Over the past three years, Marist men’s basketball head coach John Dunne and Marist women’s basketball head coach Erin Doughty have been adjusting to a new era of college basketball. The transfer portal is evolving every year, forcing both head coaches to change their strategies and recruiting approaches.
The two coaches have had to learn how to fill out their roster through the portal after losing important pieces to the portal. Last season, the men’s team lost first-team all-MAAC shooting guard Josh Pascarelli to Colorado State, and the women’s team lost second-team all-MAAC center Morgan Lee to Clemson.
When Dunne heard that Pascarelli was entering the portal, he quickly started to look in the portal to fill the void. Dunne snagged two players out of the portal, sophomore guard Justin Menard and graduate student guard Rhyjon Blackwell. Menard, a former Iona Gael, can create for himself and his teammates, which has been crucial to the Red Foxes’ success on offense. Blackwell, who comes from USC-Aiken, is the leading scorer for Marist, averaging 12.6 points per game off the bench.
When Lee informed Doughty that she was entering the portal, she had to scramble to fill the hole Lee’s departure left. Doughty’s original plan was to build her roster around Lee, so she grabbed junior forward Karly Fischer from Fairfield and sophomore guard Kacey Bretones from UMass Amherst.
“You have to be prepared and not surprised,” said Doughty. “We have to be ready to attack any challenge.”
After Lee announced her departure, it was too late for Doughty to find anyone to replace Lee’s talent. She was only able to sign sophomore Elle Brushuck, who filled in in the backup forward role until senior Ciara Croker returned on Dec 7. Despite not finding a replacement for Lee, Doughty is pleased with the roster she has.
“We put out the formula for how she could be a dominant player, but ultimately, the opportunity was more enticing,” said Doughty.
Since the new NCAA transfer portal allows players to transfer with immediate eligibility and pursue NIL opportunities, Marist basketball has experienced significant roster turnover.
Marist has lost over 30 players in the last three years, including players like Ricardo Wright, Trinasia Kennedy and Jao Ituka. A major factor comes in the form of conference; Marist is a mid-major school, making it harder to retain high-level players.
MAAC teams consistently lose players who try to move up to a higher level to prove themselves or drop down to find a better situation. According to On3, over 50 players entered the portal at the end of the 2024-2025 season on the men’s side of the MACC. That number does not account for the player MAAC schools lose to graduation.
“To think that you’re going to have a lot of guys four and five years, those days are over.”
John Dunne
Something that every team has to deal with is the chaos of the portal. Players can jump in at any time from March 24 to April 22, and if something like a coaching change takes place, athletes are given more time to evaluate their situation. According to an article from Mid Major Madness, almost 4,000 players entered the portal between men’s and women’s college basketball last season.
“Transfer recruiting goes really fast,” said Doughty. “If you haven’t interacted with a player, it may not go as you planned.”
The portal can be especially hard for mid-major conferences because it is significantly more challenging for them to recruit. The teams are forced to work fewer assets than major conferences. According to the Athletic, starting-caliber players will ask for around $5,000 to $10,000 as a typical minimum. Although Marist opted into the NIL sharing settlement, which allows it to pay players, Marist can’t always compete with the high prices players are asking for.
“You kind of get a feel for what the value is for players, and you see where you fit in there,” said Dunne.
Since Marist does not have the assets to recruit higher-profile players, they will sometimes look in its conference for players that could fit its needs. This past offseason, both the men’s and women’s teams picked up a player from their MAAC opponents. The women’s team took Fischer at the hands of MAAC powerhouse Fairfield, and the men acquired Menard from Iona.
Marist coaches also have to work with less information or film of players when recruiting from the portal. Part of this includes evaluating players with smaller resumes. This forces the coaches to look for who fits rather than the most potential and make their decisions based on limited resources.
“You make your best educated moves,” said Dunne.
An example of this process is how Dunne brought in redshirt freshman guard Ricky McKenzie. McKenzie came from Kennesaw State, where he did not play in his freshman year and subsequently had no collegiate film to analyze.
Everything in the portal moves fast for players and coaches. Once a player puts their name in the portal, coaches have a 30-day window to recruit them. This is an adjustment for coaches because when they recruit high school players, they usually recruit them in the span of a year, but when recruiting from the portal, they could lose a potential recruit to another team in a matter of seconds.
Coaches have to evaluate their roster constantly to make sure that when it is transfer portal season, they know what they need. They need an established plan to fill out their roster to the best of their ability.
Last season, both teams ended their season on March 13th in a first-round loss in the MAAC tournament. Dunne and Doughty only had 11 days before the transfer portal opened on March 24 to begin preparing for the next season
“We used to finish and have a good couple of weeks,” said Doughty. “Now you jump right into it, putting together your roster for next year.”
Since the coaches have such limited time, they try to find someone they have already recruited before. This strategy allows them to already have an idea of the player’s skill level and potential.
The coaching staff looks for experience in the portal before they look for pure talent, because of the leap from a low major to a mid-major school. This is part of the reason Doughty went out and added Fischer.
“You can’t give someone game experience,” said Doughty. “The experience almost always beats out a younger player.”
It can be challenging for coaches to recruit out of the portal, so instead they focus on retaining the players they have. Both coaches have their own approach to this matter, but each approach involves a team-first mindset.
Coach Doughty and her staff try to retain their players by maintaining their culture even in times of change.
“Giving and pouring into the people who are here is how you build your culture. Visitors will see that,” said Doughty.
Although the coaching staff puts plenty of effort into their players, sometimes other opportunities are more enticing. The staff will put their best foot forward, but it doesn’t always mean the player will stay.
Dunne and his staff have kept things the same. He tries to get his players to buy into the team rather than themselves. This allows him to build a strong culture on both sides of the ball.
So far, this formula has been successful in his team’s plays this season, with Marist ranking fifth in the nation in defensive efficiency and averaging almost three more assists per game than last year.
Dunne and Doughty are losing players every year, making their jobs the most challenging they have ever been. The coaches constantly have to rebuild new chemistry and learn what works for their new roster. This makes long-term success much harder for both programs to achieve.
“It’s gonna be hard to ever do something like coach Giorgis did, but you continue to assess every year and fill holes in the team,” said Doughty.
In Brian Giorgis’ 20-year career with Marist, he built a dynasty, winning 11 MACC championships and five NCAA tournament games, highlighted by a sweet sixteen run in 2007. Giorgis retired in 2022 and handed the reins over to Doughty as the program adjusted to the new challenges of the transfer portal.
With players coming in from high school, always looking to build their way up to power four schools, mid-major schools are becoming more of a development school. Three of last season’s AP All-Americans were mid-major transfers, including Mark Sears of Alabama, Johni Broome of Auburn and Iona transfer Walter Clayton of Florida.
Mid-major schools can not compete to retain these players, making the gap between the two groups the highest ever in college basketball. This makes it more challenging for Marist to make a Cinderella run in the NCAA tournament, if they can get through the MAAC tournament in Atlantic City.
Marist basketball will aim to finish its season off strong and finally put it together when it matters most at the end of the season. However, Doughty and Dunne know that right when the 2025-26 season ends, they have to shift their focus and start addressing their roster needs for the 2026-27 campaign.
Edited by Mike Schiavone and Ryan Eichem
Graphic by Quinn DiFiore
Photos from Marist Athletics
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