NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., November 3, 2023 – The 2022-23 season was a resurgent year for the Monroe College Mustangs men's basketball program. The Mustangs returned to the NJCAA Div. I Men's Basketball Championship tournament for the first time since 2017, which is what they will hope to build off of in the 2023-24 campaign. The new season begins on Monday, Nov. 6, when the Mustangs host Hostos Community College at the Monroe Athletic Complex.
Monroe finished last season 29-5 overall, the team's best winning percentage (.853) since the 2011-12 season. The Mustangs' tallied a First-Round victory in the NJCAA Championship over No. 17 South Georgia State College, but fell in their next matchup to eventual champion, John A. Logan College, a team the Mustangs will be seeing once again soon. Monroe earned its way to the national tournament by winning the 2023 East District Championship for the second time in the past three seasons.
Head Coach
Jeff Brustad enters his 21st season at the helm of the Mustangs men's basketball program. Monroe College's longest-tenured coach has amassed a career record of 528-142 over 20 seasons for an outstanding .788 winning percentage. Coach Brustad comes into 2023-24 with nine District Championships, eight NJCAA Championship appearances (qualified in 2020 but the tournament was canceled), and nine District Coach of the Year awards.
The Mustangs graduated six sophomores after last season, including the program's all-time leading scorer,
Melvin Council Jr. Five returning sophomores from last year's squad will all look to play the leadership roles for the team this season.
Albert Vargas,
Jawarie Hamelin,
Zatai Townsend,
Ziare Wells and
Stefano Faloppa will all have a chance to show their growth this year, while
Jaheim Gregory earned his way onto the varsity team after a strong season on Monroe's JV team last year.
Monroe's six sophomores are joined by seven freshmen this year. One of the Mustangs' newcomers has a familiar name to those who have followed Monroe's men's basketball program for the last two decades.
Ryan Williams Jr. is the first-ever Monroe College student-athlete whose parent also played for Monroe College. Ryan Williams Sr. graduated from Monroe in 2003 after a successful career with the Mustangs. He then completed his collegiate career at St. John's University.
The Mustangs head into 2023-24 as the
No. 25-ranked team in the NJCAA. The Mustangs spent 13 weeks in the NJCAA Div. I Men's Basketball Rankings, coming in as high as No. 8 and finishing the season at No. 19. Monroe earned the No. 16 seed in the 2023 NJCAA Div. I Men's Basketball Championship Tournament.
Monroe's 2023-24 campaign gets off to an incredibly exciting first week. The Mustangs get to make their season debut in front of the home crowd on Monday, Nov. 6, with a 7 p.m. matchup against Hostos Community College at the Monroe Athletic Complex.
After the home opener, the Mustangs hit the road to the Midwest for the weekend. Their trip begins on Thursday, Nov. 9, in Olney, Ill., where they will take on Olney Central College for the first time in program history. The Mustangs will then compete in the 2023 McDonald's Classic, hosted by Vincennes University in Vincennes, Ind. Monroe opens the McDonald's Classic on Friday, Nov. 10, when they take on No. 4-ranked, and defending NJCAA Champion John A. Logan College in a rematch from the Second Round of last year's NJCAA Championship. The trip wraps up with the Mustangs taking on No. 6 Vincennes on Saturday, Nov. 11.
Monroe then begins to play some more familiar opponents over the next few weeks. The Mustangs will host the Monroe College Invitational from Nov. 18-19 at the MAC. They will take on Hagerstown Community College on Saturday that weekend before a Sunday matchup with Allegany College of Maryland. SUNY Sullivan will also be joining in on the festivities. The Mustangs will then take on the same two opponents the following weekend at the Jim Brown Memorial Classic, hosted by Hagerstown from Nov. 25-26.
The Mustangs' lone home game in December takes on place on Dec. 2 when they host Harford Community College at the MAC. They then take a trip down to Florida for a three-game weekend. On Thursday, Dec. 7, Monroe visits Polk State College in Winter Haven. The next two games will take place in Fort Myers at Florida Southwestern State College, beginning with a Dec. 8 matchup against the No. 8-ranked host Buccaneers. Monroe will play Miami Dade College on Saturday, Dec. 9.
The Mustangs wrap up the 2023 calendar year with the Wake Tech Invitational in Raleigh, N.C. Monroe's first of three games will take place on Thursday, Dec. 28, when the Mustangs face off with Brunswick Community College. Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute is on the docket for Friday, Dec. 29, before a Saturday, Dec. 30 meeting with host Wake Technical Community College.
The Mustangs kick off 2024 by hosting the Monroe College Men's and Women's Mixer at the MAC from Jan. 6-7. The Mustangs will play Howard Community College and Cecil College across the two days, while Orange County Community College fills the last spot in the tournament.
Monroe then hosts the Monroe College MLK Classic the following weekend, but not before first hosting Roxbury Community College on Wednesday, Jan. 10. The MLK Classic will feature Rockland Community College, Niagara County Community College and Erie Community College joining the Mustangs in the men's side of the mixed tournament. Monroe takes on Niagara County on Saturday, Jan. 13, and then Erie on Sunday, Jan. 14.
With all of the tournaments in the rear view, the Mustangs face regular competition from late January through the beginning of March. CCBC Dundalk visits New Rochelle on Sunday, Jan. 21. Monroe then hits the road twice on consecutive Thursdays with a matchup at Westchester Community College on Jan. 25, followed by a meeting at Lackawanna College on Feb. 1. Baltimore City Community College then comes to town on Thursday, Feb. 8, before a rematch with Lackawanna at the MAC on Thursday, Feb. 15.
One of Monroe's two most crucial games down the stretch of the season takes place on Saturday, Feb. 17, when they visit Region rival Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, Pa. The Mustangs then host CCBC Catonsville in New Rochelle on Tuesday, Feb. 20. Monroe takes a trip to Harford Community College on Monday, Feb. 26. Monroe and Harcum then complete the regular-season series on Saturday, March 2, in New Rochelle. The regular season wraps up on Thursday, March 7, with a road matchup at Baltimore City Community College.
If the Mustangs want to get back to the NJCAA Div. I Men's Basketball Championship this season, their path must go through the East District Championship, which will consist of Monroe, Harcum and the top teams from Region 20. The winner of the district tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NJCAA Championship tournament, which will be held at its traditional home of the Hutchinson Sports Arena in Hutchinson, Kan., from March 24-30, 2024.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 28 teams competing across nine sports. There are 20 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well the Monroe College marching band, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has seven teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at
www.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (
Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (
@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (
@monroemustangs).
