2023-24 - a season for the records!
First ever NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance!
7th SCIAC tournament championship!
23-win season – ties for most wins in CMS history!
Coming off a successful 2022-23 season (21-5 overall record), the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags basketball team had a lot to aim for during 2023-24. And not only did they aim, but they accomplished: finishing the year at 23-7, going 13-3 for a second place finish in the demanding Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, winning the intense conference tournament, and advancing the deepest into the NCAA championships in CMS history.
The Stags created high energy throughout the season as they went 14-1 at their home court Roberts Pavilion, the premier Division III arena. 2023-24 marks the 20th first or second place finish in the SCIAC over the past 24 years. And it was the 26th consecutive winning season for CMS. No other conference school can make that claim. Indeed, no other SCIAC member has won more games (conference or overall) than CMS since 1959-60 when the Stags entered the conference. CMS in winning its seventh tournament championship has won more SCIAC tournament titles than any other conference team. And from the inception of the conference tournament in 2008, CMS is the only SCIAC team to be in the tournament every year.
The 2023-24 roster was made up of four graduate students using their final year of eligibility because of the year they lost due to COVID, three juniors, three sophomores, and six freshmen. They all contributed to the success the Stags enjoyed in this record-setting season.
Josh Angle (Gr., CGU, Lake Oswego, OR) continued his leadership role with the team both as team captain and statistically as he finished his shooting guard career in the top ten in multiple statistical categories.
The same can be said of Rhett Carter (Gr., CGU, Sudbury, MA). He was a returning starter at the post position who got stronger as the season transpired. He was one of four players averaging over ten points per game and led the team in rebounding.
Will King (Gr., CGU, Glenview, IL) alternated between sixth man and starting at the small forward position. He achieved a double-double: over 100 rebounds and over 100 assists.
Caelan Jones (Gr., CGU, Los Angeles) joined the Stags this season and earned a starting spot at the wing spot. He contributed immediately as the second leading scorer and third leading rebounder.
Matt Meredith (Jr., CMC, Orinda), recovering from a sophomore year injury returned to action this year and brought 4.3 points per game and 3.2 rebounds per game to the CMS attack.
Stu McCallum (Jr., CMC, Lexington, MA) played a reserve role at the center position and was respected as a team leader with his being named as one of the team's three captains for 2023-24.
Lucas McEachern (Jr., CMC, Noisy le Roi, France) was injured early in the season and was unable to play during the year.
James Frye (So., CMC, Orinda) improved from his freshman year and moved into the starting lineup as a small forward. His 7.5 points per game and team second best 5.2 rebounds per game helped CMS through conference play before a season ending injury sidelined from post-season action.
Cahal Connolly (So., CMC, Oakland) was part of the post position corps that proved to be a defensive strength for the Stags during this extraordinary season. Luke Jacobson (So., CMC, Glendora) played as a forward and made his impact providing timey mid-range relief.
Reid Jones (Fr., CMC, Carmichael) after being sidelined early by injury returned to come off the bench and spark the CMS defense leading the team with 39 steals. Will Householter (Fr., CMC, Manhattan Beach) earned the starting point guard spot early in the season. Along the way, he set a Stags record for best free throw shooting in a season at 93.2 percent.
Will Franks (Fr., CMC, New York, NY) at forward, Luke Rinaldi (Fr., CMC, Dover, MA) at guard, Mike O'Brien (Fr., HMC, Beverly, MA) at center, and Jonah Heimann (Fr., HMC, Princeton, NJ) at forward rounded out the group of newcomers to CMS basketball and contributed 5.3 points per game and 3.1 rebounds per game over the course of the season. Joey Kennedy (Fr., CMC, San Francisco) was sidelined for the season due to injury.
The season opened with two wins over West region teams: UC Santa Cruz at home and on the road at Southwestern (TX). After a four-game skid, the team went on a 21-2 tear over the rest of the season that ended with its sweet sixteen game in Virginia.
We would be remiss if we did not mention that Included in the nonconference schedule is the David Wells Classic. This is the highly-touted Division III tournament that brings outstanding academic schools that have respected basketball programs in their own rights to Claremont for a weekend of basketball at its finest. 2023 was no exception as CMS faced off against George Fox University (OR) and Carleton College (MN).
