The Colgate Raiders men’s basketball team is a highly competitive Division I program that represents the prestigious and historic university in Hamilton, New York. Over its storied history, the Raider’s have made multiple appearances in NCAA tournaments as part of both the Patriot League and East Coast Conference.
The team has won numerous championships throughout their tenures with these two conferences including an impressive five-peat streak from 1992 to 1996 when they were members of the ECC. Under current head coach Matt Langel, who took over for former Coach Emmett Davis at the end of 2020 season, Colgate looks poised to once again be one of college basketball’s top contenders for years to come.
1. Keegan Records
Keegan Records is a Colgate Raider men's basketball single-game record. Keegan Records is the all-time leader in assists for a Colgate Raiders men's basketball player, with 512 total assists in his career.
Keegan also holds the school record for most points scored in a season, with 1,609 points during his senior year at Colgate University in 2016–17.
His final collegiate game was the NCAA Tournament Semifinal against Clemson where he tallied 24 points and 10 rebounds to help lead Colgate to an 85–74 victory over their ACC rival After playing professionally.
Overseas for two seasons, including stints with Benetton Treviso (Italy) and Hannover 96 (Germany), Keegan signed with Anadolu Efes Istanbul of the Turkish Basketball Super League on July 2nd of this year.
He has subsequently been named team captain and has helped guide Efes to 3rd place finish thus far in 2018–19 league play.
2. Matt Langel
Career
- 1996–2000: Penn
- 2004–2006: Penn (asst.)
- 2006–2011: Temple (asst.)
- 2011–present: Colgate
Matt Langel is in his fourth season as the head coach of Colgate and has led the Raiders to a 192–172 record. He played at Penn from 1996-2000, where he was an All-American cornerback and team captain.
After spending three seasons as an assistant coach with Temple, he took over as the head coach at Penn in 2004. In six years at Philadelphia, Matt compiled a 43–27 overall record (.615) including two Patriot League titles and four appearances in the NCAA Tournament (including a trip to the College Football Playoff).
He was named interim head coach of Colgate after John Jenkins left for Tennessee following the 2016 season opener and went 5–0 while compiling an undefeated 4th quarter streak that
stretched into November 2017 before eventually losing to Bucknell on Thanksgiving Day by 7 points; this would be Matt's first loss since taking over permanently from John Jenkins back on October 10th of that year.
Matt is married with one son who attends college closeby; when not coaching or working out, he enjoys playing golf or spending time with family/friends outside of football camp.
3. Jordan Burns
Career
- High school: , John Marshall, (San Antonio, Texas), Kent School, (Kent, Connecticut)
- College: Colgate (2017–2021)
- NBA draft: 2021 / Undrafted
- Playing career: 2021–present
- 2021–2022: Austin Spurs
- 2022: Maine Celtics
- 2022: Twarde Pierniki Toruń
- 2022–2023: Caledonia Gladiators
- 2023-present: London Lightning
- Patriot League Player of the Year (2021), 2× First-team All-Patriot League (2020, 2021), Second-team All-Patriot League (2019), Patriot League All-Rookie Team (2018), 2× Patriot League tournament MVP (2019, 2021)
Jordan Burns is a point guard for the London Lightning in the National Basketball League of Canada. Burns was born on August 28, 1997 in Jackson, Tennessee and attended John Marshall High School in San Antonio, Texas.
He played his college basketball at Kent School before joining the London Lightning as a rookie in 2019. Burns is known for his quickness and shooting ability, which has helped him to average 10 points per game through six seasons with the Lighting.
Jordan Burns was a two-time Patriot League Player of the Year and an All-Patriot League First Team selection. He has played for Maine, Caledonia Gladiators, Toruń Twarde Pierniki, London Lightning and is currently with the London team.
Jordan's career highlights include being named to the Second-team All-Patriot League in 2019 and winning both the championship and MVP honors in 2021 of the Patriot League tournament.
