ALFRED, NY – Following an appearance in the Empire 8 Tournament Semifinals, the Alfred University men's basketball team is preparing for a season that brings along familiar and new faces. The Saxons will welcome 15 returners to go with five first-year student-athletes.

Alfred University will be led by Head Coach Erich Kaempffe, who is entering his fourth season with the program.

"I thought we did a nice job returning to the Empire 8 Semifinals" Kaempffe said. "We dealt with a lot of adversity but played our best basketball down the stretch and into the postseason. We had multiple newcomers develop over the course of last season and that experience will hopefully help us going into this year."

Last season, Alfred University qualified for the postseason for the third consecutive year, winning three of their final five conference games in the regular season to secure the No. 5 seed in the Empire 8 Championship Tournament. The Saxons went on the road and defeated No. 4 Keuka College 80-60 before falling in a competitive effort at No. 1 Utica University. Overall, AU finished first in the Empire 8 conference in scoring defense, while ranking second in rebound margin.

Franlys Valenzuela (Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic/San Ysidro) enjoyed a historic sophomore season with Alfred University last year, finishing ninth in the nation with 11.7 rebounds per game and 13th in the nation with 303 total rebounds. The total rebounds for Valenzuela ranked second in program history for Alfred University, trailing only Warren Sutton during the 1958-59 season (433).  Following last season, Valenzuela was named as an All-Empire 8 Second Team selection.

Oscar Wolter (Munich, Germany/Lycee Jean Renoir) will be returning for his senior season with the Saxons, having been recognized as AU's Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year. Wolter totaled 264 points to go with 147 rebounds. On the defensive end, he accounted for a team-high 16 blocks.

Tyler Curran (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone) started in all 28 games for the Saxons last season, totaling 180 points, 67 rebounds and 57 assists. Curran was the recipient of the Empire 8 Player of the Week twice last season and will be ready to return to the starting lineup.  

"Our returners have done a great job in leading our younger players," Kaempffe said. "We have a great locker room. This group of guys makes it fun to come to work every day and we all love being together. I'm excited for our returners to work alongside our first-year players."

Alfred University will begin their regular season hosting the AU Tip-Off Weekend against Alfred State College on November 8. The Saxons will begin Empire 8 competition on road at Nazareth University on December 7. The Empire 8 Championship Tournament is scheduled to run from February 22 – March 1.

"Our top goal is to play our best basketball at the right time of the season," Kaempffe said. "I'm excited that the Empire 8 has a new look this year. We want to do our best to compete all year long. We will try our best to do enough to put ourselves in the conversation by getting better each day."