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ST. BONAVENTURE — In his introductory press conference, new St. Bonaventure men’s basketball head coach Mike MacDonald said all the right things.

He came off charismatic, genuine and honest in his first time fielding questions from the media back at the Div. I level, a place he has not been since the early 2000s. He did not sound as though he was regurgitating prepared statements. Instead, he regaled the crowd with tales and short stories from his long coaching career and was hardly without a smile.

But of course, saying the right things is only part of the job.

At Daemen University, notably since 2021 when NIL and the transfer portal began to establish its grip on collegiate athletics, MacDonald established himself as one of the most consistent winners in all levels of college basketball. Over the past two seasons, he has the fourth-most wins of any head coach (61) and the second-best win percentage at 95.3%. Since 2023-24, he has the third-best win percentage at 88.7%.

However, MacDonald was brought in by St. Bonaventure on the basis that he will not only be able to win, but do so in a sustainable manner: by retaining players and building year after year.

His method to player retention is something that he has been asked about more than once since his unveiling, and according to him, it is all about the environment.

“The grass is not always greener, and I think you have to have a spot where people enjoy playing with each other, playing for your coaching staff, where they feel like they’re getting better and they can realize that they can achieve what they want to achieve by being in your situation,” MacDonald said. “That’s what we’re going to have to do.”

MacDonald earned himself a reputation for roster retention at the Div. II level. The biggest hurdle in front of him at St. Bonaventure is whether or not he can uphold that in Div. I.

While he went on The Extra Point show, hosted by Sal Capaccio on WGR550 Sports Radio noting that the biggest difference between the three levels of college basketball is the size and strength of the athletes, there is no denying that the mentality of players at the Div. I level is different as well. If MacDonald gets himself a player that performs well and a big fish dangles a couple million dollars in front of them to leave, will the environment he creates at Bona be enough for a player to turn that down?

Now, this is not a slight on the athletes who have chosen to take that money. It is a condemnation of the system which allowed college sports to go wild.

In a day and age in which we are seeing programs and players posting graphics online to hype up a return to a program, how will MacDonald establish an environment at St. Bonaventure, which has its geographical and financial challenges, enticing enough to keep successful players around?

On one hand, there is some positivity in teams and players making a big deal about returning to programs, but the problem lies in that this should have never been the case.

The spineless NCAA has allowed NIL and the portal to shift the power completely away from the team and coach and towards the player.

In the face of this, MacDonald is a believer. During his press conference, he noted that there are players out there that still play for the name on the front of the jersey and not the back of it. But life-changing money is just that, and how will he be able to convince a player to turn down that opportunity if it arises.

“We’re in an era where, if you average four or five points, you’re out of here because ‘I didn’t average enough.’ And if you average 15 to 20 points, you’re out because you average too much,” MacDonald said. “It’s a little bit weird, but I think it’s going to change. I think it will come back and people will realize, ‘I have a good situation. I’m in a special place.’ And that’s what we want to show them.”

The other intriguing aspect of this dedication to try and fight against the grain from St. Bonaventure is that it battles with Men’s Basketball General Manager Adrian Wojnarowski’s idea that the program can be a stepping stone for players.

“I think for a lot of kids, it’s easier in a school with 1,900 students than a school with 19,000. And you’ll come to have two great years with us, and then you’ll probably end up at schools with 19,000 or 29,000,” Wojnarowski said in an AP article on June 11 of 2025. “And so you’re selling, for us, we’re your first step on the way to somewhere else, or the other one to me is we’re the place to come when you’ve got to get the basketball right.”

These two ideologies fight against one another. And it is what made MacDonald’s firm statement during his presser, that Woj reports to him, so intriguing.

“Woj is definitely a part of the men’s basketball staff as our general manager, but it’s different in ways, he reports to me,” MacDonald said. “That was one of the first questions I had for (University Vice President and Director of Athletics) Bob (Beretta), ‘what is the chain of command?’ Woj reports to me. He’s part of it. He’s a very valuable tool for us to use. I mean that in a great way. He has connections with agents that I don’t have and like it or not, that’s the new world. Kids have agents. … So, his connection with agents can help us get in the door and in front of somebody.”

Coach Mac presented himself in a jolly way. He was warm and transparent and those are two things that St. Bonaventure needs as a program right now. But only time will tell if that will be enough to fight against the trajectory of college sports.

He has proven he can win. He has proven he can establish and maintain relationships. But will he be able to do it on the biggest stage, with big money and big brands lurking around every corner, looking to poach the brightest stars within programs like St. Bonaventure.

So far, so good for MacDonald but the biggest tests are still ahead.

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ST. BONAVENTURE — There was one statement that Mike MacDonald repeated throughout his introductory press conference as the new St. Bonaventure men’s basketball head coach:

“Because, it’s Bonaventure.”