4. Trey Montgomery
Career
- NBA draft: 2012 / Undrafted
- Playing career: 2012–2014
- Position: Guard
- Coaching career: 2016–present
Trey Montgomery is an assistant coach with the Colgate Raiders. He was born in 1987 in Destrehan, Louisiana and played college basketball at LSU before being drafted by the NBA's Atlanta Hawks in 2012 but never played a game for them.
After failing to make it in the NBA, he became an assistant coach with Colgate where he has helped them achieve success both on and off the court this season. Trey Montgomery is 1/8th Native American and proud of his heritage Trey Montgomery played guard for the Jackson Showboats in 2012-14.
After playing college ball at Eastern University, Trey took on a coaching role with Penn Quakers in 2018-2022. Trey became an assistant coach with Colgate Raiders in 2022 and has been there since.
5. Will Rayman
Career
- High school: , Millbrook School, (Millbrook, New York), New Hampton School, (New Hampton, New Hampshire)
- College: Colgate (2016–2020)
- NBA draft: 2020 / Undrafted
- Playing career: 2020–present
- 2020: Tartu Ülikool
- 2020–2021: BG Göttingen
- 2021–present: Hapoel Haifa
- Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year (2020), Patriot League All-Defensive Team (2019, 2020), All-Patriot League First Team (2020), All-Patriot League Second Team (2018, 2019), Patriot League Rookie of the Year (2017), Patriot League All-Rookie Team (2017)
Will Rayman is an American/Israeli power forward who has spent the past three seasons playing in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He was born on April 1, 1997, in New York, and attended Millbrook School and New Hampton School before joining Hapoel Haifa as a junior player.
In 2017–2018 he helped Hapoel to win the Israeli Basketball Premier League title and qualify for the EuroCup tournament where they reached the semi-finals but lost to Real Madrid CB.
In 2018 he signed with French club Cholet Basket of LNB Pro A league where he played until mid-January 2019 when his contract expired and Cholet refused to renew it so Rayman moved back to Israel signing with Maccabi Tel Aviv for their remaining 18 games of the season.
On January 28th, 2019 Will scored 22 points against Ironi Nahariya helping Maccabi reach their first ever playoff final where they eventually won 67–64 against Elitzur Ramat Gan after trailing by as many as 23 points at one stage of play.
6. Tucker Neale
Career
- High school: Strongsville, (Strongsville, Ohio)
- College: Colgate (1992–1995)
- NBA draft: 1995 / Undrafted
- Position: Shooting guard
- Patriot League Player of the Year (1994), Patriot League tournament MVP (1995), 2× First-team All-Patriot League (1994, 1995), Second-team All-Patriot League (1993), No. 20 retired by Colgate Raiders
Tucker Neale was born in 1972 and played high school basketball at Strongsville. After graduating from high school, he attended Colgate University but did not play in any games for the college team.
In 1995, Tucker entered the NBA draft but was undrafted and went on to play professionally overseas for a few years. He made his return to the NBA in 2003 with the Milwaukee Bucks and has since played for several other teams including Chicago Bulls, Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks .
Tucker married his wife Meagan in 2006 and they have two children together - daughter Harper (born 2007) and son Sawyer (born 2010).
In 2018, Tucker announced his retirement from professional basketball after 19 seasons playing in the NBA. Tucker Neale was a dominant shooting guard for Colgate University and the Patriot League.
He was named Patriot League Player of the Year in 1994 and 1995, and MVP of the league's tournament both years. Tucker is a two-time first-team All-Patriot League selection, as well as second team all-league in 1993. Tucker finished his career with 1,670 points (average 19 points per game) on 565 hits (average 8 rebounds per game).
Tucker retired from basketball after his junior year at Colgate to focus on baseball full time; he has since been drafted by the Oakland Athletics organization and currently plays for their minor league affiliate in Nashville, Tennessee.
