Heather Jacobs, who has built a pair of championship programs during her nine-year coaching career, was introduced as the ninth head coach in Wagner College women's basketball history on April 20, 2016 and will be making her home debut tonight. Widely regarded as a rising star in the coaching profession, Jacobs has served the last six seasons as head coach at Adelphi University in Garden City, NY, where she led the Panthers to unprecedented success during her tenure. The high water mark for Jacobs at Adelphi came in 2014-15 when she led her team to a 28-4 record and an 18-2 mark in the NE-10 Conference, claiming the program's first-ever league championship and hosting the NCAA Division II East Regional. Adelphi was ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation and tied a program record for most wins in a season, and Jacobs earned ECAC Division II and All-Met Coach of the Year honors by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA). Jacobs came to Adelphi, where she also served as assistant athletic director, following a three year stint as the head coach/senior women's administrator at Daniel Webster College, a Division III institution in Nashua, NH. In 2009-10, she was named the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Coach of the Year after a school record best finish of 20-6 and a regular season conference title.

CSI

Tim Shanahan is entering his fifth season as head coach of the College of Staten Island Dolphins and is coming off a 2015-16 campaign where he led CSI to a 19-9 record and an appearance in the ECAC Metro NY/NJ / Upstate Championship game where the Dolphins dropped a 59-55 decision to Brooklyn College. In his four seasons at the helm of the CSI program, Shanahan owns a mark of 73-41 (.640). Having spent five years as CSI's assistant coach, Tim Shanahan took over the reigns of the team in time for the 2012-13 season. The results were immediate, and CSI scored a pair of winning seasons and a 21-win season in 2013-14, complete with a CUNYAC Regular Season Championship and ECAC playoff berth. Prior to his stop at CSI, Shanahan served as citywide Major of Family Court for the City of New York for 21 years. He retired from duty in 2006, committing his efforts now full-time to the Dolphins' developing program.

Less than Four Miles Apart

The Wagner College and College of Staten Island campuses are just 3.9 miles from one another. CSI is one of the 11 four-year senior colleges within the City University of New York system.

Wagner College Fun Facts

High atop Grymes Hill, overlooking Manhattan and the other boroughs of New York City, Wagner College was founded in 1883 as a Lutheran proseminary and has since evolved to become an independent residential liberal arts college enrolling a capacity of approximately 2,000 students.

College of Staten Island Fun Facts

At CSI, programs in the liberal arts, sciences, and professional studies lead to bachelor's and associate's degrees and the student enrollment nears 14,000 students.

Previewing the Seahawks

The Seahawks' 2016-17 roster is comprised of 13 student-athletes, including five returnees and eight newcomers, six of whom are freshmen.

The Veterans

Senior forward Jackie Dluhi (Middletown, NJ / Middletown South), a starter in 28 games last season, is the most experienced returner. Last season, the 5-11 Dluhi's top game came in a December 2 win over NJIT when she set career-highs in points (17), and field goals made (6), while tying her career high with 10 field goal attempts in 35 minutes of action.

Also back for the Seahawks will be junior guard Tanasia Russell (Vineland, NJ / Vineland), an explosive, athletic 5-8 shooting guard who goes by the nickname "Pogo," a moniker that helps describe her leaping ability. In 2015-16, Russell came off the bench to average 5.6 points and 2.0 rebounds per game in 15.6 minutes of playing time per game. Her season was highlighted by a career-high 20-point effort vs. Bryant (1/9), which came on 7-of-12 shooting.

Joining Dluhi in the Wagner front court will be 6-1 senior forward Taylor Butigian (Rockaway Park, NY / Christ the King). As a junior last season, Butigian saw action in 22 games with one start, with a season-high 12-point outing at Delaware State (12/13). She also delivered an 11-point game vs. NJIT (12/2) on 4-of-9 shooting, which included 3-of-7 marksmanship from three-point range.

Wagner also returns sophomore guard Julia McClure (Secaucus, NJ / Secaucus), who saw action in 20 games with two starts a year ago. The 5-8 McClure tossed in a career-high 15 points at St. Francis Brooklyn (2/1) when she registered career highs in field goals made (5), attempted (7), three-pointers made (4) and three-pointers attempted (6).

Rounding out the program's returning players will be 6-1 junior forward Samantha Sullivan (Manasquan, NJ / Manasquan), who has seen action in 50 games during her two-year career as a Seahawk.