It was a statement that encapsulated what he sees as his approach to recruiting, retaining and building upon the legacy of the program.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a non-conference game in December, on the road or at home, people care,” MacDonald said. “If it’s a coaching search, people care. And that’s what makes this place special. There are a lot of people who care about St. Bonaventure, who want to see St. Bonaventure succeed. I understand that and we will work very hard to make this place successful.”

Perhaps the biggest draw to MacDonald for the search committee was his track record of retaining players in the current era of college basketball.

The portal rules all and money talks in this day and age, and yet MacDonald was able to maintain a strong foundation and build a perennial Div. II power at Daemen University. The key to doing that at the Div. I level, he believes is to lean into what makes the University, and the men’s basketball program itself, great.

“The grass is not always greener, and I think you have to have a spot where people enjoy playing with each other, playing for your coaching staff, where they feel like they’re getting better and they can realize that they can achieve what they want to achieve by being in your situation,” MacDonald said. “That’s what we’re going to have to do.”

Four players from this past year’s Bona team have entered the portal, testing whether or not MacDonald’s analogy rings true. MacDonald reflected on the complexity of the portal at the mid-major level, noting that not only is it difficult to keep players who do well, but also the ones who don’t.

“We’re in an era where, if you average four or five points, you’re out of here because ‘I didn’t average enough.’ And if you average 15 to 20 points, you’re out because you average too much,” MacDonald said. “It’s a little bit weird, but I think it’s going to change. I think it will come back and people will realize, ‘I have a good situation. I’m in a special place.’ And that’s what we want to show them.”

St. Bonaventure Vice President and Director of Athletics Bob Beretta noted that he and the rest of the search committee had compiled a list of traits that they took with them into each and every meeting they had with prospective coaches — a shortlist which he said surpassed 20 candidates. MacDonald was the only one checked off every box. 

“(We wanted) someone that would create that environment where our young men want to come to the gym and get better every day and just eat, live and drink basketball around their academics,” Beretta said. “Whether it’s a student, a student-athlete, a staff member, a member of the faculty, a member of our administration, those that want to be here, flourish here. We knew that Coach Mac had a tough decision because he was living in an incredible situation at Daemen. But we also knew that he would embrace this opportunity.”

St. Bonaventure men’s basketball head coach Mike MacDonald (right) and St. Bonaventure Vice President and Director of Athletics Bob Beretta (left) field questions from the media during MacDonald’s introductory press conference on April 8. (Hunter O. Lyle)

MacDonald is the only coach in the nation to have over 100 wins at each level of collegiate athletics. He’s experienced it all over the course of his coaching career, which began locally at Olean High School. The lessons he’s learned since then have stuck with him and he intends to put them to use in his return to the Div. I level.

“I’ve kind of coached backwards in some ways,” MacDonald said. “I was a Division I head coach at 30, and I was let go when I was 40. Then, all of a sudden I went down to Division III and people would say it was going down, but I thought it was great for me because I could work on coaching. I think you become a better coach by coaching. … At Division III and Division II, you don’t have all the bells and whistles. I saw the locker room here and almost fell over. That’s bigger than all the locker rooms I’ve been in combined in the last 15, 20 years. But, you have to take what you have and you have to work with it. You can’t worry about what you don’t have, what’s missing, and that’s what we’ve been good at, focussing on what you have. That’s what we’re going to try to do here.”

An ‘88 alumnus of St. Bonaventure, MacDonald has roots in Western New York. Between Olean, Canisius, Medaille and Daemen, MacDonald knows the basketball landscape of the area. The community, which he praised numerous times throughout his press conference, was a big draw for him.

“I still have lifelong friends here, I mentioned Jeff Anastasia, Joe Guenther, people like that who I have known for years and I’ve always stayed in touch with,” MacDonald said. “Olean’s a special place, it was a big part of my development as a coach and it got me my first start in coaching at the high school level. So, for me, this is like a homecoming, coming back to where I went to school, but also coming back home.”

The decision to leave Daemen was not an easy one according to MacDonald. He gave pause, taking a moment to quell some emotions, before ultimately thanking the several members of the Daemen Athletic Department that helped him throughout his tenure with the Wildcats.

Admittedly, coaching at his alma mater was not something he ever anticipated. But now that the opportunity has presented itself to him, he intends on making the most of it.

“It’s very humbling,” MacDonald said. “This is something I never thought would happen in all my life. But by the grace of God, things kind of work out and this has been a whirlwind for the last 10 days, but it’s a whirlwind that I’m very appreciative of and very lucky and very thankful for.”

MacDonald is the 20th head coach in the history of the men’s basketball program at St. Bonaventure.

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ST. BONAVENTURE — This era of college basketball is ruled by fearmongers.

Armchair GMs, Couch Coaches, etc.

No one decision that will ever be made will get the full approval of a fanbase.

In the immediate aftermath of legendary former St. Bonaventure men’s basketball head coach Mark Schmidt announcing his ‘retirement’, Mike MacDonald’s name nestled itself amongst rumor and speculation. Being a ‘88 graduate of St. Bonaventure and taking the wild amount of success he’s had at Div. II Daemen University as of late into consideration, there’s no wonder his name was one of the first to be thrown around in relation to the open position.