7. Rapolas Ivanauskas
Career
- High school: , Barrington, (Barrington, Illinois), Brewster Academy, (Wolfeboro, New Hampshire)
- College: , Northwestern (2017–2018), Colgate (2018–2020), Cincinnati (2020)
- Playing career: 2021–present
- 2021: Rytas Vilnius
- 2021–2022: Labas Gas Prienai
- 2022–present: ERA Nymburk
- Patriot League Player of the Year (2019), First-team All-Patriot League (2019), Second-team All-Patriot League (2020)
Rapolas Ivanauskas played high school basketball at Barrington before attending Brewster Academy. As a freshman, Rapolas was named to the All-Northeastern Athletic Association Second Team after averaging 16.4 points and 10 rebounds per game for the Bears.
In his sophomore year, he led Brewster to their first NEAA Championship since 2004 and was subsequently named Tournament MVP as well as First Team All-American by several outlets, including CBS Sports and ESPNU.
That summer, Rapolas signed with Nymburk of the NBL and has averaged 21 minutes, 7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in 35 games this season - all career highs thus far.
He is also Lithuania's youngest ever male international player (at age 18) when he made his debut against Egypt back in November 2017 – an event that drew over 20 thousand spectators to Kaunas' Žalgiris Arena.
At just 24 years old, Rapolas is already one of Europe's most promising young power forwards - with potential to become even more dominant in future seasons.
8. Walter Runge
Career
- College: Colgate (1902–1906)
- Consensus All-American (1905)
Walter Runge was born in Newark, New Jersey on September 11th, 1884. He studied engineering at the Stevens Institute of Technology and later became a professor at Rutgers University.
Walter Runge is best known for his work on flight control systems during World War II and his contributions to aircraft design were highly respected by fellow engineers. Walter Runge passed away on February 27th, 1966 after a long illness at the age of 81 years old.
Walter Runge was an American football player and coach. He played college football at Colgate University and was consensus All-American in 1905. After playing professionally for the Buffalo Panhandles, he became head coach of the Allegheny Athletic Association in 1907.
He coached until 1912, when he died at age 47 from a heart attack while coaching a game against Duquesne University. Walter Runge is generally considered one of the pioneers of modern American football coaching, as his teams were known for their aggressive play and use of multiple formations.
9. Bob Duffy
Career
- High school: John Jay (Katonah, New York)
- College: Colgate (1959–1962)
- NBA draft 1962 / Round: 2 / Pick: 10th overall
- Selected by the St. Louis Hawks
- Playing career: 1962–1965
- Position: Point guard
- Number: 24, 9 , 25
- No. 24 retired by Colgate Raiders
- Points: 400 (4.3 ppg)
- Rebounds: 104 (1.1 rpg)
- Assists: 167 (1.8 apg)
Bob Duffy was born in Cold Spring, New York on September 26th, 1940. Bob attended John Jay High School and played point guard for the school's varsity basketball team.
After graduating from high school, he enrolled at Colgate University where he starred as a collegiate player. In 1962, the St. Louis Hawks drafted Duffy 10th overall in the NBA draft and he began his professional career with them that same year.
He remained with the Hawks until 1965 when they traded him to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Billy Cunningham and Ray Scott . After one season with Boston, Duffy was traded again this time to the Philadelphia 76ers where he spent two more seasons before retiring from playing professionally in 1969 at age 27 due to injury..
Duffy was a standout player at Colgate University and went on to play for the St. Louis Hawks and New York Knicks in the NBA.
He retired from playing in 1967, but stayed with Colgate as an assistant coach until 1978. Duffy was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984 and his number 24 has been retired by Colgate Raiders.
Final Words
The Colgate Raiders men’s basketball team is a highly competitive Division I program that represents Colgate University. The best players of alltime include All-American, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and three-time NBA champion Rick Majerus, who led the Raiders to two Final Four appearances in his career.
Current assistant coach Steve Donahue, who was an all-conference player at Duke before embarking on a successful coaching career at Pitt and UCLA; and sharpshooting guard Reggie Miller, who was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the first pick in the 1996 NBA draft.
