As the seconds wound down on Sunday, March 2, 2025, heartbreak set in as the Cardinals experienced their first loss of the season to their archrival Trinity College. After a 24–0 regular season and an impeccable record up to that point, the Bantams stabbed the Red and Black in the heart by handing them a 67–75 loss and celebrating a NESCAC championship in Silloway Gymnasium.
18 days later, deja vu struck. Wes had made their way to the NCAA Division III (D-III) Final Four for the first time in program history, only to fall at the hands of the Blue and Gold again. By a nearly identical score—this time around, 69–73—the Red and Black headed home from Fort Wayne, Ind., disappointed with what could have been. With two 1,000-point scorers graduating two months later in Shane Regan ’25 and Nicky Johnson ’25, there was no guarantee that the team would be able to repeat the success they experienced in 2024–25.
That’s where the story of this season begins.
“The biggest thing is nothing is going to be handed to us,” guard Zach Wolinski ’28 said. “What you did last season, it’s just not going to impact what you did this season. Everybody is going to try and come for us and give us their best shot. And so I think the best thing that we did was just block it out, understand that we just have to work hard every single day and build on good days.”
The 2025–26 campaign began at the Greg Grant Tip-Off Tournament in Ewing, N.J., where they split their first two games against non-conference opponents. First came a trouncing of Johnson & Wales University, where their defense suffocated the Wildcats on their way to a 100–38 victory. The next day, they weren’t so lucky, as The College of New Jersey presented a formidable challenge that took the two teams into overtime. Despite six players reaching double-digit points in the match, the Red and Black experienced their first loss of the season, 90–92.
The next weekend, the Cards traveled to Salisbury, Md., for the Governors’ Challenge, where they achieved two close victories against formidable opponents. First, they defeated No. 10 Roanoke College in a high-scoring battle. Finding themselves down 22 before the end of the first half, the Red and Black roared back in the second to win 84–79, thanks to 23 from Wolinski and 22 from Sam Pohlman ’26. The next day was a lower-scoring match, where the Red and Black’s defense held Gettysburg College just out of reach to win, 59–56.
Wolinski talked about the strength of the team to overcome the deficit against Roanoke.
“It’s easy for a team to fold after that and to accept it,” Wolinski said. “But we just absolutely came firing back. That was definitely a game where we [recognized that] we know what we’re made of.”
Next came a slew of six games before winter break, featuring five non-conference games and a familiar foe. On Saturday, Nov. 29, Farmingdale State College kept it close against the Cards throughout the 40 minutes, and despite 19 off the bench from Oscar Edelman ’28, the Rams outlasted Wes 73–75.
“That game was definitely a learning point,” Watson said. “We struggled to find someone to score, and we couldn’t take care of the ball as well. But that really helped us focus on that and lean towards that. And I would say a game that made us feel more connected.”
Five days later, they returned home and trounced Worcester State University 83–75, led by a nearly identical performance from Edelman once again.
Next came an early matchup against Little Three foe Williams. Although it would not count for the official NESCAC schedule, Wes still seized on the opportunity to experience in-conference play. After a neck-and-neck first half, Wes broke it open in the second, and Pohlman’s 24 points spearheaded their 65–54 defeat of the Ephs. The Cards proceeded to capture three non-conference wins in five days before the break: Lasell University, Salem State University, and Western New England University.
The Red and Black returned to action on Monday, Dec. 29 for three more games before the NESCAC season was underway. First was a disappointing double overtime loss at the Eastern Holiday Invitational to Nichols College. They used their anger from the loss to come back the next day and obliterate the Pennsylvania College of Technology, winning 99–44.
Last on the schedule before the NESCAC opener was a Sunday, Jan. 4 battle against the other Little Three foe, Amherst. The Mammoths got the upper hand early, surging out to a nine-point lead heading into half. But it quickly became clear that this would be a defensive battle. The two rivals combined for only 98 points, with only one Wes player, Wolinski, reaching double-digit points. Ultimately, the Cards simply couldn’t make enough baskets to challenge Amherst’s first-half momentum, as they suffered a difficult 45–53 loss.
“That loss was really a wake-up call for us,” Edelman said. “Coach [Joe Reilly] showed us all the things that we could have done better: physicality, talking defense, stuff like that. We were able to listen to his constructive criticism and handle it well.”
After the tough loss to Amherst, the Cards geared up for their first conference-schedule game, an away matchup with Williams on Friday, Jan. 9. After being down 5–8 early, the Cards started clicking, and didn’t stop until they had poured in 22 straight points, going up 27–8. They did not look back, finishing the half up 40–15. Although the Ephs made up some ground in the closing minutes, the Cards maintained a double-digit lead and shut the door 84–71. Wolinski was automatic, dropping a career-high 26 on 60% efficiency, and Hauser put his mark on the game as well, contributing on both sides with a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double.
Edelman credited the Cards’ defensive scheme for their success.
“Part of the reason we’ve been able to resurrect our year after having some of the losses is because of our defense,” Edelman said. “And that game specifically, we started with a zone, and they had no answer for us. We blew them out because simply they could not score and they could not guard us.”