And a candidate he was. Relatively early in the search process, sources confirmed that his name was one that appeared on the shortlist the decision-makers had. But, MacDonald was unable to give the Bona speculation his full attention, given that he was leading Daemen on yet another historic postseason run.

Over the past two seasons, the Wildcats amassed a 61-3 overall record with not one loss coming in conference play. In 2024-25, Daemen got off to a 28-1 start and spent three weeks as the No. 1 team in the AP poll. This past season, they finished 33-2, were named East Coast Conference (ECC) Champions and were the East Regional Champions after reaching the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament.

The biggest challenge facing those within the St. Bonaventure athletic department is how to win in this current era in which money does all the talking. With one of the lowest NIL budget and revenue shares in all of the Atlantic 10, Bona needed a head coach with recent, proven success that could be sustainable in the cannibalistic transfer portal era.

MacDonald checks those boxes.

But what has made him an immediate target for critics is his rocky track record at the Div. I level.

From 1997-2006, MacDonald was the head coach at Canisius College. In those nine years, he had a record of 108-153 with one 20-win season (2000-01), a year in which he was named the Basketball Coaches Association of New York (BCANY) Co-Coach of the Year. He left his post as the head coach of the Golden Griffins after the 05-06 campaign, and while he transitioned into a successful head coach at Div. III Medaille College, doubters of his ability to lead the Bonnies forward have clung onto the struggles he had at Canisius.

What people must remember is that winning in this current ‘Wild West’ era of college hoops, means winning NOW.

Frankly, it is unfair to judge whether or not MacDonald will be a success at St. Bonaventure based on anything prior to what he has done since the NIL/portal era began (2021-22).

The landscape of the game has completely shifted since the late 90s, when the prospect of paying a player would have seen you thrown in an asylum. Since the 2021-22 season, MacDonald has proven himself with a 126-29 overall record, a 72-10 ECC record and has gone 11-10 vs. ranked opponents. Notably, he was able to retain 13 of 14 eligible players from Daemen’s 2024-25 team, keeping the core of the team intact, something that caught the eyes of those on the search committee, considering the Bonnies have been rocked in back-to-back years by a mass exodus of players.

Consistency and player retention is harder to find today than it was in the early 2000s, and MacDonald has proven he can do both at the very top of the Div. II level. St. Bonaventure University President Dr. Jeff Gingerich noted in the official press release on MacDonald’s hire that his ability to retain talent and build enamored the committee.

Of course, he was able to do that in Div. II, and people have made clear their doubt of whether or not it will translate to Div. I. The incredible recent success of Iowa men’s basketball head coach Ben McCollum, who made the jump from Northwest Missouri State (Div. II) to Drake (Div. I) just a few years back, might be the best case study on what works at the lower levels does translate.

It’s not like they’re playing a different game after all. 

“The same thing wins,” McCollum said during his introductory press conference at Iowa. “It’s the connectivity of your group, it’s toughness, it’s all those things. We didn’t win a lot of warm-up contests … but we were the most connected group out there, we were the toughest group and we were able to win basketball games. So, I learned quite a bit and a lot of it was just me understanding that that still does happen at these levels. Yeah, you need talent, but it doesn’t need to be Earth-shattering … you need connectivity, toughness and great kids.”

The other main critique people have had of MacDonald is his relationship to Men’s Basketball General Manager Adrian Wojnarowski. A concept that is simply lost on me.

Many have attached the confusion surrounding Schmidt’s departure from the Bona program to Wojnarowski and the athletic department as a whole. That, alongside the fact that the Bona faithful have only known what a Schmidt-run program looks like for the last 19 years, has fans questioning the decisions being made every step of the way.

To a certain degree, it is understandable. Change is scary, especially when the person that just left the position has the stature and track record of Schmidt.

But the fact of the matter is that since NIL and the portal shifted the power in college sports from the coaches to the players, St. Bonaventure has been above .500 in the Atlantic 10 just once. Schmidt was a master developer of talent, there’s no denying that. But he had gone on record saying how much he despised recruiting and what money has done to the game. So, for his replacement, Bona went with a guy that has had recent success, and it just so happens he has a previously established relationship with the team’s GM.

I am lost on where Woj having strong ties to MacDonald is an issue. My best guess would be preexisting disapproval.

Again to a certain degree I can understand why people are shaky on the hire of MacDonald. Do I have reservations about the hire? Sure. But can I also see why the leadership at St. Bonaventure went with MacDonald? Yes.

Established relationships with those in the athletic department aside, MacDonald has earned himself the chance at a shot back at the Div. I level. Sustainability might be the rarest characteristic in this hollowed out era of collegiate sports we find ourselves in, and he has managed to find that.

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ST. BONAVENTURE — St. Bonaventure Vice President and Director of Athletics Bob Beretta officially announced that Mike MacDonald will join the men’s basketball program as the 20th head coach in its history.

