Men's Basketball 11/7/2024 9:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

Basketball Season Arrives At Hamilton

Central Oklahoma Hosts Central Region Challenge Nov. 8-9 To Tipoff New Season

EDMOND – Central Oklahoma tips off a new season Friday night at Hamilton Field House with the first of two games in the Central Region Challenge.

UCO will host the University of Mary from Bismarck, North Dakota Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Bronchos will also host Northwestern Oklahoma State Saturday at 4:30 p.m. as part of the festival. Northeastern State is also in Edmond and will play NWOSU Friday at 5:30 p.m. and UMary Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

"We are excited about the new season and looking forward to getting started," UCO head men's basketball coach Bob Hoffman said. "Everyone is always excited about a new year. We've got some guys back that are key players and will help us tremendously, and we've brought in some new guys that we believe will also be key to our success this season.

"It's an exciting time," Hoffman continued. "We'd love to have a great crowd at Hamilton Field House. We've done really well the last few years and the fans have been great. We'd love to see that continue this season."

Central Oklahoma posted a 20-10 record in 2023-24, reaching the 20-win mark for a third consecutive season. The Bronchos have done that three times in school history, twice extending that streak to five consecutive seasons.

Hoffman enters his sixth season leading the Bronchos. The longtime Oklahoman hit a pair of big milestones last winter. He reached 600 career wins coaching men's basketball and 700 career wins coaching college hoops altogether.

In his five seasons with UCO, Hoffman has a 94-52 record. He led the Bronchos to their first ever MIAA Championship in 2021-22 and back-to-back national tournament appearances in '22 and '23.

This season, Hoffman and the Bronchos return seven lettermen from last year's 20-win squad and two others that did not play. UCO also brought in seven newcomers.

Senior big man Luke Haasl leads the bunch. The 6-foot-10 Lenexa, Kansas native averaged 8.8 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game, and 1.5 blocks per game last season. Haasl has been a force on defense for the Bronchos over the past two seasons.

Haasl ranks sixth in UCO history with 88 career blocks. He had 42 his sophomore season, which was the 10th best single season. He bumped his own mark with 46 blocks last season, which is seventh on the UCO single season list.

Haasl is also a 61.6 percent career shooter and averages 7.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game during his 63-game career at Central.

Central Oklahoma also has senior forward Preston Aymond returning in 2024-25. The fourth-year veteran is working to comeback from a late season knee injury. Aymond spent one year at Paris Junior College and is the longest tenured Broncho. He's played in 82 games since arriving on campus in 2021.

Aymond averages 6.6 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game for his career.

Another senior, Israel Hart, will make his UCO debut this season after sitting out last year. The former Seminole State product is an athletic wing player that is sure to contribute this season. Ben Averitt, who played in 27 games as a true freshman two years ago, missed last year with an injury. He is set to return this week and will be a big value for the Bronchos.

A slew of sophomores round out the returners for UCO.

Matthew Willenborg, Parker Hannah, Jarreth Ingram, Caiden Punt, and Connor Newton all return after strong debuts last year.

Willenborg played in all 31 games and averaged 4.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He blocked 22 shots too. Hannah played in 27 games, scored 3.1 points per game, and is UCO's returning leader from behind the arc after shooting 37.1 percent from deep last season.

Ingram appeared in 28 games and averages 2.2 points and a half-rebound per game. The versatile forward shot 53.5 percent from the floor. Punt played in 18 games and scored 47 points, 2.6 per contest. Newton played in 14 games and scored six points.

All are aiming for bigger roles this season.

The newcomers at Central appear at all positions for the Bronchos.

Jordan Thompson, JV Seat, and Chase Sucharda are guards that have transferred in, and Jacobi Sebock and Sean Franklin are forwards that also transferred in this summer. Jack Robinson and Trey Tuck, both guards, are true freshman.

Thompson is a former UMass Lowell product and the 6-0 guard is sure to have an impact this season. Seat, the Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022 at Edmond Memorial High School, transferred from Abilene Christian after 47 games in two seasons there.

Sucharda comes from new league member Arkansas Fort Smith, where he sat out a redshirt season. Originally from Newcastle, Sucharda gives UCO talented depth on the wing.

Sebock might be the most athletic player on the team. The Queens (North Carolina) transfer is a highflyer that averaged 5.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last year. Franklin spent two years at two junior colleges, and last year with Texas A&M International. He adds valuable depth for the bigs.

Robinson and Tuck are highly touted freshman that will look to find time on the floor this season. Robinson is from Lubbock, Texas and has a large frame for a guard, giving him an opportunity to jump in right away. Tuck, also a big guard, is from Stillwater and averaged 18 points per game for the Pioneers last year.

UCO has a 2-1 record against UMary in the two schools' short history. They began playing in this event in 2019, when UMary won 56-54 in overtime. The event was canceled in 2020 before the Bronchos won 80-71 in 2021. The event was canceled a second time in 2022, but UCO won 55-49 last season to take the series lead.

UMary is already 1-2 this season. The Marauders lost to Montana State – Billings and St. Edward's before topping Alaska Anchorage in a season-opening triple header last weekend. UMary went 7-21 last season.

Northwestern Oklahoma State will make its season debut along with UCO and NSU this weekend. The Rangers of Alva, Oklahoma went 17-13 last season.

Central Oklahoma begins this season with a host of home games on the front half of the calendar. UCO hosts preseason No. 3 West Texas A&M Nov. 14 at Hamilton Field House before playing its first road game at Southwestern Oklahoma State Nov. 21 in Weatherford.

The Bronchos will play the next four in Hamilton, hosting Science & Arts (Nov. 24), UT Dallas (Dec. 1), Pittsburg State (Dec. 4), and Missouri Southern (Dec. 8).

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Players Mentioned

#12 Ben Averitt: G; 6' 6"; Sophomore

#23 Preston Aymond: F; 6' 7"; Junior

#11 Luke Haasl: F; 6' 10"; Junior

#22 Parker Hannah: G; 6' 2"; Freshman

#33 Jarreth Ingram: F; 6' 8"; Freshman

#1 Connor Newton: G; 5' 7"; Freshman

#13 Caiden Punt: F; 6' 7"; Freshman

#21 Matthew Willenborg: F; 6' 7"; Freshman

#24 Israel Hart: G; 6' 3"; Junior

#2 Jordan Thompson: G; 6' 0"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#12 Ben Averitt
: 6' 6"; Sophomore
: G

#23 Preston Aymond
: 6' 7"; Junior
: F

#11 Luke Haasl
: 6' 10"; Junior
: F

#22 Parker Hannah
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: G

#33 Jarreth Ingram
: 6' 8"; Freshman
: F

#1 Connor Newton
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: G

#13 Caiden Punt
: 6' 7"; Freshman
: F

#21 Matthew Willenborg
: 6' 7"; Freshman
: F

#24 Israel Hart
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G

#2 Jordan Thompson
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G