WASHINGTON – St. Bonaventure took a very important step last season, earning 11 more victories than the Bonnies 2024-25 campaign. The drastic improvement tied with Rhode Island for the seventh-largest increase among NCAA Division I teams.
The Bonnies brought back all 10 players of their players eligible to return, an almost unheard of achievement in the modern era of college athletics. Head coach Joe Crowley believes the team took strides last season in their decision making, leading to a taste of postseason success as well.
Now, what his team aims to achieve becomes even more difficult, but certainly attainable.
“We want to keep it going and we’ve got to take another step,” Crowley stated. “That’s a challenge, we’re not going to sneak up on anybody anymore. We’ve got to continue making sure we’re really good at who we are. We have a lot of players with experience, but the experience we need from this year is a little bit different than what they did last year, so that’s been enjoyable as a coach to help them through that.”
The next step for the Bonnies: becoming consistent. He wants the team to develop a confidence in approach, preparation, reaction and adjusting quickly to roles.
The team’s national postseason bid last season sparked interest from his Olean peers, something that Crowley appreciates and wants to build from.
“We’re a basketball community and we’ve been fortunate to have some past success, so we have very knowledgeable basketball fans at the university, community and alumni base,” Crowley said to Field of 68’s Talia Goodman. “To have that success and see the people come out and feel that, if you’re a competitor, you want more of that. It’s a little different here because not only do you feel it, but you also see the person at the grocery store, the coffee shop and they come up to you.”
Here is a look at the Bonnies:
Coach – Jim Crowley - 20
th season
Last year- St. Bonaventure went 17-16 overall and 7-11 in A10 play, an 11-win overall improvement from the previous season. The Bonnies fell in a close contest in the Betterment Atlantic 10 Tournament to Loyola Chicago, but earned a spot in the WNIT, the program’s first postseason berth in nine years. St. Bonaventure bested Drexel in the first round of the event, before falling at Middle Tennessee.
They’ll miss- Laycee Drake (15.5 ppg/6.3 rebs/44.2% FG/82% FT), Aaliyah Parker (12.6 ppg/5.8 rebs/69 stls), Gabby Robinson (2.7 ppg/2.8 rebs/40% FG)
Impact returners- Mackenzie Pettinelli (5.6 ppg/42.2% FG), Elyse MacDonough (4.6 ppg/40 3-pointers), Brillana Boyd (3.7 ppg/46.5% FG)
Newcomers of note- Kyla Hayes (St. John’s), Ella Trinkaus (freshman), Jordyn Williams (5.2 ppg at Niagara)
“They’ve all embraced who we are and know what they are getting with our program and more importantly Bonaventure and what we’re about,” Crowley said. “A couple of them we’ve known longer and that helps. We’ve known Kyla Hayes a long time and she’s fit in very well. We’ve recruited Ella Trinkaus for a number of years, so they have a little bit of an advantage having our familiarity with them, understanding of their games and how it would play.”
Reason to be optimistic- All 10 players eligible to return have come back to Olean. Although roles have changed, this connection builds a new base and ensures a stronger starting point for the newcomers.
While Aaliyah Parker’s on-court production will be missed, she has joined Crowley’s coaching staff this season and will continue to impact the program. Kelcie Rombach, another former St. Bonaventure student-athlete, is the team’s associate head coach.
“We lean hard into differences," Crowley told Goodman. "We love them and embrace them. The players we have, a lot are there because of Mackenzie (Pettinelli), who she is and she embraces who we are. We have two players on staff, others who went to camps, others who went here.”
X Factor- It feels as though Mackenzie Pettinelli was destined to be a St. Bonaventure standout. One of Crowley’s favorite Bonnies, Marques Green, trained Pettinelli so she knew what to expect coming in.
Pettinelli has grown immensely in her first two seasons at the college level, even draining a buzzer beater to give St. Bonaventure over George Washington.
Crowley has embraced the leadership role she’ll take this season.
“She understands how we want to do things and how to operate within our program,” Crowley said. “She leaned into it, did some of it last year, now even more. She has taken time to relate to teammates on and off the floor.”
Circle the date- A Nov. 14 matchup against America East preseason favorite Binghamton presents a good test for St. Bonaventure early in the season. Howard, the preseason MEAC favorite who won 26 games last season, represents a similar opportunity on Dec. 11.
Bottom line- St. Bonaventure has picked up confidence as a side, which is earned based on last year’s growth.
The progress in Crowley’s fourth season of his second stint with the program has been noted and now the Bonnies push to reach the next level.
“It’s a testament to how hard we’re playing each night,” Pettinelli concluded. “Are we playing our best, are we communicating enough? Are we playing hard? Are we showing a lot of effort? I think that will show for itself.”
Zac Weiss is a college athletics beat writer for Pittsburgh Sports Now, primarily reporting on Duquesne Athletics. Across his career, he has covered over 1,000 A10 sporting events.