News first broke of MacDonald’s imminent appointment on March 30 via ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Further background on MacDonald and what he brings to the  Bonnies can be found here.

“We are extremely excited to bring Mike back to St. Bonaventure,” Beretta said via a release. “As we set out to identify the next leader of our men’s basketball program, we developed a list of more than 20 characteristics that we would look for in the person who would succeed Mark Schmidt as head coach. Mike checked every box. First and foremost, we searched for an individual who could maintain the championship pedigree of our men’s basketball program and build on the legacy of success authored most recently by Mark, and head coaches such as Eddie Donovan, Larry Weise, Jim Satalin, Jim O’Brien and Jim Baron before him.”

MacDonald joins the Bonnies after having led Div. II Daemen University to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament this past season. His Wildcats amassed a 61-3 record (32-0 in-conference) over the past two seasons.

A big part of what drew the Bona search committee to MacDonald was his ability to retain players and build in the NIL/portal era.

“I have complete confidence that Mike can build upon the foundation that Mark built here,” University President Dr. Jeff Gingerich said via a release. “In this transient era of college athletics, to be able to keep a team together and scale the heights that Daemen did really speaks to his ability to create an environment that players want to be a part of. I don’t care what level you’re coaching at — you’re coaching against peer programs. To achieve what Mike has at Daemen is remarkable.”

A news conference to introduce MacDonald will be held on April 8 in the Reilly Center. The time of the event is TBD.

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ST. BONAVENTURE — Dasonte Bowen, the captain for the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team this past season, has announced via Instagram that he will enter the transfer portal.

He is the first player from this past year’s Bona team to make his decision on the future official.

Bowen, transferring in from Iowa, spent two years with the Bonnies, granted his first year was cut short by a season-ending lower leg injury. He was the most notable returning player the Bonnies had this past season and in his comeback from injury, Bowen averaged 10.9 points (fourth-best on the team) and 4.8 assists (best on the team, third-best in all of the Atlantic 10) per game.

Bowen tied for the second-best assist-turnover ratio mark of any player in the A10 (2.3) and played an average of 34.4 minutes per game, the third-most of any A10 player this season.

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ST. BONAVENTURE — The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team has their next head coach in Mike MacDonald.

MacDonald, who comes with 29 years’ worth of experience as a men’s college basketball head coach, is set to make it official with the Bonnies on March 31 after having been at Div. II Daemen University since the 2014-15 season.

The Bonnies were intrigued by the idea of a Div. II hire following the recent successes of former Div. II coaches Josh Shertz, who just signed an extension at Saint Louis after leading the Billikens to an A10 regular season title and the NCAA Tournament, and Ben McCollum, who reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with Iowa this year.

MacDonald, a ‘88 Bona alumnus, was one of the winningest head coaches in Div. II, amassing a 61-3 record over the last two seasons, but he led Daemen to the second-best win percentage of any NCAA basketball team over the last two years (95.3%). Only Div. II Nova Southeastern has a better percentage. Duke sits just behind Daemen in the category.

Since the portal/NIL era began (2021-22), MacDonald amassed a record of 126-29, an 81.3% win rate. He is also the only coach in history to have recorded 100+ wins at every level (Div. I, II, III).

There is no current set date or time for a press conference, but one will be set in the coming days, per sources.

More stats on MacDonald:

– 522-312 (62.7%) in 29 years of coaching.

– 12 straight seasons of 19+ wins (excluding COVID year)

– 9 straight seasons of 20+ wins

– Retained 13 of 14 eligible players from Daemen’s 2024-25 team (28-1, 16-0 in conference) en route to another unbeaten conference season and East Regional Championship this season.

– In 2024-25 Daemen spent 3 weeks at No. 1 in the AP Poll

– Since 24-25, MacDonald is 7-1 vs. ranked opponents, 18-3 vs. NCAA Tournament teams and 4-2 in the NCAA Tournament.

– Has coached three ECC Player of the Year winners, one of which (Andrew Sischo) being a three-time winner and an All-American.

– Top 5 nationally in points per possession allowed (0.92)

– Top 21 in points per possession (last two seasons)

– Top 70 in assists rate (three straight years.

– 149-73 at Div. III Medaille College (2006-2014) where he was a 4x CoY led the turnaround of the program into a consistent contender

– 108-153 at Div. I Canisius College (1997-2006) where he is top three in program history in wins and was named BCANY Co-CoY after a 20-win season in 2000-01

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ST. BONAVENTURE — St. Bonaventure Athletic Director Bob Beretta released an official statement explaining the roll-out of men’s basketball head coach Mark Schmidt’s retirement announcement.

Beretta noted that he and the department were made well aware that many fans were “unhappy that we did not properly celebrate Mark during our last home game.”

Well, to put it bluntly, that was never how it was supposed to go down in the first place.

“In the weeks leading up to our final home game, we communicated our desire to celebrate Mark prior to season’s end, and a ceremony to honor him after the season,” Beretta said in his statement. “True to Mark’s admirable, career-long focus on his players, he demurred. We respected that decision. He certainly did not want to interfere with Senior Day festivities before the Davidson game.”

