On Monday, the Delaware men’s basketball team started its last season in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) with a loss to Bucknell, 85-73. Although many are looking ahead to next season in their new conference, the Fightin’ Blue Hens have a chance to make an impressive run this upcoming season in the CAA, seeking to make a surprise NCAA tournament berth.
The big story for head coach Martin Ingelsby’s Delaware squad is how he is going to replace a majority of his production from last season. The Blue Hens lost their two leading scorers from last season, Jyare Davis and Gerald Drumgoole Jr., who both transferred elsewhere.
Delaware is looking for a huge breakout year from fifth-year senior Niels Lane. According to T-Rank, the guard is projected to score 14.3 points and four rebounds per game. The transfer from Florida started in 33 games for the Blue Hens last season and is one of only two primary starters returning for Ingelsby’s team.
The other is Cavan Reilly, who saw a jump of nearly four points per game last year in his sophomore season. The Blue Hens adding lots of three-point shooting this offseason should allow Reilly to become more of a threat behind the arc himself, as he led the team in three-point percentage and was second in three-pointers made among players with at least 30 games played.
“I think just the pieces that we added will help my game,” Reilly said. “Nothing really I have to do or either worry about. I love the way we play. [We] get out and play quick and I think we’re gonna put a lot of points up.”
Another key factor for this upcoming season is the additions to Delaware’s roster. Ingelsby picked up freshmen Izaiah Pasha and Macon Emory, along with transfers Tahron Allen, John Camden, Kevin Kogbara, Erik Timko and more.
Allen and Timko specifically bring a winning culture to the Blue Hens as they look to make their first NCAA tournament since the 2021-22 season.
Allen started last season on the bench for Wagner but worked his way into the starting lineup, and in the games he started in the regular season, he averaged 11.7 points and nearly six rebounds per game. Most importantly, he was a key factor in the Northeast Conference tournament, with two 22-point games propelling his previous squad to win the tournament and secure a spot in March Madness.
On the other hand, Timko’s previous school is a Division II institution. He led Jefferson in points per game with 19.6 and shot 54% from the field. On a similar note to Allen, Timko helped lead the Rams to a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) championship, scoring 19 points in each of the last two games of the conference’s tournament.
He was named CACC Player of the Year in both his sophomore and junior seasons and was selected to two Division II Conference Commissioners Association First Teams.
“[Timko’s] going to be able to make an impact right away,” Inglesby said. “He’s an elite, elite shooter. Maybe one of the best shooters I’ve had the chance to coach. And he can do more than that as well…I expect him to have a big year for us and be able to really score the ball.”
The freshman Pasha will also be a pivotal part of the Blue Hens’ success this season. The lanky guard was previously a three-star recruit according to 247 Sports. Pasha is a great three-point shooter and can finish effectively inside the arc. He averaged 17.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in his final high school season.
Although he may not be new to the roster sheet, Gabe Moss will be a huge addition to Delaware’s roster this season. Moss has missed the past two seasons due to injury, but with his 6-foot-8 frame, he will be a key factor in asserting the Blue Hens defensively in the paint and securing rebounds off the glass.
“We’re gonna need [Moss],” Ingelsby said. “He’s an athletic guy, he’s physical and runs the floor. We’re gonna need him to rebound the basketball and he gets to ball screens quickly for these guys and rolls…I’m excited to see him take advantage of the opportunity that’s ahead of him.”
Looking ahead at the Blue Hens’ schedule, they play a few key out-of-conference games against tough opponents before their CAA slate. Rick Pitino’s St. John’s squad is an NCAA-tournament-level team, Yale is projected to finish second in the Ivy League and Vermont is consistently a winner in the America East Conference.
The CAA once again is going to be an uphill battle for Delaware to make a run to the NCAA tournament. The Blue Hens play Towson twice, Hofstra twice, UNC Wilmington twice and once at Charleston. The CAA has not had multiple NCAA tournament teams since 2010-11, and that trend will most likely continue. It will be a winner-takes-all for who can steal the crown at the end of the conference tournament.
“Our league kinda got turned upside down by graduation and the transfer portal,” Inglesby said. “I think there are probably six, seven, [even] eight teams that could win the regular season title.”
There have been some conflicting measures of Delaware’s roster leading up to this season. In the 2024-25 CAA men’s basketball preseason poll, which is voted on by the CAA coaches, the Blue Hens were voted as the fifth-best team in the conference.
Delaware’s KenPom ranking, which is 244th entering the year, placed the team ninth among CAA schools. This is lower than four schools ranked below them in the coaches’ preseason poll. Another college basketball database, T-Rank, projects the Blue Hens to be seventh in the CAA, which is also lower than the coaches’ projection.
Part of the reason that Ingelsby’s team is ranked lower by the metrics is the unknowns surrounding the Delaware roster. The machines that crunch numbers do not take into account the changes Ingelsby is adding to his system and how new additions will mold into a new playing style. It also does not help that junior Tyler Houser will be out for the season after his hip surgery.
It is no surprise that CAA coaches will have a different perspective than a coded formula, but when pondering which will more accurately predict Delaware’s season, it will likely be a mix of both.
Delaware’s new players provide a lot of depth and improved three-point shooting, but the roster still has to go up against a lot of high-level offensive teams in the CAA. Part of playing in a deep conference is that teams tend to eat away at each other, and with Delaware playing so many games against top CAA members, the Blue Hens will likely win some shootouts, but lose a few too many to earn a top-four league tournament seed.