaking instincts. He plays with a strong motor and has good defensive fundamentals. With a prep year to get stronger and adjust to the college game, he is set up to have an impact early in his career as a shooter. Pick your comparison over the years (Cam Ward, Stef Smith, TJ Hurley, etc.) and Wesson's skill set has often blossomed in the Vermont system.  A plug and play Catamount. Another successful recruiting season with loads of potential and for the first time in a few years, completed in early May so the coaching staff gets a little bit of a break before the summer program. Another exciting season in Catamount country is on tap!

Shy Odom commits to Vermont

Vermont received a commitment from 6'6 F Shy Odom, a native of Roxbury, MA who played two seasons at Howard and has two years of eligibility remaining. This is an absolutely massive add for the Catamounts. Odom had a huge freshman season at Howard where he won MEAC rookie of the year after averaging 10.9 points and 4.6 rebounds and then led the Bison to a NCAA tourney berth, winning the MEAC tourney MVP. In Howard's first round game he finished with 15 points and 8 rebounds against Kansas. This season he was named the MEAC preseason player of the year before struggling a bit while battling injuries. Prior to Howard he played at top tier Sierra Canyon HS with Bronny James and others. The Vermont coaching staff has been scouring the portal looking for a player who can add a post presence to the current roster. Odom fits that role perfectly. He is at his best attacking the rim and using his strength and physicality to finish through contact. Odom can score with his back to the basket or attack off the dribble. He is a strong rebounder who has been particularly effective on the offensive glass. Defensively he is able to wall up opposing players, good shot blocking instincts, and has versatility to guard multiple positions. He also has strong playmaking skills as he averaged 2.4 assists last season. Odom is going to be a dynamic player for Vermont. This is the third season in a row that the Vermont coaching staff has landed a player to put an already strong roster over the top (Dylan Penn, Shamir Bogues, and now Odom). With the addition of Odom, Vermont has the depth and versatility to once again make a championship run and beyond. Odom will provide the physical post presence that Vermont has been looking to add the last few offseasons. With two more seasons he will also provide a great veteran presence when Vermont gets very young following the graduation of all of the COVID year players. One more scholarship to go for Vermont and my guess is that it will be filled with an eye to the future as opposed to an impact for next season. 

Jayhlon Young commits to Vermont

Vermont begins their portal season with a commitment from 6-2 guard Jayhlon Young from Dallas, TX. Young has gone from Grambling State (Redshirt) to Baton Rouge Community College to UCF to Memphis and is ready to spend his final year in Catamount country. His calling card is his strong defensive ability and is going to be a great fit for Vermont. Young had a very strong career at Baton Rouge CC, starting all 25 games his sophomore year and averaging 15.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3 assists per game. After that season he transferred to UCF and had a good season for the Knights, first as their starting point guard, and then as the backup. Young then played last season at Memphis in a similar role. His on and off ball defense have drawn praise throughout his career (the analytics agree with the eye test) and he plays with a high motor and relentless energy. Offensively he is a solid shooter who likes to get out in transition and has shown good playmaking ability from the point guard position. He will be looking to get that offensive efficiency bump that the Vermont program has been so good at fostering. A lineup featuring Shamir Bogues, Ileri Ayo-Faleye, and Young will be a nightmare for opponents. Young and Bogues will give Vermont the ability to harass opposing guards for a full 40 minutes night in and night out. Last season really demonstrated the importance of having strong depth with Bogues, TJ Hurley, and Matt Veretto all missing chunks of time. Adding Young to an already strong group of guards will once again give the Cats the versatility that was crucial to their success this season. Another tremendous job by the coaching staff finding an under the radar player that fits their style and system so well. I expect Young to make a big impact and bring energy and excitement to Patrick next season. 

P.S. Young is also a lefty so Vermont will continue to have the most lefty heavy team ever. 

Vermont falls in the WNIT semifinal

St. Louis 57 Vermont 54

St. Louis came out in the second half and shot the lights out while the Cats offense never quite found a rhythm and Vermont came up short in the WNIT semifinal. What a magical and inspirational run. Patrick Gym was packed and rocking from the opening tip. The game didn't go Vermont's way but what a great send off for Emma Utterback and Delaney Richason. Personally I can't thank Emma and Delaney enough for how they have inspired young Vermonters around the state with their incredible careers on and off the court. Big shout out to Bella Vito with another double double and playing with reckless abandon. What an amazing place for Vermont to be, with both basketball programs playing at such a high level. I feel lucky every time I walk into Patrick gym because I know I am going to see a great basketball game. What a wonderful winter of basketball for the Cats. 