According to Beretta’s statement, Schmidt had made the decision that he was going to announce his retirement at the complete conclusion of the campaign. He wanted to go out on his own terms and not take the spotlight away from the players.

Schmidt got a warm send-off from fans that made the trip down to Pittsburgh to watch and cheer on the team’s special three-game run at the Atlantic 10 Championship, peers and other head coaches in the conference and A10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade, who took the time during her press conference at the tournament to honor Schmidt’s legacy.

Beretta noted that St. Bonaventure is not done honoring its winningest coach in program history either. In his statement, he asked fans to “stay tuned, as we’d still like to plan a future public celebratory ceremony, fitting to the legacy he leaves behind.”

In the meantime, Beretta acknowledged that the program must direct its attention towards making the correct next steps. In doing so, would only continue to honor the legacy of Schmidt.

“Our attention must turn now to what’s next,” Beretta said in the statement. “We believe the best way to honor Mark’s legacy is to build upon the tremendous foundation he leaves us – and to work to achieve this mission together. We must evolve the program and remain ahead of the seismic and rapid change that dominates the sport.”

Beretta also gave a significant update on the national head coaching search that has been underway, noting that they “hope to have our new head coach, who we can all rally around, identified very soon.”

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PITTSBURGH, PA — The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team entered the Atlantic 10 Championship knowing that the final days of head coach Mark Schmidt’s tenure were ahead of them.

Over the last 19 years, Schmidt’s steady hand guided the program out from the shadows of scandal and struggle and onto the national stage. He became the winningest coach in program history, was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2021 and led the team to three NCAA tournaments among a plethora of other accolades.

The knowledge that the next time they lost would ultimately be the end of the road for Schmidt had a noticeable effect on the team. From the moment the No. 13 seed Bonnies tipped off against No. 12 seed La Salle in their first round game, they left everything on the floor, with sights set on sending Schmidt off with one final memorable run.

Bona put up a season-high 99 points against the Explorers in a dominant win. It then made history as the first No. 13 seed to ever reach the quarterfinals of the A10 conference tournament after a compelling 11-point comeback win over No. 5 seed George Mason in the second round.

Heading into its quarterfinal affair against No. 4 seed Dayton, there was hope that the dream would never end.

Schmidt’s team, which had taken its fair share or heavy blows through its first two games of the tournament, once again put the pedal to the floor, chasing the Flyers all over the court and taking every bump and bruise in stride as another upset became a very possible reality.

Bona had Dayton within two points with under a minute to go, but mirroring the struggles that plagued the team all throughout the regular season, it was unable to close the gap, falling 68-63.

The Bonnies and Flyers were never separated by more than two possessions. The former’s largest lead of the game was three points, the latter’s, six. But it was well and truly a cat-and-mouse affair as Dayton led for 33.5 minutes compared to Bona’s 2.5 minutes.

Darryl ‘Buddy’ Simmons II, who went into halftime scoreless, finished with a team high 20 points for the Bonnies. The ever-consistent Frank Mitchell, was the only other member of the team to have finished with double figures, tallying 16 points along with six rebounds.

Mitchell was the first official commitment the program received this past offseason. Transferring from Big 10 side Minnesota, he was poised to be one of the most dominant forces in the conference. He ended up being one of the most dominant forces in all of Div. I basketball.

Reflecting on his time with the program, and specifically his head coach, he noted that he wouldn’t have wanted to wind up anywhere else.

“It’s been a blessing of a season,” Mitchell said. “I experienced Bonaventure from the other side as I went to Canisius, and now I got to be on this side. I love Schmidt to death. Out of all of my coaches, he’s probably the closest I’ve been with anyone. He’s a father figure to me. I’m happy I laid it all on the ground, and I hope he’s proud of me. I’m definitely going to call him every day and annoy him the same way. But yeah, I love him to death, and I wouldn’t choose no other coach but Schmidt.”

St. Bonaventure’s Frank Mitchell (00) puts up a floater against Dayton. Mitchell recorded 16 points and six rebounds for the Bonnies in their 68-63 Atlantic 10 Championship Quarterfinal loss to the Flyers on March 13. (Hunter O. Lyle)

There was a somber air about the team’s postgame press conference.

The Bona train rolling into the semifinals was a real possibility. But despite the loss and possible disappointment his players felt, Schmidt let it be known that for their effort alone, he was proud.

“They played hard, they stuck together, and we had a lot of close games,” Schmidt said. “It was a fun group. We’re disappointed in some of those losses, but I think it showed the character of our guys, the competitiveness, that they didn’t lay down. We played well. We played well throughout the year, just not consistently well. … But them coming here and playing well against La Salle and pulling that win out against George Mason and showing some great game today, I’m proud. Those guys are disappointed, but you’ll look back and you’ll think about the good times. Ten years from now, 20 years from now, no one will remember who won the game, Dayton or St. Bonaventure. It’s about the relationships, and that’s what’s most important.”