The Stags closed out the first semester with non-conference wins over Cal Miramar, Buena Vista (IA), Emmanuel (PA), and Pacific Lutheran (WA) and its SCIAC home opener win over Cal Lutheran.
With the new year, came the excitement of the difficult conference schedule where any team can win on any given night. The first week started in that vein with an overtime win over Redlands and another home win over Caltech.
As CMS traversed the SCIAC highway, there were season sweeps over Occidental and Whittier and La Verne and second round road wins against Caltech and Redlands. The team split with Cal Lutheran and Pomona-Pitzer and Chapman – the other three teams that qualified for the 2024 conference tournament.
Heading into the 2024 conference tournament, based on its second place finish, the Stags earned a home game as the number two seed facing off against across the street rival Pomona-Pitzer. It was the first time the teams had met in the SCIAC tournament since the championship game in 2018 and only the second time they had faced each other in the opening round (2017). A strong second half fueled CMS to a close 74-71 win and a trip to Thousand Oaks to take on Cal Lutheran in the finals.
In an equally close game, the Stags stayed ahead from the start and made all its free throws in the waning minutes to capture the tournament championship 61-55. It is the second time CMS has won the SCIAC tournament on the road – the other time was in 2015 at Chapman in another upset win.
In winning the conference tournament, the Stags earned an automatic bid into the NCAA championships. And they did not have far to go as Cal Lutheran was selected as the host institution. Play-off basketball means only more intense and exciting basketball. CMS faced off in the first round against St. Thomas (TX), a team the Stags faced only a year ago. With a strong first half, CMS went wire-to-wire and again used clutch free throw shooting to earn a place in the regional finals 78-71.
The Stags faced another familiar team in Whitworth to determine its fate in the regional. CMS had faced the Pirates in the regional first round in both 2017 and 2018, coming away with wins both times. The game was close from the start with only a few points separating the teams over the 40 minutes. Tight defense and more of its sharp shooting from the free throw line preserved the win at 69-67 and sent the Stags to Sydney-Hamden for the NCAA sectionals.
In its first ever sweet sixteen game, CMS fell behind early but chipped away in the second half only to fall short at 70-74 and see its record-setting season come to a bittersweet end.
The conference coaches met to select the all-conference teams. Rhett Carter again represented CMS on the all-conference team with his second team honor. Josh Angle, after two prior first team selections, was chosen SCIAC Player of the Year.
Then, the National Association of Basketball Coaches named Angle District 10 Player of the Year. Following the all-District honors, the NABC made its all-American selections. Angle became only the second CMS player named 1st team All- American following Chris Greene who was so honored in 1991.
The season wrapped up with the team's post-season banquet. Newcomer Reid Jones was chosen as the team's best defensive player. Freshman Will Householter, who earned a starting spot early in the season, was honored as the most improved player. Finally, Josh Angle was voted the team's most valuable player for the third straight year.
Stu McCallum was the recipient of the Kampe Hustle Award. This is the award named in memory of former Stags all-SCIAC player Chris Kampe (CMC '85) who passed away from cancer in 1993. Chris was a team leader who inspired his teammates to play with the highest level of determination and exemplary effort.
The final team award passed out each year is the Bob Sunshine Captain Award which was given to Josh Angle, Rhett Carter, and Stu McCallum. The award was renamed in honor of former Stags captain Bob Sunshine who graduated in 1961 and who was the program's first captain back in 1958-59. Sunshine also is the only person who was at both the first game and the last game played in Ducey Gymnasium.
Another highlight of the year came with the induction of Henry Albrecht (CMC '91) into the Ted Ducey CMS Athletic Hall of Fame. Henry was a member of the 1990 and 1991 SCIAC championship teams and NCAA play-off teams and who earned All-SCIAC and All-West Region honors. He was the 1990 SCIAC Player of the Year.
Looking forward to 2024-25, Coach Ken Scalmanini and his staff are excited for the next version of Stags basketball. The returning members from the 2023-24 team and the highly anticipated recruiting class bring continued high expectations for another successful season.
As always, we thank you for your support of CMS Stags basketball. Please watch for new developments at cms.claremont.edu. In addition, the website has archives of great CMS Stags basketball memories along with bringing all games for streaming and live stats.
