Walk into the Manning & Napier Varsity Gym on a Tuesday night in January, and you'll feel it immediately. It’s not just the smell of floor wax or the rhythmic squeak of sneakers on the Bobby Wanzer Court. It's the weight of expectation. If you're following St. John Fisher basketball, you know this isn't just another Division III program in Upstate New York. It’s a legacy that’s currently navigating one of its most fascinating crossroads in decades.
Honestly, being a fan right now is a bit of a rollercoaster. You’ve got a women’s team that’s essentially a buzzsaw in the Empire 8, and a men’s program trying to find its footing after losing a generational talent. It’s messy, it’s exciting, and it’s exactly why local hoops fans can't stop talking about the Cardinals.
The Women’s Squad Is Basically a Problem for Everyone Else
Let’s talk about Sarah Cartmill’s group first. If you haven't been paying attention, the St. John Fisher women’s team is currently operating at a level that feels almost unfair to the rest of the conference. They finished the 2024-25 regular season with a 19-8 overall record, but that doesn't even tell the whole story. They went 13-3 in the Empire 8.
That's dominance.
The engine behind a lot of this has been Sidney Tomasso. Last year, she wasn't just good; she was the Empire 8 Player of the Year. Again. She led the league in scoring and rebounds, which is a wild stat line for a guard. Watching her play is sort of like watching a chess master who also happens to have a 30-inch vertical. She reads the floor three steps ahead of everyone else.
But it’s not just a one-woman show. The Cardinals' defense is suffocating. There was a stretch in January where they held SUNY Poly to 37 points and Hartwick to 38 in the same week. You can’t win games if you can’t breathe, and Fisher basically takes the oxygen out of the room.
Why 2025 Feels Different
This season, the stakes have shifted. With a 3.838 team GPA—the third highest in all of DIII—these women are as sharp in the film room as they are in the classroom. They aren't just out-talented people; they're out-thinking them. Coach Cartmill has kept the momentum going from the Patrick Stellman and Ralph Damerell era, and right now, the road to the Empire 8 title very much runs through Pittsford.
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The Men’s Program: Life After Daniel Cook
On the men’s side, things are... let’s say "in transition."
For years, St. John Fisher basketball was defined by Daniel Cook. He was a four-time Empire 8 Player of the Year. Read that again. Four times. When you lose a guy who scores 2,000 points and grabs 1,000 rebounds, there’s going to be a hangover.
The 2024-25 season was tough. A 7-18 record is not what Mike Grosodonia II is used to. Before this stretch, Grosodonia had a winning record in almost every single year of his tenure. But here’s the thing most people get wrong: they think the program is "down."
It’s not down; it’s young.
The New Blood in the Manning & Napier Gym
If you look at the current roster, it’s a sea of sophomores and freshmen. Maximus Michalski is the guy to watch here. The 6-foot-5 forward is already showing flashes of being that next "interior problem" for the E8. He’s shooting over 55% from the field and leading the team in blocks.
Then you’ve got Mekhi Gidney and Max Schneider. Schneider is the veteran presence now—a senior guard who led the team in steals and knows exactly where to be on the floor. Gidney is the spark plug. He’s already putting up double-digit nights and showing that he’s not afraid of the big moment, like that 21-point outburst against Alfred.
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The Men's 2024-25 Statistical Snapshot:
- Maximus Michalski: 10.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG, shooting .553 from the floor.
- Mekhi Gidney: 9.2 PPG, shooting nearly 39% from deep.
- Jonathan McCaffrey: 8.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, the blue-collar worker of the starting five.
It’s a different vibe than the 22-8 championship team from two years ago, but the DNA is still there. Coach G has brought in Shawn Sullivan and Clay Pittinaro to shake up the staff, and the defensive focus is clearly returning. They’re losing games by 2 or 3 points right now—the kind of "learning tax" that young teams pay before they start winning those same games as juniors.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Empire 8
There’s this misconception that DIII basketball in Rochester is "quiet."
Tell that to the 1,000 people packed into the Varsity Gym for the Nazareth game. The "Battle of the Behan" isn't just a rivalry; it's a neighborhood war. St. John Fisher and Nazareth University are separated by about three miles of road. When they play, records don't matter.
Fisher has eight Empire 8 titles on the men's side, the most in conference history. They’ve been the gold standard since 2004. Even in a "rebuilding" year, teams treat playing Fisher like it’s their Super Bowl. That kind of pressure either breaks a young team or makes them incredibly tough. Right now, we’re seeing the "making" part.
Why the Wanzer Court Still Matters
The court was dedicated back in 2006 to Bobby Wanzer, the Hall of Famer who put Fisher on the map. He won over 300 games here. That history sits in the rafters in the form of championship banners from 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2015, 2017, 2020, and 2023.
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The current crop of players walks under those banners every day. It’s a reminder that at Fisher, "pretty good" isn't the goal. The goal is the NCAA Tournament.
The Scouting Report: What to Look For Next
If you’re heading out to a game or watching the stream, keep an eye on these three things:
- The Women’s Transition Game: Watch how fast they get the ball out of the net and down the floor. They don't let defenses set up.
- Max Michalski’s Growth: Every game, he seems to get more comfortable as the primary scoring option. If he starts hitting that 15-foot jumper consistently, he’s unguardable in the E8.
- The Coaching Adjustments: Grosodonia is a tactician. Notice how often he switches defenses after a timeout. He’s trying to protect his young players by keeping opponents off-balance.
How to Actually Support the Cardinals
It’s easy to be a fair-weather fan when a team is winning 20 games a year. It’s more interesting to be there for the build.
Check the schedule on the SJF Athletics site. Most home games are doubleheaders, meaning you get the women’s game at 5:30 PM and the men’s at 7:30 PM. It’s easily the best $5 or $10 you can spend on entertainment in Rochester.
If you can't make it to Pittsford, the Empire 8 Network usually streams the games. The production value has actually gotten pretty decent lately, with multiple camera angles and live stats.
St. John Fisher basketball is in an era of reinvention. The women are trying to turn a dominant run into a national deep dive, and the men are carving out a new identity in the post-Cook world. It might be a "rebuilding" year for some, but in this gym, the expectation is always a trophy.
To stay ahead of the curve, keep a close watch on the freshman class recruitment for next season. The staff has been hitting the Section V high school circuit hard, looking for the next local star to keep the Rochester-to-Fisher pipeline alive. Following the box scores is fine, but watching the development of players like Mekhi Gidney in real-time is where you'll see the future of the program actually taking shape.