Wagner Athletics

Staten Island, NY – Ryan Conrad, a 5-11, 160-pound guard who averaged 27.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game last season at Providence Day School in Charlotte, NC, has signed a national letter of intent to attend Wagner College and play basketball for head coach Mike Deane, rounding out the Seahawks’ five-man recruiting class.

As a senior, Conrad earned NCISAA All State and CISAA All-Conference honors, was tabbed Third-Team All-State by the Charlotte Observer and was named to the All Tournament team at the Hilton Head Seahawk Invitational Tournament. In his senior season, he shot 51 percent overall from the field, 41 percent from three-point range and 81 percent from the free throw line. A four-year varsity starter, he totaled more than 1,600 points in his scholastic career.

“Ryan is a throwback guy on and off the court and is a young man who gets every drop out of his abilities on a night in and night out basis,” said Wagner College head coach Mike Deane, who will be entering his seventh season at the helm of the Seahawk program in 2009-2010. “This year, on a lesser team, he was asked to score more and he responded with big numbers.

“On our team, he will be at the point guard position and will compete for playing time and a possible starting position right away,” Deane added. “Ryan is a point guard who can shoot the three, find the open guy and dribble by his man. What I also like about him is he is very tough from a mental and physical standpoint.”

Conrad hails from a basketball family as his father Bob was an All-ACC player at Clemson University and his brother Brandon is a member of the University of South Carolina basketball team.

Conrad completes a recruiting class that also includes four other talented high school seniors who will be freshmen during the 2009-2010 season.

The four student-athletes who signed on with Wagner during the early signing period last fall include 6-5 forward Garrett Constance (Woodlands, TX/College Park), 5-11 guard Danny Mundweiler (Olathe, KS/ Olathe East), 6-7 forward Colin Sekal (Columbus, NC/ Veritas Christian Academy) and 6-7 forward Phillip Roth (Dallas, TX/ Richardson).

Garrett Constance is a rugged 6-5, 205-pound wing player from the Woodlands, TX who is an excellent shooter and an aggressive rebounder. A varsity starter since his freshman season, he averaged 13.2 points while shooting 47% from the field and 42% from three-point range as a senior for a College Park High School team that went 24-11. 

Constance capped off his senior campaign with a host of accolades, highlighted by earning a spot on the prestigious All-Region 2 team. He was also named Montgomery County Offensive Player of the Year, was a First-Team District 14-5A selection and was named First-Team All-Montgomery County.

As a junior, he averaged 19 points and five rebounds per game in leading College Park to a 30-10 record and a berth in the state semifinals. He was named the District 14-5A Most Valuable Player and First-Team selection and was rated the No. 60 player in the entire state of Texas by TexasPhenomReport.com

"Garrett's a very intelligent player who is tough, hard-nosed and knows how to play the game,” said Deane. “He’s an excellent shooter who has a real knack for scoring in traffic and is just an extremely competitive athlete. We’re very excited to add Garrett to our program.”

Danny Mundweiler is the younger brother of former Seahawk standout Joey Mundweiler, who became the Seahawks’ all-time leader in three-pointers made with 312. At 5-11, 170 pounds, Danny is a tremendous long-range shooter and a terrific playmaker who also possesses the ability to make those around him better.

As a senior last season, he was a First-Team All-State performer in Class 6A by the Topeka Journal at Olathe East High School in Olathe, KS where he averaged 17.8 points, 4.2 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game in leading his team to a 19-4 record and a berth in the state playoffs for the second straight season. His season was highlighted by a 34-point outing that featured six made three-pointers in a Kansas 6A substate tournament game.

For the season, he connected on 40 percent of his three-point attempts while earning First-Team All-Sun Flower League honors. He also was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Emporia State and Liberty Invitational Tournaments and was selected to the Kansas-Missouri and Kansas Basketball Coaches All-Star Games.

As a junior, Mundweiler guided his team to a 14-9 record as a junior and scored 14 points in a state playoff game while earning Class 6A Honorable Mention All-State honors. For the season, Mundweiler averaged 13 points per game while dishing out four assists per game.

“Danny’s a heady player who sees the floor very well, is an excellent passer and has a burning desire to excel,” says Deane “He is, in many respects, the ultimate playmaker who obviously hails from an athletic family and is very familiar with our program and out style of play.”

Colin Sekal, a 6-7, 220-pound forward with great shooting range, starred at Polk County High School in Columbus, North Carolina where he averaged 14 points and nine rebounds per game for a team that compiled a sparkling 26-2 as a junior, before transferring to powerhouse Veritas Christian Academy (Fletcher, N.C.). Veritas Christian boasted a roster that included six players who are moving on to the Division I level and was tabbed 35th nationally in ESPN’s Fab 50 Preseason Ranking.

A team captain this past season, Sekal averaged 8.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game on a talent-laden Veritas Christian team and earned honorable mention All-Western North Carolina (WNC) honors by the Citizen Times.

“I recruited his father Scott to Michigan St. when I coached there 25 years ago, so I’m very familiar with his family and background,” said Deane. “Colin is a tall, rangy athlete who is an excellent three-point shooter and can also put it on the floor and drive to the basket with authority. Colin is someone who will create match-up problems for our opponents.”

Phillip Roth is an athletic 6-7, 220-pound prospect who hails from Dallas, TX where he averaged 11.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game at Richardson High School. The left-handed Roth has a game that is improving in leaps and bounds. Roth was named a District 9-5A First-Team selection in both his junior and senior seasons and was nominated for the McDonald’s All-American Game as a senior.

“Phillip is a relentless rebounder on both ends of the floor, is very athletic and has range out to about 15 feet,” said Deane. “He’s a mobile forward who runs the floor very well and has a great feel for the game. Phillip is going to be a good one.”

Deane is enthused with both the quality and quantity of his five incoming recruits.

“First and foremost, they’re all excellent students,” he said. “I really like the group as a whole. With four seniors graduating after this season, I think we really addressed our needs. I like that several of these young men can play multiple positions and I like what each of them brings to the table.”

The 2009-2010 roster will also include a pair of redshirt freshmen in Ryan Schrotenboer (Fort Meyers, FL/ Bishop Verot) a 6-8, 220-pound forward who averaged 10.1 ppg. And 5.3 rpg. as a senior in highschol and Josh Thompson (St. Augustine Prep/ Richland, NJ), a 6-4, 190-pound forward, who checked in at 15.7 ppg. and 6.1 rpg.as a senior. Schrotenboer and Thompson were members of Wagner’s 2008-09 recruiting class and participated in practice sessions but did not see game action last season. 

In addition the aforementioned seven first-year players, Wagner will return seven veterans in 2009-2010, a group that includes: T.J. Czeski (Amsterdam, NY/ Amsterdam), a 6-2, 180-pound junior guard (2.6 ppg./1.0 rpg.); 6-5 188-pound guard senior guard Doug Elwell (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) (2.8 ppg./1.7 rpg.); Clayfell Harris (London, England/Bridgton Academy), a 6-8, 240-pound junior center (1.5 ppg./1.1 rpg.); Chris Martin (Winslow Township, NJ/Apex Academies), a 5-10, 185-pound sophomore guard (6.1 ppg./0.7 rpg.); Tyler Murray (Toronto, CA/Eastern Commerce), a 6-5, 190-pound guard (2.7 ppg./1.2 rpg.); Michael Orock (Hoboken, NJ/Hoboken), a 6-7, 230-pound senior center (3.2 ppg./3.3 rpg.), and Clifton Spiller (Pleasantville, NJ/Holy Spirit) a 6-7, 225-pound junior center (2.6 ppg./2.8 rpg.).