UMass fans got some of their first looks at the Minutemen’s nonconference schedule on Wednesday.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame officially announced the games and dates for the Hall of Fame Tipoff Tournament at Mohegan Sun in November. As previously reported, the Minutemen will face Virginia, the defending national champion, in one of the two semifinals in the Naismith Bracket. Arizona State and St. John’s will square off in the other semifinal on Nov. 23 at the Connecticut casino. The championship and consolation games will be played the following day.
As part of the tournament, UMass will also host two teams from the Springfield Bracket for contests prior to the tournament. Central Connecticut State will visit Mullins Center on Nov. 16 and Rider will come to Amherst on Nov. 20.
The full nonconference schedule has not been released yet by UMass, which unveiled the 2018-19 slate at the end of June last year. Other known games on the schedule are the Minutemen hosting South Carolina and traveling to Rutgers, but dates for those contests have not been confirmed. The Gamecocks will play in Amherst as the last leg of a home-and-home scheduled in conjunction with the football game between the two schools played in 2016. The game against the Scarlet Knights is the first half of a home-and-home that was scheduled as part of the agreement for UMass to play at Rutgers to open this football season on Aug. 30.
MINUTEMEN SIGN REEVES — UMass hockey coach Greg Carvel announced the first freshman who will join the Minutemen for next season.
Forward Peyton Reeves of the Oakville Blades in the Ontario Junior Hockey League has signed his letter of intent to play at UMass. Reeves scored 41 goals and 91 assists in 246 games over four years with the Blades and was the captain this past year when Oakville won the OJHL in dominating fashion.
“Peyton is a good-sized power forward who skates well and will help our team play with an edge and a physical presence,” Carvel said in a release. “He had a breakout year with Oakville averaging a point per-game, serving as team captain and leading his team to an OJHL Championship. He is a leader and high character kid, the type you need to win.”
UMASS ADDS LEGEND —The field hockey program’s all-time leading scorer has joined UMass as an assistant coach.
Pietie Coetzee-Turner has signed on to be the newest coach for the Minutewomen after serving as the head coach at a university in her native South Africa for the past three seasons. She retired after a decorated international career in 2014 as a three-time Olympian with 287 goals in 289 international matches. Coetzee-Turner is not a complete stranger to college field hockey in the United States having been an assistant at Indiana in 2006.