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Converse University Men’s Basketball

The Converse Valkyries Men’s Basketball team represents Converse University in NCAA Division 2 and competes in Conference Carolinas. The inaugural season of the Converse Valkyries Mens’ basketball program was during the 2021-2022 season, a year after the University officially opened the enrollment of male students during the 2020-2021 school year.

Coaches

The inaugural Converse Men’s Basketball team is coached by head coach Ryan Saunders, assistant coach Austin Greene, and graduate assistant Nate Williams. Head Coach Ryan Saunders began his career at Barry College where he was the assistant Men’s Basketball Coach from 2007-2015. He held a crucial role in their success as a program during his time in Miami, as he worked primarily with the offense and held on-court coaching duties, as well as other off-court responsibilities such as player development, and recruiting. In the 2009-2010 season Saunders helped coach the Bucs to their first win in the NCAA tournament as well as an appearance in the Sunshine State Conference title game. Saunders was also a point guard on the Barry Men’s Basketball Team from 2003-2007 and led the Buccaneers to their first-ever Sunshine State Conference Regular season championship and appearances in two Division 2 tournaments. Saunders was also an assistant coach at Belmont Abbey College in Charlotte, NC. During his coaching career at Belmont Abbey (2015-2020), Coach Saunders helped the Crusaders to earn a #20 national ranking in the 2019-2020 season as well as back to back 20 win seasons in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. Coach Austin Greene, and Nate Williams both were part of the Emmanuel Men's Basketball program as players from 2015-2019. Austin Greene spent the 2019-2020 season as a grad assistant for the University of Arizona Women’s basketball team and Williams as an assistant coach at Division 3 Pitt-Bradford.

History Converse College's doors opened on October 1 1890. The college had the belief of being an all women's college to gain women an advantage in education. Converse University brought men into the university for the 2021-22 school year. The school wanted to make this large step for the college because of the changing times in the world. Less than 2% of high school girls still had interest in single gender schools, and then school needed to change to keep people applying to the school. Students at the university were also ready for change because of the belief that a single gender school would not prepare them enough for a co gender workforce that they would eventually enter. Along with adding men to the college, Converse also is changing the name from Converse College to Converse University in July 2021. Along with adding men to the residential program Conversity University will be adding mens sports team for the 2021-22 season. The mens sports that will be competing consist of basketball, cross country, track and field, soccer, swimming tennis, and coed sports such as esports, and equestrian. In Converse’s first game in program history on November 12, 2021, they ended with a 93-82 win against Mars Hill University.

Converse University is located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where the Men’s Basketball team plays in the Tom and Tracy Hannah Gymnasium, Weisiger Center. They play here along with the Converse University Women’s Basketball team, Women’s Volleyball team, and the Women’s Acrobatics & Tumbling team.

2021-2022 Roster

Jedaiah Alexander (a 6’5 redshirt freshman from London, England) Bailey Wiseman (a 6’3 freshman from Charleston, South Carolina) Elijah Pitts (a 6’5 freshman from Gainesville, Ga) Jimmie Sanders III ( a 5’6 redshirt junior from Dallas, Texas) Jay Mitchell (a 6’2 freshman from Clemmons, North Carolina) Wes Morgan (a 6’6 senior from Charlotte, North Carolina) Xavion Bennett (a 6’5 freshman form Goose Creek, South Carolina) Sigurd Lorange (a 5’11 redshirt sophomore form Trondheim, Norway) Will Searl (a 6’3 freshman from Orlando, Florida) Cohen Gaskins III (a 6’4 freshman from Charleston, South Carolina) Trent Green (a 5’10 redshirt sophomore from Columbia, South Carolina) Earl Burgess III (a 6’7 freshman from Spartanburg, South Carolina) Jordan Warlick (a 6’5 redshirt junior from Columbia, South Carolina) Nate Gordon (a 6’8 freshman from Alpharetta, Georgia) Landon Harrington (a redshirt sophomore from Nine Mile Falls, Washington)

https://govalkyries.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster https://gobarrybucs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/ryan-saunders/11