But any disappointment, Schmidt believes, will be short-lived. Players move on rather quickly in this era.

As for himself, Schmidt has no regrets.

“Yeah, you’re disappointed. I wish we could go on and win the national championship, but only one team is going to do that,” Schmidt said. “Everybody is going to end this season with a loss … so you’re disappointed in that. You’re disappointed in having your players lose and seeing their faces in the locker room. But the great thing about being young is that 15 minutes after the game, they’re thinking about what they’re going to eat. I think with coaches, it hurts more. Players are just very resilient and bounce back. But yeah, I’m content, and I can’t wait to get the hell out of here, stop talking to you guys and go drink some beer.”

The Bona faithful showed out in droves to support their team during this magical postseason run. Schmidt acknowledged them after each of his team’s games with an emphatic fist pump of gratitude. And as a parting gift, he offered some words of advice for whomever will take his place at the head of the Bona bench next season.

“That community, in Olean and Allegany, it’s prideful,” Schmidt said. “Those people think that Olean is the best place in the world. You can’t talk negative about it. You gotta be one of them. And one of them is good. I take pride in telling people that I’m an Olean guy, that I’m a Bartlett guy. … The next guy that comes in, he has to embrace that and understand that basketball is everything to that community.”

It is rare to see a coach in this day and age stay in a job for as long as Schmidt did. And while the entire landscape of college basketball changed around him, he remained faithful to the Brown and White.

That being said, Schmidt admitted that he is glad to be departing the industry — which has changed from one of making connections to one of quick transactions.

However, he didn’t completely rule out a return to coaching, granted he doesn’t know if he’ll be needed at TD Garden any time soon.

“I guess if the Boston Celtics called, but Joe (Mazzulla) is not in trouble,” Schmidt said. “It’s funny, talking to my son, Nick, and my youngest son, Mike, who’s an assistant at Putnam Science, and he wants to get into college coaching as well, we, as the older generation, didn’t get into coaching to make money, to get rich. … We were in it to have relationships and to have an effect on people’s lives, young men’s lives. Now it’s different. It’s more of a business, paying players and so forth. … I’m not sure where this business is going, but I’m glad I’m not going to be a part of it.”

St. Bonaventure’s Darryl ‘Buddy’ Simmons II (8) goes up for a layup against Dayton. Simmons scored a team-high 20 points for the Bonnies in their loss to the Flyers. (Hunter O. Lyle)

Before spending nearly two decades with the Bonnies, Schmidt got his start as a head coach at Robert Morris — a campus located less than 20 miles from where he coached the last game of his career. A true full-circle moment that he took the time to reflect upon.

“It’s funny how life works,” Schmidt said. “I took my first job at Robert Morris and was there for six years. I still have friends (there that) came to the game tonight. If I didn’t have Robert Morris, I would have failed at Bonaventure. It made me a better coach. And just coming back here, … it’s funny how things work out. You look at it and it’s kind of eerie that you begin and you end in the same place.”

When all is said and done, Schmidt will be remembered as the one who completely changed the trajectory of the program.

But the time for reflection can wait.

As he said in his official retirement announcement back on March 7, he wants to ‘drink beer without consequence.’ And he knows exactly what beer that is going to be.

“A Sam Adams, because I’m a Boston guy, Cold Snap.”

The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team finished the 2025-26 season with a 17-17 record.

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PITTSBURGH, PA — A team with something to fight for is a dangerous one.

The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team has something to fight for and that’s extending the duration of the Mark Schmidt era for as long as humanly possible.

Down 11 points in the second half to No. 5 seed George Mason, the No. 13 seed Bonnies could have packed it in. After all, they had not won consecutive Atlantic 10 games all season long and any slight scoring run they had was immediately erased by the Patriots.

But there was more on the line than just the placement of another tally in the win-loss column.

Head coach Mark Schmidt, following his team’s final game of the regular season, announced he would retire at the conclusion of the campaign — so as to not have to be “in a wheelchair getting pushed around Cape Cod.”

The future endeavors of Schmidt seemed not so far away as his team faced a double-digit lead with just over 15 minutes left to play. But a resounding effort, fueled by the bond that exists between this year’s team and the man at the helm, delayed Schmidt’s sight-seeing for at least another day as the Bonnies stormed all the way back behind a 30-13 run, claiming a 63-57 victory.

“Im really proud of our effort,” Schmidt said. “It’s a life lesson. Things weren’t going well, we’re down by 10 at halftime, got down by 11, and our guys didn’t quit. They fought, they made winning plays. We’ve struggled, we’re 0-9 in games decided by five or less points. The season could have been totally different in terms of record, but I wouldn’t want to win those games because of how we played today. We had adversity and we overcame it.”

At halftime, not a single Bona player had double figure points, and they had been pegged back time and time again by George Mason’s Jahari Long, who had 14 points through the first 20 minutes.

