Lexington, Ky. – Almost immediately after completing one of the most triumphant seasons in recent memory, the Transylvania men's basketball team embarked upon a long period of uncertainty in one of the most trepidatious years ever.

On one hand, the advent of the newest Transylvania season feels like something close to a miracle, particularly when contrasted with many of the Pioneers' regional peers who have been forced to put their seasons on ice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the Pioneers have found great fortune in being able to begin their season, the arrival of the season has not come without its extra share of campus-wide sacrifice and a steady dose of elbow grease.

"My guys are thrilled to be on the court practicing and getting ready to compete," says Transylvania men's basketball head coach Brian Lane who enters his 20^th overall season as head coach of the program. "It has been such a tough time with the modified classes and fewer students on campus but the one constant has been those two and a half hours that we have been able to spend together. We feel like we are getting back to some sense of normalcy with basketball season getting ready to start."

While much across the globe has transpired since the last time Lane's Pioneers set foot upon the court in the Big Dance last March, the Pioneers return to play in the near future with renewed visions of continuing their championship course which achieved lift off in the 2019-2020 season.

A landmark 2019-2020 campaign for the Pioneers featured a first-place finish in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, fueled by a string of 12 wins in their final 13 games prior to the NCAA Tournament for a 13-5 conference run; Transylvania confirmed the expectations of the conference coaches' preseason poll by clinching the No. 1 seed in the HCAC Tournament along with tournament hosting duties. The hometown faithful in Lexington witnessed a scintillating conference championship game performance won by the Pioneers at the buzzer on a dazzling defensive stop.

More than eight months later, the Pioneers will aim to balance the dreams of defending the conference title against a murky NCAA landscape with many premier teams from top-notch conferences in the country having to throw in the towel on a season before it ever began.

"Coming off a year where we won the HCAC title and competed in the NCAA Tournament we had really high expectations for this season," states Lane. "We worked to gradually get back to basketball-playing shape since most guys were only able to work individually on shooting and ballhandling."

As the Pioneers enter the most fluid season possibly ever experienced, the schedule will take on a decidedly different look and one that has the potential to change on a daily basis.

Approaching tip-off, Transylvania's opening schedule will commence in December, consisting of an unorthodox yet compelling slate which features a slate of games against multiple in-state Division I opponents.

LAST SEASON: 19-9 overall, 13-5 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season (regular season Co-Champions), No. 1 seed in HCAC Tournament, HCAC Tournament Champions (defeated Rose-Hulman 49-48), clinched NCAA Tournament automatic bid (1^st round, lost to North Central 74-58), ranked 5^th in nation in three-point field goal percentage, produced 12-3 win-loss record at Beck Center, junior Michael Jefferson named Jostens Trophy Finalist – one of ten student athletes in the country to do so, selected to D3Hoops.com All-Region Third Team 

KEY LOSSES: Gabe Schmitt, guard (graduated, All-HCAC 1st Team selection in 2020, led team and ranked 4^th in HCAC in scoring at 16.6 ppg, led HCAC in free-throw percentage at 91% FT, 4^th in HCAC in 3-point shooting at 47% and 58 total made threes), Spencer McKinney, guard (graduated, third on team in minutes, 43% 3-pt FG, 6.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 17 starts), Luke Schroeder, center (did not return for junior year, 10 starts, 55% FG, 5.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 13 total blocks)

RETURNING PIONEERS: Michael Jefferson, Sr., guard (earned second All-HCAC 1^st Team selection in 2020, D3Hoops.com All-Region Third Team, Jostens Trophy Finalist, led HCAC in steals at 1.9 spg, ranked 18^th nationally in assists per game at 5.9 apg, second on team in scoring at 15.4 ppg, ranked 4^th in HCAC in field-goal percentage at 55% FG, led team in rebounding at 6.7 rpg, started in all 27 games), Lucas Gentry, Sr., forward-center (All-HCAC Honorable Mention in 2020, third on team in scoring at 11.8 ppg, third on team in rebounding at 5.2 rpg, 47% FG, 37% 3-pt FG, four double-doubles), Zach Larimore, Jr., forward (4^th on team in scoring at 10.1 ppg, 3^rd in rebounding at 4.4 rpg, 51% FG, 46% 3-pt FG), Brandon Cromwell, soph., guard-forward (HCAC Freshman of the Year, 6.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2 apg, 1 spg, 47% FG, 40% 3-pt FG)

NEWCOMERS: Jaylan Green, guard, Lexington, Kentucky (Frederick Douglass HS), Ethan Hudson, guard, Ashland, Kentucky (Paul Blazer HS), Simon Smith, forward, Louisville, Kentucky (Saint Xavier HS)

NOTABLE GAMES:

-Nov 20 and 21 at Piedmont College (Ga.)

-Dec. 1 at Northern Kentucky (Division 1)

-Dec. 9 and 10 at Morehead State (Division 1)

-Jan. 16, 2021 vs. Mount St. Joseph

-Jan. 23 vs. Rose-Hulman

-Feb. 11 vs. Hanover

An unconventional year also brings about an unconventional schedule, highlighted by four games against Division 1 opponents from the state of Kentucky. After tipping off their season this weekend with back-to-back games against Division III Piedmont, the Pioneers will venture up I-75 to Highland Heights, Kentucky to square off with the Division I NKU Norse on December 1.