The Newcomers

Big things are expected from 5-7 junior guard Africa Williams (Brooklyn, NY / Banneker), a prolific scorer with excellent range who has a knack for scoring points in bunches. Williams arrives to Grymes Hill after starring at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, NY where she averaged 14.9 points, 3.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game last season in leading the Hawks to a third-place showing in the NJCAA National Women's Basketball Tournament. In high school, she led the PSAL in scoring as a senior at Banneker where she averaged 29.2 points, 6.2 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game.

The 2016-17 Seahawks will feature six freshmen, headed by the versatile 5-9 Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, NC / Charlotte Christian). A standout performer throughout her high school career, as a senior, she averaged 20.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 1.9 assists per game for the Knights. Her top statistical performance came when she poured in 30 points vs. Ravenscroft High School in the NCISAA 3A girls' semifinals and finished her career with 1,491 career points. She is the daughter of Kendall and the late Bobby Phills, who played for the NBA's Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers. Her older brother Trey is a sophomore guard on the Yale University men's basketball team.

Corinn Baggs (Staten Island,l NY / Staten Island Academy) is a familiar face to followers of the local high school basketball scene here on Staten Island. A multi-faceted guard, Baggs was a two-time Jaques Award recipient (2015 & 2016) which is given annually to the top player on Staten Island. She was also a three-time Staten Island Advance All-Star who led SIA to its first-ever NYS Federation Class B championship and to consecutive State Federation appearances. For her career, the 5-10 Baggs tossed in 1,406 points and had six games of 20-plus points as a senior in 2015-16, en route to averaging 16.4 points per game as a senior.

At 6-3, Maria Besselink (Helsinki, Finland / Brando Gymnasium) is an international player who brings great size to the Seahawk program. A step-out three, her versatility allows her to function well on the interior as well as be a force on the perimeter. She earned a spot on the U-16 European National Team and averaged 15.4 points and 13.1 rebounds in 2012-2013 as a member of the Wartti Basket Club Team in the Women's U-16 European League. Fluent in three languages, Swedish, Finnish, and English, her father, Gerry was a standout player at UConn who served as legendary head coach Jim Calhoun's first captain in 1986-87. Her mother, Nina, starred at St. Mary's College (CA) while her Aunt Mary-Jane was a Hall of Fame player at the University of Hartford.

Sydney Sabino (Rumson, NJ / Rumson-Fairhaven) played at one of the state of New Jersey's perennial powers at Rumson-Fair Haven's High School. A pure shooter, she knocked down 44 three-pointers as a senior as part of a deep Bulldogs' backcourt rotation last season. The 5-9 Sabino tossed in a career-high 18 points vs. Red Bank Catholic after previously matching her career high with 15 against Raritan. Sabino's older sister, Sam, also a standout at Rumson-Fair Haven, is now a sophomore at the University of New Hampshire and her mother, Tracey, was a four-year letter winner at Monmouth University. On top of that, Sabino's grandfather, Mickey Radigan, played basketball at Wagner from 1962-1964.

Kellie Crouch is a true point guard who hails from talent and tradition-rich program at St. John Vianney High School in Holmdel, NJ . As a junior, the 5-6 Crouch averaged 6.6 points per game in helping guide the Lancers to a sparkling 26-4 record and the Non-Public A State Championship without a single senior on the roster. She scored 13 points vs. perennial prep power Christ the King High School of New York City and delivered a 12-point performance vs. Freehold Township and 11-point outings vs. Dunmore (PA) and Raritan. As senior Crouch saw action in just five games due to injury.

Morgan Lenahan starred at South Jersey's Haddon Township High School where she scored more than 1,000 career points in just three years before transferring to prep powerhouse Neumann and Goretti High School in Philadelphia, PA for her senior year. As a senior, she helped  the Saints achieve a 29-1 record and win their second consecutive PIAA Class 2A Girls' Championship and was one of four players on her team to sign with Division I schools. Her late father, Tim, was a legendary boys' basketball coach at St. Rose of Lima in Haddon Heights who helped develop and send more than 60 of his players to Division I or Division II colleges.

Sofia Roman, who was set to compete for the Seahawks this season as a graduate student after transferring from Dartmouth, suffered a season-ending injury during the preseason. Following a two-year career at Dartmouth College, Roman earned a spot on the 2015 Philippine (PH) Women's National team. The 5-7 guard was a core team member of the PH National Team that leveled up from Level 2 to Level 1 in 2015 FIBA Asia Championship in hopes of earning spot in the 2020 Olympics.