By Erin Connor
Though the Pirates are returning to their home by the sea after losing in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament quarterfinals, the future of Hampton’s basketball program is bright.
The new-look Pirates had high hopes of coasting to their first-ever CAA Tournament Championship since entering the conference in 2022 following their time in the Big South.
Ahead of the tournament, the Pirates were smooth sailing with a five-game win streak before ending the regular season with two one-possession losses to Drexel and Towson.
The goal to gold seemed attainable as the 10th-seed Pirates pulled out a five-point victory over No. 7th-seed Northeastern Huskies in Saturday’s game. However, a rested No. 2-seed University of North Carolina-Wilmington team would end the Pirates’ journey in the tournament on Sunday on their way to capturing their seventh CAA Tournament title in a 76-72 win over Delaware. UNC-W will represent the CAA next week in the March Madness NCAA tournament.
Saturday’s game saw a close 70-65 Hampton win with All-CAA Third Team guard Noah Farrakhan scoring 17 points in the second half to pair with Norfolk State transfer George Beale Jr.’s 22 points on the night.
Despite the premature end to the postseason, the Pirates improvements did not go unnoticed by the Hampton fans that were in Washington, D.C. to support their team at the Pre-Game Meetup before tip off.
“CAA Tournament was full of laughs, meeting and engaging with Hampton families and alumni,” said alumna, Mikah Goodwine, “and of course the best part was the win.”
Even with the high energy the Pirates brought on Saturday, their luck ran out against the UNC-W Seahawks in the quarterfinal matchup. Farrakhan led the team with 16 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Pirates to float to clear waters in the 65-79 loss.
Despite the early exit, the Pirates have improved in their first year under Ivan Thomas, former Georgetown University associate head coach, The Pirates achieved a 17-16 record, a much-needed improvement from last year’s 9-24 won-loss record.
Hampton entered the year above .500 for the first time in over a decade, while also securing eight conference victories in the regular season.
Though they have improved, last year’s Pirates suffered a similar fate as the No. 14-seed in the tournament. They exited after beating the No. 11-seed Elon University Phoenix and losing to the No. 6-seed University of Delaware Blue Hens in the second round.
“We been there before,” said Thomas to his team in the locker room following the victory over Northeastern, via X. “You can’t Google experience.”
Everything about this season was new, from the uniforms to the coaching staff, to the nearly unrecognizable roster. Junior forward Kyrese Mullen and graduate point forward Dan Banister Jr. were the only constants between the two seasons.
Upon arrival, Thomas brought in 11 players from the transfer portal and five freshmen. With the almost entirely different squad, Thomas led his team to an improved seeding of four spots in the tournament in addition to being named a Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year Award finalist.
Overall, the Pirates exceeded expectations on the season, ending ranked No. 10 despite being ranked 14 out of 14 teams in the 2024-25 CAA Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll.
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