Chris Santo departs for a head coaching gig

It was announced today that Vermont assistant coach Chris Santo has accepted the head men's basketball coaching position at Saint Anselm. What an awesome opportunity for Santo to head back to his alma mater and take the reins of the program. Santo went a perfect 3 for 3 during his time on the bench as an integral part of the three-peat. Congratulations to him and the best of luck! Vermont has done a tremendous job of seamlessly moving from one assistant to another during Becker's tenure. It is always interesting to see what direction they go in as far as area of expertise or regional connections. One of the things that has contributed to the consistency of Vermont's success is building a great staff that Becker can rely on. Several of the assistants that have left have been able to springboard from Vermont to a higher level position. Just like the winning culture is attractive to prospective student athletes, it is equally attractive for those looking to further their coaching career. 

Vermont charges to the WNIT final four

Vermont 67 Purdue 59

The Cats are still dancin'

The Vermont women's team exploded in the second half and punched their ticket to the WNIT Fab Four. That was the best game I have seen this group play during this incredible three year run of success. This team and this group have been so fun to watch and they have inspired my daughters to fall in love with basketball. What a testament to Coach Kresge and the players to resurrect the program. This win was such a great team win, Everything clicked in the second half. In the first half, the nerves were real and play was choppy. Vermont's tops in the nation defense kept them in the game while the offense was disjointed. Purdue was winning the battle on the boards and forcing Vermont to take tough shots. Then the Cats came out in the second half and put on a clinic. They started to smother Purdue on defense and turned the tide in the battle on the boards. Shots began to fall and pretty soon Vermont was cutting up the Purdue defense with precision passing and clutch shotmaking. A perfect 12-12 effort from the line sealed the deal and the Cats are off to their first WNIT Fab Four. 

The leader, as she has been throughout her career was Emma Utterback. She overcame a jittery first half with an amazing second. Electric in the open floor, knifing through the defense to the rim, and finding teammates for easy buckets. Utterback finished with 20 points and 6 assists in a huge performance. Keira Hanson's emergence this season has been fun to watch. At the beginning of the season, the Cats were looking for someone to step up and fill the void left by Catherine Gilwee's injury. Hanson has just blossomed into Vermont's best shotmaker and fuels so many runs with her creative shotmaking. She finished with 17 points (3-4 from three) and 5 rebounds. Bella Vito is so often the unsung hero of this team. Quietly doing a bit of everything to help the team win. Tonight she was absolutely dominant scoring 14 points, pulling down 11 rebounds, and grabbing 3 steals while playing a team high 39 minutes. So many great plays from her in this game. Anna Olson came up big with 14 points and 5 rebounds while playing great defense on the inside. Delaney Richason didn't have a big box score game but she showed off her number two all time in career blocked shots ability with 2 huge blocks and other big time defensive stops. 

What an incredible run and a amazing moment for Utterback and Richason to go back to their home state and pick up a huge win. I cannot wait for the next one. Bring on St. Louis!!

Jackson Skipper enters the portal

Today Jackson Skipper announced that he has decided to enter the portal. In the current day and age of basketball recruiting, it is going to be unlikely to keep every young player, especially with one more year of the COVID year players keeping rosters old. Roster construction has become wonky and it is hard to look ahead to see the role that exists on any team. It makes sense for Skipper to explore his options and see if there is a program that fits the path forward he sees for himself. I really liked the way Skipper played as he had a nose for the ball and always seemed to have a smile on his face. The regular season finale gave a glimpse of the player that he could grow into and I think he will be an impactful player wherever he lands. I wish him the best of luck and enjoyed his two seasons in Catamount country. Walk-ons Michael Mora and Charlie Moore have also decided to look for opportunities elsewhere after redshirting this season at Vermont and entered the portal today. According to the Burlington Free Press offseason tracker, Vermont expects to retain the rest of the roster so that is really good news. That leaves three roster spots to fill. Based on the offers I have seen thus far to players in the portal, Vermont is looking to add a guard and a post to fill out next years team. I would imagine there will be news sometime over the next few weeks around who is going to fill those roster spots. I am sure it is going to be such a relief to the coaching staff to be able to return so many players and have the portal period be a little less hectic this year.