This week, Princeton athletes were recognized, coaching staffs were filled, and spots in the Paris Olympics were clinched. Coming off of a historic 2023 calendar year, which saw many Princeton athletics programs find success in the postseason, The Daily Princetonian looked at how Tigers past and present have made their mark in the sporting world this week.
Baseball ranked fourth in Ivy League preseason poll
On Monday afternoon, the 2024 Ivy League Baseball Preseason Poll was released. The Princeton Tigers came in at fourth pace, behind Penn, Columbia, and Harvard.
Last season, the Tigers finished third in the regular season behind Penn and Harvard. However, Princeton did reach the Ivy League tournament championship before falling to Penn.
Notably, the Tigers lost outfielder Scott Bandura after he was selected in the seventh round of the 2023 MLB Draft to the San Francisco Giants. Bandura led the team in runs (46), stolen bases (15), and total bases (121).
The Tigers, however, still return one All-Ivy first team honoree in senior pitcher Tom Chmielewski and three All-Ivy second team honorees. Chmielewski had an ERA of 3.40, three complete games, and two shutouts in 13 games last season.
The Tigers will start their 2024 campaign in Wilmington, North Carolina on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. against UNC Wilmington.
Tosan Evbuomwan ‘23 heads back to Detroit
Former Princeton basketball star Tosan Evbuomwan ’23 signed a 10-day contract with the Detroit Pistons on Feb. 11. This came after he completed a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies.
Prior to the first contact, Evbuomwan played with the Detroit Pistons G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise. With the Cruise, Evbuomwan averaged 15 points per game.
Prior to the NBA All-Star Break, Evbuomwan featured in a game against the Phoenix Suns. In eight minutes of game time, Evbuomwan had five points and two rebounds. His next chance to make an appearance will come on Thursday, when the Pistons travel to Indianapolis to take on the Indiana Pacers.
Joe Dubuque expands his coaching staff
On Feb. 16, Princeton wrestling announced the hiring of Reece Humphrey as the program’s newest assistant coach. This follows the departure of former Associate Head Coach Sean Gray, who left the program at the beginning of the year to join the Tigers’ former Head Coach Chris Ayres at Stanford.
Humphrey currently serves as the head coach of the New Jersey Regional Training Center, a training center that has been used by many current and former Tiger wrestlers. In 2019, Humphrey was named as the Terry McCann Wrestling Freestyle Coach of the Year by USA Wrestling. Humphrey has represented the United States in World Wrestling Championships and coached wrestlers who have earned spots on the U.S. world team.
After the departure of Ayres and former NCAA Champion Patrick Glory, Head Coach Joe Dubuque is working to rebuild the program. With the hiring of former Tiger wrestler and NCAA runner up Quincy Monday earlier this season and Humphrey, the Tigers will look to reach new heights. The Tigers will host Bucknell this weekend before turning their attention to the EIWA Championships, which will take place on March 8 and 9.
Allocco receives weekly honors
Senior guard and captain Matt Allocco received his second Ivy League Player of the Week Award of the season on Monday afternoon. Allocco played all 80 minutes for the Tigers during their two games this past weekend.
Against Brown, Allocco put up 16 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals. His all around performance helped the Tigers complete a second half comeback and defeat the Bears 72–63.
The next night, he scored 18 points and went seven–for–seven from the charity stripe to lead the Tigers to their biggest win of the season over the Yale Bulldogs. Three Tigers — Alloco, sophomore forward Caden Pierce, and sophomore guard Xaivian Lee — have now received the weekly honor at least twice this season.
Women’s basketball collects honors left and right
On Monday, the Associated Press (AP) released its Week 16 poll. After two wins over Brown and Yale — including a 45 point massacre of the Bulldogs — the Tigers remained at No. 25 in the AP poll. The Tigers (20–3 overall, 10–0) are currently riding a 15 game win streak.
Also on Monday, Silver Waves Media announced the 100 most impactful people in women’s college basketball. Amongst the 100 names was Tigers Head Coach Carla Berube. Berube has led the Tigers to an Ivy League title every year she has coached the squad, accumulating a 50–2 Ivy League regular season record in four seasons.
Lastly, every week, the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) announces five college women’s basketball players for the Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Week. On Tuesday, senior guard and captain Kaitlyn Chen was announced as one of the five players on the list. Also on the list is Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, who holds the record for the most points in NCAA women’s basketball history.
Another Tiger en route to Paris
This past week, the U.S. women’s national field hockey team clinched a spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics after a dramatic late win over Japan in Ranchi, India during the International Hockey Federation Qualifier Championships. On the squad is Princeton’s own Beth Yeager.
The U.S was down 1–0 in the final period of the semifinal against Japan before two late goals helped seal the win and a spot in Paris. With the win, the national team is back in the Olympics for the first time since 2016 after not qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics.
Yeager is currently on a gap year, but will be back wearing the Orange and Black in the fall as a junior on the field hockey team. Yeager scored the final goal for the United States in their final group stage contest against New Zealand and will now be heading to Paris in the summer.
Crowning world champions in Doha, Qatar
This past Friday, Ashleigh Johnson ’17 and soon-to-be junior Jovana Sekulic helped the U.S women’s water polo national team win gold at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships.
In the championship game against Hungary, Johnson recorded 12 saves to lead the stellar U.S. defensive effort. While Sekulic did not score, she made her presence felt at the center position, drawing three exclusions to help the U.S. overcome Hungary 8–7.
With Sekulic back in the mix for the Tigers next year, Head Coach Derek Ellingson will look to compete for a national championship with the women’s water polo team in 2025.
Pietra Tordin earns the U-20 call up to Bogotá, Columbia
Sophomore forward and midfielder Pietra Tordin is in Bogotá, Columbia this week to train with the U-20 U.S. women’s soccer national team. The outstanding Tiger forward had an amazing sophomore campaign, helping lead the Tigers to a second round appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Tordin was named as one of the six forwards on the team on Thursday. The 10-day training camp in Bogotá, Columbia will include two friendlies against the Columbian U-20 side. Notably, Columbia will host the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in September. Should Tordin continue to impress in training camps, she will likely feature for the team in the U-20 World Cup.
Softball ranked first in Ivy League preseason poll
After winning the Ivy League regular season championship last season, Princeton softball are favorites to repeat once again as champions.
In the Ivy League preseason poll released this past Thursday, the Tigers were narrowly ahead of the Harvard Crimson. Despite winning the regular season championship, the Tigers did lose to the Crimson in a heartbreaking fashion in the Ivy League tournament final, denying Princeton a chance to play in the NCAA tournament.
The biggest loss for Princeton was Alexis Laudenslager ’23, who was a two-time Ivy Pitcher of the Year. However, the Tigers return three All-Ivy honorees and a plethora of talent to bolster this year’s squad. The Tigers will open the 2024 season playing in the Charleston Cougar Classic on Friday, Feb. 23 against Oakland University.
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please direct any corrections requests to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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