Shippensburg University hosted its Basketball Media Day on Thursday, with both teams in the midst of preparations for the upcoming season.

The men’s squad comes into the season ranked fifth in the PSAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, and looking to continue trending in the right direction under head coach Chris Fite.

In his third season, Fite is looking to capitalize on having experience with the team and benefiting from players returning to the roster.

“We’re excited about the group that we have here, and we think that with the amount of players we have coming back that we will be a little bit better this year,” Fite said. “Everybody is a year older and a year more mature, but time will tell.”

The Red Raiders benefit from veteran depth on the roster, such as senior guards Jay Hardy and Tony Ellis, but has youth like sophomore guard Justin McCarthur, who earned four PSAC Freshman of the Week awards last season.

“Being a senior means you’ve been here for 3-4 years, you know the ins and outs of the league, and you know what to expect,” Ellis said. “You know what it takes to be a winner, and you understand that every game is on the line.”

“I really like the pieces that we have. I think that we will benefit from having experienced players on the roster, with guys that have went through a three win season to making the big jump last year all the way to .500 and making the playoffs,” Fite said.

On the other side, the Lady Raiders come into the season with high expectations after not losing a member of their roster and being ranked second in the PSAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll.

The team has two Preseason All-PSAC selections in senior forward Stephanie Knauer and junior Morgan Griffith, while former PSAC Rookie of the Year Lauren Gold is now a veteran of the roster as well.

“People are going to expect a lot out of us because we didn’t graduate anyone and do return all of our starters,” coach Kristy Trn said. “It means a tremendous amount that we have been able to keep the group together.”

Griffith echoed her coach’s sentiment, believing that the team returning its roster will be a strength for them this season.

“We have everyone returning, and I think that puts us ahead already,” Griffith said. “I think we all have high expectations for ourselves, and coach expects more out of us than she has in the past.”

Being the eldest member of the roster, Knauer knows that she is counted on to be a leader for this deep Red Raider team.

“I feel like it is my duty to step up and make everyone feel comfortable and make sure that they are playing to the best of their ability because of my experience on and off the court,” Knauer said.

With such a deep and experienced group, the Red Raiders have their eyes on taking the next step, and becoming championship contenders.

“My expectation is that we are trying to work towards winning a National Championship. This group has worked very hard to get themselves back into the playoffs and then try to advance in the playoffs,” Trn said. “We feel that we’ve made some great strides towards having the opportunity to go after our end goals if we do our part on our day-to-day work.”

Both Red Raider teams open the season as part of the Wolf’s Bus Line Classic on Friday November 13 at the team’s home arena in Heiges Field House.

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