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By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — One of the first dominoes to fall is a massive one for the UMass men’s basketball team.Minutemen forward Josh Cohen has entered the transfer portal, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello reported late Monday morning. The 6-foot-10 senior has one year of...

CONNOR PIGNATELLO

When UMass joins the Mid-American Conference for the 2025-26 academic year, athletic director Ryan Bamford expects the school will bring in more revenue than it did when competing in the Atlantic 10.“This will allow us to grow our revenues to the...

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — As of Monday afternoon, two UMass women’s basketball guards have entered the transfer portal, looking to take their talents elsewhere.Senior Alexsia Rose and junior Kristin Williams have hit the portal following a disappointing 5-27...

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — From a basketball perspective, Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said it was a no-brainer to add UMass to his conference.The men’s basketball program was perhaps the most appealing of the school’s athletic teams given its...

By GARRETT COTE

Dynasty isn’t a term that gets thrown around loosely – that word holds a ton of weight in the sports world. It takes a lot of success over an extended period of time to call something a dynasty.But that’s exactly what South Deerfield native G.P....

By GARRETT COTE

A couple weeks ago, I sat inside Smith Academy’s Sherry Webb Gymnasium in Hatfield to cover a girls basketball game between the Falcons and Duggan Academy of Springfield. As the game progressed, the displeasure from supporters only grew louder — and...

Matt Cross led four players in double figures, scoring 19 points to propel the UMass men’s basketball team to an 84-73 Atlantic 10 Conference victory over Saint Louis on Saturday night at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Mo.The Minutemen won on the road...

By KYLE GRABOWSKI

SPRINGFIELD — John Calipari wrapped an arm around Dave Hixon as he introduced the longtime Amherst College men’s basketball coach to Michigan State coach Tom Izzo.Their time in Amherst overlapped when Calipari was at UMass. Hixon coached at Amherst...

By KYLE GRABOWSKI

SPRINGFIELD — Basketball gave Dave Hixon everything he could ask for. When the longtime Amherst College men’s coach retired in 2020, his former players and friends made him an hour and a half long video thanking him for his impact on their lives.“I...

By KYLE GRABOWSKI

Dave Hixon always wore a suit to Amherst College’s men’s basketball games but never coached in it. He walked out of the locker room to cheers in LeFrak Gymnasium and banter on the road, shook his counterpart’s hand and chatted during shootaround. Once...

By HANNAH BEVIS

Tessa Kawall has always been a supremely talented basketball player — Amherst head coach Ralph Loos often calls her a “freak” when talking about her athletic ability. But until somewhat recently, Kawall could sometimes let her emotions get the best of...

By HANNAH BEVIS

AMHERST — There wasn’t an empty seat inside a packed Massachusetts room at the Mullins Center last Wednesday afternoon. It seemed as though the entire UMass athletics department had turned out for new women’s basketball coach Mike Leflar’s...

By HANNAH BEVIS

It didn’t take the Pittsburgh women’s basketball program long to introduce its new head coach, Tory Verdi. After the seven-year UMass women’s basketball coach had been rumored to be in talks with Pitt, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Noah Hiles...

By KYLE GRABOWSKI

Add one more jewel to Queen Breen’s crown.UMass graduate student forward Sam Breen was named the 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player Of The Year on Wednesday, becoming the fourth winner in the award’s history and first Minutewoman.“I am super blessed...

By KYLE GRABOWSKI

Dave Hixon knew he was a Hall of Famer a week ago Monday. He couldn’t say anything about it until the class was officially announced last Saturday.“This has been a hard week because I’ve had a lot of people asking me,” Hixon said.When an Adrian...

By KYLE GRABOWSKI

WESTFIELD — Blood pooled in the cut on Audrey Bowen’s lower lip.She and the Amherst Regional girls basketball team took a punch against Springfield Central in the Western Massachusetts Class A championship game Saturday.The defending champion Golden...

By KYLE GRABOWSKI

The Cage is dead. Long live the Cage.A $2 million gift from Dr. Jim and Ellen Hunt will serve as the lead gift in the UMass athletic department’s fundraising campaign to renovate Curry Hicks Cage, which last hosted a UMass basketball game in 2011 and...

By KYLE GRABOWSKI

No area boys basketball teams reached the state semifinal round last season, and the three quarterfinalists Granby, Holyoke and Hopkins Academy will need new galvanizing forces after graduating large and impactful senior classes.The Purple Knights...