One week from their duel with NKU, the Pioneers will take their talents to the mountains to face Morehead State on back-to-back nights on Wednesday and Thursday, December 9^th and 10^th.

The daunting schedule presents a unique challenge for the Pioneers and solutions for all participating teams, who have had to put their creativity into overdrive in order to find games where possible.

Regardless of opponent or location, the Pioneers are ready for their latest challenge in a year full of them.

"Our guys want to play," echoes Lane. "The best way to be able to get games was to do the required NCAA testing and play teams that were doing the same thing. With smaller schools all across the country not playing, we are fortunate to have the administrative leadership that understands how important this season is to our young men. We are seeing within our athletic department an enormous amount of flexibility. With the weekly changes from the NCAA and the Center for Disease Control, our athletic directors, athletic trainers and Sports Information staff are working an enormous amount of time behind the scenes to give our student-athletes the opportunity to play this year." 

CONTINUING THE CLIMB: The 2019-2020 season represented a return to glory for the Pioneers, who advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in the last 15 years, the most of any Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference program over that same span. The campaign was galvanized by a new addition to the roster and a significant momentum swing at the midpoint of the season.

After an uneven start to the season, the Pioneers ripped off 12 wins in 13 games to storm towards the number-one seed in the conference and the privilege of hosting the HCAC Tournament with the winner advancing to the NCAA Tournament. The 2020 HCAC Championship game was an unforgettable thriller with the Pioneers staving off Rose-Hulman by one-point in a 49-48 defensive grapple.

The NCAA berth paved the way for a massive first-round matchup with Wisconsin-Oshkosh, the reigning national champions from 2019, who ended the Pioneers' season with a 74-58 win.

"I think that run and that championship win is definitely something we will be able to build upon and the fact that we lost to the defending NCAA Champions in the first round of the national tournament, it should give our guys even more motivation to get back to that level," comments Lane.

The successes and lessons from 2020 have fueled Transylvania for a new season full of goals and variables. Some of those goals include maintaining the high level of play which came into focus at the start of their midseason upward swing.

"Our defense got so much better during the middle to late part of the season," reflects Lane. "We have to continue to get back to that intensity level and then be explosive on offense. We spent most of the season as one of the top three transition teams in the country and our wins began to rack up with that emphasis."

DYNAMIC WEAPONS: Augmenting the explosive transition offense and piloting the Pioneers' prospects is senior guard Michael Jefferson. An undeniable talent out of the gates as a freshman, Jefferson came into his own during his junior campaign as he set career highs in nearly every statistical category to lead the Pioneers to their first-place finish in the HCAC.

Jefferson's dynamic junior season was highlighted by his performance in the all-important HCAC Tournament Championship game where he posted 16 points, 12 rebounds, 8 steals, and 7 assists while shooting 50 percent from the field.

Blending together a style of offensive efficiency with increasingly sharp decision-making, Jefferson's success presages a repeat effort for the Pioneers.

"Michael had a terrific year and led us to the conference title," explains Lane. "He makes our team go with his explosiveness in the open court and his unselfishness. His near quadruple-double in the HCAC Championship was a performance I will never forget."

The leading returning scorer for the Pioneers, the two-time HCAC All-First Team selection Jefferson has also been a peak performer off the court, completing the 2020 year as a Jostens Trophy award finalist. The prestigious award given to one Division III male and female basketball player on an annual basis recognizes 20 total finalists across the country for both men and women for a combination of on-court, classroom, and community excellence.

Though the losses of leading scorer Gabe Schmitt and one of the key mental leaders on the team in Spencer McKinney leave a recognizable void among the roster, the Pioneers return to the floor with plenty of options.

Joining Jefferson at the helm is his fellow peer, senior forward Lucas Gentry. The versatile forward is the second-highest returning scorer and a player who can hit from inside and outside. Gentry shot 47 percent from the floor overall while knocking down 39 triples at a 36 percent clip in his junior season. One of the key rebounders on the Pioneers at five boards per game, Gentry earned conference honorable mention accolades in 2020 and prepares for his final dance with the Pioneers.

Another difference-maker for the Pioneers is sophomore Brandon Cromwell, the reigning HCAC Freshman of the Year. The Pioneers' midseason fortunes coincided with Cromwell's entry into the starting lineup. Beginning with a January 11^th win at Defiance, the Pioneers went 13-3 with Cromwell in the starting lineup. The freshman asserted himself as one of the team's best lockdown defenders as the season went on. Cromwell displayed his two-way versatility by hitting on a career-best 4 of 7 three-pointers in a February 8 win against Rose-Hulman.  

THE EVE OF TIPOFF: While each Division III program has reached a conclusion or a starting point for their respective teams' 2020-21 season, Transylvania is approaching the season with an enthusiasm and an expectation for competition.

Though each program is in a state of flux, the Pioneers return to the court this weekend for the first time since early March with a plan to continue upon the successes of last season while also navigating the unique circumstances presented by the pandemic and the increasingly fluid nature of the ever-changing season schedule.  

"Our players have had to sacrifice a great deal off the court because of the COVID concerns," adds Lane. "They have tried really hard to maintain the discipline throughout the early part of practice so that we could continue to progress. Now that we are testing three times a week to be able to play the opening games on our schedule, I would anticipate that same discipline to continue."

Ultimately, the Pioneers aspire for their next season to finish the same way their previous one did: at the top of the conference and looking for more.

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