Amid an offseason full of big-name departures, the Stony Brook women’s basketball team will have to look within to restore its contender status.

After claiming the Coastal Athletic Association’s (CAA) regular-season title last season, the Seawolves narrowly lost to Drexel in the conference title game. With the defeat, Stony Brook also lost the conference’s automatic bid to get into the NCAA Tournament.

Although the Seawolves dominated league play last year, the 2024-25 CAA women’s basketball preseason poll — voted by the conference’s 14 head coaches — placed Stony Brook at ninth, a steep fall from last season. 

“This season, we were ranked pretty low in the CAA preseason polls after coming from the championship, and we just lost our three top scorers,” forward Kelis Corley said in an interview with The Statesman. “Everybody is trying to find their new role, being a better scorer, and just stepping up to the plate for the next year.”

Undeterred by the outside noise, Corley says the team aims to return to where last year ended — with a shot to raise a trophy.

Last season marked guard Gigi Gonzalez — the 2023-24 CAA Player of the Year — and All-CAA Second Team center Khari Clark’s final bow with the team; the duo, who spearheaded one of the best years in recent program history, ran out of eligibility. With their departures, the Seawolves lost their top two scorers from last year.

“We all have to do a little bit more, but not try to compare what we want to do to what they did,” guard Janay Brantley said. “Just to go at our own pace, our own role, and not put too much pressure on us to exceed what they did.”

The team also lost a pivotal piece of its success on the sidelines, as former head coach Ashley Langford — the 2023-24 CAA Coach of the Year — accepted the head-coaching position at Tulane, her alma mater, after three seasons with Stony Brook.

“It’s a hard departure because we were so into her culture, and we had a specific system set up that we had to learn,” Corley said. “It took three years to learn, and now we have to erase all that and build up a new culture and learn a whole new system with a new coach.” 

Though she learned a lot from Langford as a first-year player, the coaching modification has not phased Brantley.

“I learned how [Langford] was as a coach, so I was preparing myself to have her again this year,” Brantley said. “I knew what she wanted and how she wanted to do stuff. So getting a new coach is not a challenge, but she’s different, [it is] just learning to adapt to what she’s bringing in.” 

Langford’s transition from the Seawolves to the Green Wave was followed by guard Victoria Keenan and forward Sherese Pittman, two other crucial players from the 2023-24 campaign. Keenan was Stony Brook’s best three-point shooter and its primary bench threat, while Pittman was the team’s third-leading scorer and was selected for the All-CAA Second Team alongside Clark.

“[Keenan and Pittman] were good scorers, good people to have on the team, but we know what we need to do to fill in their spots,” Corley said. “We’re not trying to imitate them, but we just know what spaces we need to get better at to win a championship this year.”

On the coaching side of things, first-time head coach Joy McCorvey was appointed to the vacant role. 

“She wants us to be good players, but even better people,” Brantley said. “That’s what she cares about most with us. She’s like any coach, she’s going to be hard on us, but she truly wants what’s best for us, she puts us in the best position to succeed.”

Despite never being in charge until now, McCorvey has a decorated coaching resume, which includes stops at St. John’s — where she also played — Michigan, Florida State and Tennessee. 

“She is really enthusiastic, she’s really nice, but, at the same time, she’s a hard worker,” Corley said. “She made sure that we’re getting better every day. I can say that she’s one of the most genuine coaches that I’ve had, and I just feel like every day I step on the court, I’m getting better.” 

Although McCorvey will not have the aforementioned four key players at her disposal, the returns of Brantley and Corley, alongside guard Zaida Gonzalez and forward Shamarla King, will make her job easier.

As a true freshman last season, Brantley played a significant role. She backed up Gigi Gonzalez at the point guard position and played in every one of the team’s 33 games. She was given 18.3 minutes a night and posted 2.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists on a .330/.239/.609 shooting line. 

Despite not shooting the ball particularly well her first collegiate year, Brantley’s six-foot height at the point guard position — which contributed to her being an asset on both sides of the ball — combined with the three seasons of eligibility she has left gives her incredible potential.

Corley is another two-way weapon for Stony Brook. With a 3-and-D skill set, she also featured in every game last season, although as a starter. Corley registered 2.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game on 22.0 minutes per contest and a .278/.230/.737 slashline.

“Everybody knows that they need to take it up a notch, we need to start scoring,” Corley said. “Previously, we all had lesser roles with those three on our team. So everybody knows that we have to get better every day, take on a little bit more work, and just fill in the places that they left.”

Zaida Gonzalez was the Seawolves’ fifth-leading scorer during her first year with the team after transferring in from Florida International. In the 2023-24 season, she tallied 8.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game across 33 appearances and starts. Zaida Gonzalez saw the floor for 22.5 minutes per night and put up a .399/.373/.704 triple slash.

With all of the scoring that left with Gigi Gonzalez, Clark, Keenan and Pittman, Zaida Gonzalez could be tasked with stepping into the primary scorer role.

Lastly, King is the most veteran figure out of all the returners, as she is entering her third year with Stony Brook and fourth overall collegiate season. A bench presence during the 2023-24 campaign, King had 7.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. She appeared 32 times — making a single start — and was given 23.9 minutes per contest. King posted a .456/.313/.726 shooting line.

The four primary returners were motivated to stay — despite all of the exits around them — after meeting with their new leader, Brantley told from her perspective.

“When [McCorvey] first came in, just listening to her and how she could care for us, she wasn’t scared or nervous to meet us,” Brantley said. “She was happy to come. I think her enthusiasm to take the head coach job stuck with me, and I think that’s helped me stay here and become the player I am.”

Brantley, Corley, Zaida Gonzalez and King will hit the floor as part of the new-look Seawolves on Nov. 4, when they begin their 2024-25 campaign by playing the Columbia Lions on the road.