The LIU Sharks Made Big Waves with Breakout Season

BY: VINCENT MENDOZA / CHIEF OF SPORTS

Photo via LIU Basketball Instagram

Just four years ago, the Sharks were coming off a three-win season and were struggling to get butts in the seats. If you ask any student who attended a game that season, they wouldn’t hesitate to tell you that. 

Fast forward to 2026, and finding a seat in the Steinberg Wellness Center became a difficult task. Spurred by on-court success and fan entertainment provided by The Reef, the LIU Sharks’ rise to success is something to be remembered for years to come. 

The moment Coach Strickland got hired, this program had one goal in mind – to win the Northeast Conference. The Sharks nearly reached their goal last year, but the eventual champions, St Francis Red Flash, tore those plans apart with a 71-68 victory. The heart-crushing loss was sealed when Juan Crawford Jr. made the game-winning free throws resulting from a foul on his three-point attempt. 

In what seems like an anomaly in the current landscape of college athletics and NIL (name, image, likeness), the Sharks’ core, consisting of Malachi Davis, Jamal Fuller, Shadrak Lasu, and Brent Davis (in the form of a coach), decided to run it back. 

Non-conference games are usually grueling for mid-major schools, as they often play against bigger and better teams. Despite their gruesome non-conference schedule of 13 games, the Sharks won six of them, including victories over James Madison, La Salle, and Lehigh, the only other team to make the Big Dance out of this group. 

Even in their losses, the Sharks exhibited toughness and grit, losing to Winthrop by just two in overtime, Mississippi State by four, and Florida International by nine. 

Heading into conference play, the Sharks were hungry and used their rugged jaws to feast on their competition. LIU would go on to win 15 out of their 18 games, including multiple five-game winning streaks, and finished the regular season with a 21-10 record, the best since the 2011-12 season when the Sharks were still the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds. 

The Sharks’ dominance in the conference was depicted clearly in the NEC Awards, flooded with white, blue, and yellow. Senior guard Malachi Davis and senior forward Jamal Fuller were awarded All-NEC First Team honors, while senior guard Greg Gordon was awarded with All-NEC Second Team honors, NEC Defensive Player of the Year, and All-NEC Defensive Team. The man at the helm, Rod Strickland, took home the NEC Coach of the Year. 

Going into the conference tournament, the Sharks possessed home court advantage – an advantage that would not only support the team but propel the school to internet virality. 

As previously mentioned, The Reef, led by Cameron Koffman and his partner-in-crime David Popachin, made big waves throughout the online sports world with their “Fins Up” celebration. They weren’t alone, though. Marching Band director Spencer Howell joined in on the fun, along with all the amazing students here, and the Brooklyn community.  

Photo via LIU Athletics

Going into the tournament, this team went 11-1 in the Steinberg Wellness Center, with that only loss being the two-point defeat against Winthrop. The home-court advantage continued to be superior, as the Sharks won all three games against Chicago State, Wagner, and Mercyhurst on their way to claiming the NEC Championship. 

On Sunday, March 15, otherwise known as this year’s “Selection Sunday”, it was then the Sharks would be selected to travel to warmer waters in San Diego to play the overall No. 2 Arizona Wildcats, the No. 1 team in the West region. It was a rough draw, and everyone knew it. Going into the game, ESPN gave the Sharks a one percent chance to win, and many sportsbooks had the point spread at 30.5. 

Although the team displayed toughness, grit, and skill throughout the entire season, it wouldn’t be enough against the juggernaut Wildcats, a team containing two freshmen slated to be drafted in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft, the Big 12 Player of the Year, a 7’2” two-way menace, and many other key contributors. 

The 92-58 loss, while devastating, was somewhat expected. The Wildcats’ size, depth, and efficiency are a clear display of why they’re a national title favorite. Still, the Sharks, making the massive jump in opponent class, battled early against Arizona’s physicality and kept attacking despite the Wildcats racing to a big first‑half lead and controlling the paint and glass. 

Regardless of the loss, the team had one of the more special moments in the first round of the tournament. With a minute remaining in the game, sophomore guard Eddie Munyak hit a deep three off the glass – his first ever made field goal in college. 

Immediately after, as the bench rose up in celebration, Munyak got emotional. “It felt like a dream come true. I’ve watched March Madness games my whole life, so being able to score in one is extremely special.”

In the postgame press conference, Mason Porter-Brown, who ended the day with a team-high 15 points, added, “I feel like it means a lot. Eddie comes in every single morning [and] he just works so hard, so to see him get that shot and make it means a lot. Especially on this big stage, he deserves it”. 

“I’m super proud of what we accomplished as a group, my staff, but more importantly, these players. This is a lifetime moment [and they] will always remember this whenever they go back to New York or come back to LIU; people will remember them for building a culture, and so I’m proud, and I’m happy for them for that,” Stickland stated in their postgame press conference.

“It was a super cool experience that not a lot gets to experience. It was also amazing for us to be on the west coast so players could have our families’ there, along with mine. To be a freshman experiencing this, it’s beyond exciting. This is just the start and I’m excited to see where we go in the future”, said Max Ndlovu-Fraser.