WORCESTER—The Holy Cross men’s and women’s basketball teams provided fans with an inside look at their upcoming 2025-26 seasons at a meet and greet kickoff event on Oct. 29 at Oak Barrel Tavern.
Both teams tip off with road games against fellow New England foes on November 3 with the men playing at Providence College and the women traveling to Boston College.
The Crusader men then head to Provo, Utah for a matchup against No. 8 ranked Brigham Young University and AP Preseason All-American AJ Dybantsa on November 8 before matching up with Utah in Salt Lake City on November 10.
The women don’t have it any easier going up against No. 7 ranked and 20-time ACC champion Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina on November 9.
“These guys want to play those guys,” said men’s head coach Dave Paulsen, who enters his third year at Holy Cross this season and 30th year of coaching overall. “That’s part of the reason they come to Holy Cross to have the opportunity to play against really good competition in the non-conference.”
After six road games to start the season, the men’s team hosts Siena at the Hart Center on November 24 in its home opener. The women welcome Brown University to campus for their first home game on November 12.
Despite being picked ninth in the preseason Patriot League poll, the Crusader men are confident they will be competitive after going 13-19 overall and 5-13 in the league in 2024-25.
“I think it’s all wide-open,” said Paulsen, commenting on his expectations of Patriot League play. “A lot of it is who executes well, who stays connected, who wins close games; making free throws and taking care of the ball and holding teams to one shot.”
Paulsen noted that theCrusaders were “derailed” with injuries last season, especially the loss of point guard Tyler Boston for the entire Patriot League slate of games. In just 10 games of action he led the Crusaders in assists per game (3.8). As a sophomore this season, Boston will look to play an even bigger role on the team as one of three returning starters with juniors Joe Nugent and Gabe Warren.
The sharpshooting Nugent helped the Crusaders rank 10th overall in NCAA three-point field goal percentage (38.7 percent) a year ago by connecting on just under 43 percent of his three-point attempts (85-of-198) to finish among the top 15 most accurate shooters in the nation. He also led the Patriot League in three pointers per game (2.7).
“I feel like we’re a very deep team and we’re going to be able to play quicker. I’ve worked on adding a mid-post game, trying to get better in every way so I can help the team,” said Nugent.
“I think we’re getting better as a team, just getting one percent better everyday and that’s all you can ask for,” added Boston.
On the women’s side, head coach Candice Green enters her second season poised to lead the Crusaders back to the top of the Patriot League standings after going 19-12 overall and 11-7 in league play in 2024-25.
Holy Cross was picked to finish fourth in the Patriot League preseason poll behind Navy, Army and Loyola (MD). But that ranking doesn’t exactly sit well with Green and her Crusaders.
“We’re offended we were picked fourth,” said Green. “Obviously that stuff doesn’t matter, but we’re offended. We have an idea of what we want to do, and we want to win a championship here.”
The team returns four starting seniors with Kaitlyn Flanagan, Meg Cahalan, Mary-Elizabeth Donnelly and Simone Foreman leading the charge.
Flanagan comes into 2025-26 as a Preseason All-Patriot League Team selection after leading the league in assists (160, 5.2 per game) while averaging 9.7 points per game a year ago. A 2024-25 All-Patriot League Second Team selection, she started all 31 games and led the Crusaders in minutes played (1,004).
“We’re definitely a high-energy group,” said Flanagan. “I think our freshmen are all really outgoing which has meshed really well with our team.”
Foreman started 14 games last season and led the team in scoring (13.9 points per game), rebounding (7.6 rebounds per game) and free throw percentage (.853). Her accuracy from the foul line ranked second in the league.
“I feel like our goal right now and even when it gets to December and January is just to stay consistent,” added Foreman.
Green emphasized that this group of seniors have put in a lot of “blood, sweat and tears” for the program during their time at Holy Cross, winning two Patriot League championships and competing in two NCAA Tournaments.
“We have amazing players that kind of allow me and trust me to lead them in the direction that I think is best for us,” said Green. “It’s been fantastic. I’m really excited. Holy Cross is a great place to work. All the support is what has allowed me to flourish.”
Overall, the men’s and women’s teams will play a total of 28 home games at the Hart Center on campus.
Special community-themed home games include the men hosting Worcester State University on November 26 at 2 p.m. and the women taking on Vermont at 10:30 a.m. on December 16.
The men’s game against Worcester State on the day before Thanksgiving will be promoted as a Worcester community day as the Lancers are led by second-year head coach Al Pettway who previously guided North High School to back-to-back state championships in boys basketball in 2023 and 2024.
Students from the Worcester Public Schools will get to make a memorable field trip to Holy Cross to cheer on the women’s squad in a morning matchup against Vermont as part of an education-themed game.
Mike Vigneux is a freelance writer in Worcester with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of municipal government, communications, and public relations. An avid fan of all sports, Mike enjoys telling the stories of local athletes and their teams. He holds two degrees from Clark University, a bachelor of arts in Communication and a master of science in Professional Communication. He can be reached at Mikevigs@gmail.com