Frank Mitchell had the team-high in points with eight at the intermission with Dasonte Bowen not far behind him with seven.

In the second half, they would be the ones leading the charge in the biggest moments of the season. Bowen exploded for a career-high 20 points, collecting six rebounds and dishing three assists as well. Mitchell finished with 14 points and was a massive factor on the defensive end, grabbing seven boards and six steals.

Cayden Charles was equally as important down the stretch. While he only made two shots from the field, he repeatedly threw himself down the lane, drew contact and made his free throws. He finished with 12 points and was the only other Bona player outside Bowen and Mitchell to hit double figures.

The scoring wasn’t all that picked up in the second half for the Bonnies either. In the first half, they lost the turnover battle 6-2. In the second half, they flipped that stat line completely on its head, conceding just one turnover and forcing eight from the Patriots.

George Mason head coach Tony Skinn admitted that the fuel that was added to Bona’s fire following Schmidt’s retirement announcement unnerved him. And that fire grew to a blaze in the second half, burning his Patriots.  

“They’re playing for a guy that’s arguably one of the best coaches in A10 history,” Skinn said. “I couldn’t sleep last night just knowing that at the end of the day, (St. Bonaventure) is going to go to war for him. And that’s what happened tonight.”

St. Bonaventure’s Frank Mitchell (00) flies in for a layup against George Mason. Mitchell recorded 14 points and seven rebounds in the Bonnies’ win over the Patriots. (Hunter O. Lyle)

Schmidt has spoken a lot about the quality of the players in his team. Not just in terms of their talent, but who they are as individuals. Bowen, the team’s captain, agrees.

It could have been easy for the Bonnies to throw their hands up and chalk up the game as a loss considering they have seen this kind of story play out before. But that didn’t happen, and Bowen credited the mentality of the team in getting the job done.

“I think that’s just credit to Coach (Schmidt) and the type of character he built for our team,” Bowen said. “We’ve got a bunch of high-character guys. When things hit the fan, we just stuck together. We knew if we stuck together and took it play by play, they were going to fold eventually, and that’s what happened. When it wasn’t going our way, we just had to stay positive and trust that if we did the right things each possession it would work out in the end.”

Schmidt echoed that statement.

“We have character guys, we have competitive guys,” Schmidt said. “They weren’t happy losing nine games by five or less points. But it’s a confidence thing. Once it starts spiraling, it’s hard to stop. And the only way you stop it is by one day, planting your feet, and saying I’m not going back any further. Today was that day.

“I thought we defended extremely well. We always play hard, but I thought we played with much more of a purpose. And we have good leadership. Dasonte, he got the belt today because he deserved it. He’s a great leader and we have great followers. It was a good victory. We overcame adversity and we came out winners.”

Bowen received the Bona Belt for his career performance but was quick to acknowledge that it truly deserved to remain in the possession of the man that earned it after the team’s first-round win over La Salle: Schmidt.

“Coach deserves the belt,” Bowen said. “(Giving him the belt yesterday) was honorable. The guy has put in so much time. This is our chance to send him out the right way, so that’s our goal entering every single game. So, being able to kind of give back to him in some type of way, it felt amazing.”

St. Bonaventure’s Cayden Charles (24) pulls up from mid-range against George Mason. Charles scored 12 points for the Bonnies in their win over the Patriots. (Hunter O. Lyle)

With the win, Bona is now the first No. 13 seed to ever reach the quarterfinals of the A10 Championship. The win extends the team’s streak of consecutive quarterfinal appearances to three and it has made it to this stage of the tourney in 11 of the last 13 seasons. 

This will be Schmidt’s final postseason run with the Bonnies. And while that may add an emotional layer to these wins to the fans and the players, to him, it is no more special than the last.

“They’re all special,” Schmidt said. “This group is no more special than the one we had last year, or my first year in 2007. Every year, my wife and I have 13 step-kids. And the crazy thing about this business is that sometimes you spend more time with your step-kids than you do with your own three boys. And that’s one of the reasons why retirement can’t come soon enough; to be able to spend more time with the people that really care about me.”

So, delay the retirement party. There’s still a chance that this Bona team has more to celebrate before then.

St. Bonaventure will take on No. 4 seed Dayton at 2 p.m. on March 13 in PPG Paints Arena.

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PITTSBURGH, PA — For the first time since its inception, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team could not avoid the pillow fight — the colloquial term for the first round of the Atlantic 10 men’s basketball conference tournament.

The Bonnies finished one place above the basement of the conference, earning the No. 13 seed and the right to play the first game of the tournament.

Head coach Mark Schmidt had made it a point following the conclusion of the regular season to express his belief that the teams that win early on, have an advantage. They get more comfortable on the court, with the rims, with the environment as a whole.

And while Bona had its difficulties early, it eventually found a groove and stuck with it, grabbing that ever-important early win Schmidt was eyeing, defeating No. 12 seed La Salle 99-80 in PPG Paints Arena.