With no days off, the Cards traveled to Middlebury, Vt., looking to complete their back-to-back with a win against the Panthers. The Cards came out with the same urgency they had against the Ephs, and before you could blink, they grabbed a commanding 23–5 lead and ran with it. They finished at the break up 47–25, and held the line, maintaining a near-20 point lead for the rest of the game before closing it out 86–62. The 24-point win is the largest margin of victory in a conference game for the Cards this season. Wolinski was once again the offensive engine, putting up 22 on Midd, and the duo of Ben Lyttle ’27 and Ian Plankey ’29 made noise off the bench, with Lyttle dropping 14 in 18 minutes, and Plankey dropping 13 in 11 minutes without missing a single shot (4/4 from the field and 5/5 from the stripe).
Wolinski was proud of the full effort that led to the Panthers’ defeat.
“What we learned from that and what we did at Middlebury was put together two good defensive halves,” Wolinski said. “We played good defense in the first half, and then we didn’t let up in the second.”
After winning a midweek match with Yeshiva University, the Cards faced a tough weekend at home, starting with Hamilton. The Continentals brought it to Silloway last time they played, taking the game to double-overtime in the NESCAC Semifinals before Wes came out on top, but this time, the Cards only needed 40 minutes to dispose of the Continentals 69–57.
The next day, Saturday, Jan. 17, the Red and Black got a shot at revenge on Amherst. There were eight lead changes in the first half, and with a three at the buzzer, Amherst put the Cards down 33–34 at the half. It was more of the same in the second, but down 54–55 with under five minutes, Edelman and Hauser put in clutch buckets, forcing the Mammoths to play the foul game. Wolinski sank shots from the line, and the Cards came out with a 65–60 win. The offensive engineer behind the win was Pohlman, who finished with 13 assists, scoring or assisting on 60% of the Cardinals’ points.
“Second game on a weekend, second half, both teams are going to be, you know, a little beat up and a little sore; it’s just whoever digs in more,” Wolinski said. “Every huddle, we were like, we trained for this. All the sprints, all the long days of pick up, that’s why we did it. And thought, we dug in.”
On Saturday, Jan. 24, the Cardinals faced their biggest test of the regular season: the No. 1 Trinity Bantams. Their familiar foes from down the road were back on top of D-III, undefeated at 17–0, and riding a 32-game win streak dating back to the 72–63 loss handed to them by the Red and Black in the 2024-25 regular season.
To say Pohlman set the tone would be an understatement: The captain scored 18 of the Cards’ first 26 points, going 7/7 to start. Even with this barrage, the Bantams stayed close, and the Cards led 38–31 at half. For most of the second half, the Cards held off the Bantams’ pressure, thanks in large part to ridiculous shot-making by Watson, but with seven minutes to go, they went down 56–57. Four minutes later, tied at 59, Wolinski hit a big three, and the Cards had what it took to stifle the Bantams’ final few attempts. With a chance to win it at the buzzer, Trinity hoisted a contested three and watched as it bounced off the rim for a 64–62 Cardinals win.
According to Edelman, the tougher team won.
“Our season was so up and down [and we had] faced so much adversity that we felt confident,” Edelman said. “They didn’t win that game because they hadn’t faced any real adversity before that game. Their schedule wasn’t great. So that allowed us to be more prepared for them than they were for us.”
The Red and Black could barely rest on their laurels as next up was No. 9 Tufts. Nothing was easy and the Cards led for less than seven minutes of the 40, but they made buckets when it counted most, scoring eight unanswered in the last 102 seconds to cut the Jumbos down to size, 68–61. The win brought the Cards to 16–4 overall and 6–0 in the NESCAC, the only undefeated team in the conference.
Following the win, the Cards traveled downstate for a Wednesday, Jan. 31 battle with Conn. College. The Red and Black spent much of the first 15 minutes fighting back from an early deficit, but were able to take the lead going into half, up 42–39. The Camels were not done, though, as they took a lead with nine minutes to go and held on. The Cards took back the lead with less than two minutes, but were ultimately not able to get the job done in the closing seconds, falling to the Camels 83–84.
Watson then underscored the importance of taking nothing for granted.
“I feel like we came in thinking we were going to win too much, and they fought back,” Watson said. “Coming into these next three games, it’s like, don’t take them lightly. Punch first to get a lead, and ultimately put them away.”
Pohlman further added about sticking to their brand of basketball.
“We just have to stick to why we’ve been so good, and that’s defense,” Pohlman said. “We want to get stops, we want to hold teams under 70, and then we know we’ll win.”
Looking ahead, the No. 16 Cardinals are staring down a gauntlet of Maine schools to end the regular season, which kicks off this Sunday at home versus Bates. While the team identity may have shifted from last year’s historic group, Wes has found a new form that has put them in the driver’s seat for the top NESCAC seed. The team’s evolution throughout the year has come with its hardships, but the cohesive unit of the Red and Black, now battle-tested, feels confident in its form as the regular season comes to a close and playoffs begin.
“It wasn’t really translating as much in the beginning of the year this year, but the way that all 17 guys on our team have come together in the last few weeks has been insane,” Pohlman said. “I am so proud of the product that we’re putting together, the way that we’re uplifting each other, the way that we root for each other’s success.”
Max Forstein can be reached at mforstein@wesleyan.edu.
Ethan Lee can be reached at ejlee@wesleyan.edu.
Leave a Reply