“La Salle beat us in game one, they were averaging five 3s per game, they made eight against us, they got to the foul line, they were 20-for-20 from the line, they killed us on the backboard … just physically, they beat us up,” Schmidt said. “And it got off to an ugly start today, they were beating us, again, down the lane. But I thought we gathered ourselves. When you make 13-of-24 from 3, it helps. When you look at the stats, from a numbers perspective, it was probably one of our better defensive performances. … Our offense was good but I thought our defense picked up as the game went along.”

La Salle was responsible for handing Bona its fifth consecutive loss to start the conference portion of its schedule this season. It was the first time since the 2007-08 season that the Bonnies had dropped each of their first five A10 games.

However, by the time the sides tipped off for round two, that first meeting was just shy of two months removed. Plenty changes in that amount of time and Schmidt’s crew delivered one of their best performances of the entire 2025-26 campaign.

Perhaps the most telling stat in their favor was the scoreline itself. Their 99 points scored was a new season-high, surpassing the 94-point outings they had against Richmond and Rhode Island. The Bonnies were a unified front in their first postseason game. They shot just shy of 57% from the field and over 54% from 3-point range, while picking up assists on over 63% of baskets.

“I think the most important thing is we were making the right play each time, or at least trying to,” Bona team captain Dasonte Bowen said. “When we do that, we’re a dangerous team. We got a lot of guys that can make shots. So when we’re moving the ball like that, and guys get hit or just catch and shoot openly, we’re going to make most of those shots. And that’s what happened today.”

St. Bonaventure’s Darryl ‘Buddy’ Simmons II (8) lines up a 3-pointer against La Salle. Simmons scored a team-high 21 points for the Bonnies in their win over the Explorers. (Hunter O. Lyle)

Bowen accounted for nine of Bona’s 24 total assists, nearly recording a triple-double as he finished with 16 points and seven rebounds as well.

Benefitting from a significant number of those assists was Darryl ‘Buddy’ Simmons II. He led the Bonnies with a team-high 21 points, hitting five 3s in the process. Alongside him on the scoring front, Frank Mitchell, who got off to a slow start, racked up 18 points and nine rebounds, just missing out on his eighth consecutive double-double, Cayden Charles, who had 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Daniel Egbuniwe, who tallied 13 points.

The kryptonite for the Bonnies all season has been late-game scenarios. When scores are close in games coming down to the wire, the Bonnies have been unable to pull out the win. That problem alleviates itself when Bona is able to maintain a substantial lead.

That was the case as the game wore on against La Salle. After flirting with a double-digit lead throughout the first half, the Bonnies shot out of the gates after the intermission, building and keeping its lead around the 20-point mark.

According to Schmidt, that was a direct result of the character his players exhibit.

“We’re 0-9 in games decided by five or less points,” Schmidt said. “As I told the team, we can compete and we can beat anybody when we play well. You take five games, you go 5-4, and you’ve got 20 wins. That’s the fine line between winning and losing. We haven’t made enough winning plays to come out on the right side. But it’s a clean slate. Everybody is 0-0 and now let’s go out and try to win some games. The kids responded. If you don’t have character guys, if you don’t have good guys when adversity hits, they can splinter. And they didn’t. We got good leadership, we’ve got good followers. We’ve had our ups and downs, but the kids have stuck with us.”

St. Bonaventure’s Frank Mitchell (00) rises up for a floater against La Salle. Mitchell tallied 18 points and nine rebounds for the Bonnies in their win over the Explorers. (Hunter O. Lyle)

La Salle’s offense was held to just over 43% from the field and just 25% from range. But a big factor in the Explorers falling far behind was the absence of Jerome Brewer Jr., who had 27 points and a perfect shooting game in round one against Bona, and Jaeden Marshall, who both picked up season-ending injuries down the stretch of the campaign. They were two of La Salle’s top three scorers this season.

“They scored 50 points against us (at their place),” Schmidt said. So they lost 50 points. So, it helped us. You have never seen a good team with bad players. They have two really good players and one of those guys didn’t miss a shot all game (earlier this season). So that helped.”

In their place, Rob Dockery stepped up. He led the Explorers with a game-high 33 points on 11-for-22 shooting and a perfect 11-for-11 at the stripe, along with 10 rebounds.

With the win, St. Bonaventure moves on to face No. 5 seed George Mason in the second round. 

The Patriots defeated the Bonnies twice in the regular season, but with that critical early-round win, Schmidt hopes that his players can start learning to win at the most important time of the season.

“Jack Nicklaus once said, and it’s stuck with me for a long time, ‘you learn how to win by winning,” Schmidt said. “You’ve got to put yourself in a position to win and you’ve got to win. You can practice special situations all you want. You’ve got to be able to pull one out. And once you pull one out, it’s confidence. When you’re in a situation where you keep on losing, it’s like, ‘here we go again.’ How do you stop ‘here we go again’? You’ve got to win again. … You have to learn and you do it by doing it.”

St. Bonaventure will tip-off against George Mason at 2 p.m. on March 12. The game will be broadcast on USA Network.