The Division II to Division I pipeline within college basketball is one that’s only become more popular with all this recent growth and development surrounding the transfer portal. w
2024-25 CAA Preseason Player of the Year Ante Brozovic has only improved in his third season with Charleston. We recently covered Erik Timko’s performance against Yale and his early impact on Delaware. All the while Drake is undefeated at 10-0 and loaded with talented DII transfers behind four-time DII national champion head coach Ben McCollum.
Current Marist guard Elijah Lewis spent the past two seasons at DII Adelphi in Garden City, NY where he made 58 career appearances after receiving just two collegiate offers out of high school.
As a freshman during the 2022-23 campaign, Lewis was a valuable addition for the Panthers averaging 14.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 1.6 APG to earn an All-Northeast 10 Rookie Team selection.
In 2023-24 at Adelphi, the Watchung, NJ native only improved, averaging 16.7 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 1.9 RPG while shooting 40% from three to secure a spot on the All-NE10 Second Team.
However, Lewis told Center Field Marist he’d always had ambitions of playing at the DI level and so after a breakout sophomore season he officially entered the transfer portal on March 25.
Multiple DI programs reached out in the process but once Marist and head coach John Dunne expressed developing interest in Lewis he announced his commitment just days later on April 2.
For Dunne, a former Adelphi assistant from 1996-98, he instantly saw Lewis’ innate ability and knew it would translate to the DI level despite not being touted as a traditional DI transfer recruit.
“I think a lot of people were telling [Lewis] he couldn’t play at this level because he’s thin but it doesn’t matter,” Dunne said. “He’s got great basketball instincts and can score the ball so well.”
Since his arrival in Poughkeepsie, NY, Lewis is averaging 11.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.2 APG and 1.2 STLPG to help lift the Red Foxes to a 7-2 record and a 2-0 start in the MAAC this season.
While it took Lewis a couple games to adjust, his first double-digit scoring performance within the DI ranks came against Army on Nov. 15 in which he contributed 13 points, three boards and two assists.
After adding 12 points in a win over Dartmouth the next week, Lewis returned just four days later and set a new career-high in scoring with 14 points and six boards to help defeat New Hampshire.
For his fourth consecutive double-digit scoring effort, Lewis added 11 points and an assist as Marist picked up its second loss of the season in a 74-69 battle at Lehigh before the end of the month.
While the Red Foxes opened conference play with a win over Mount St. Mary’s, Lewis struggled offensively with just four points on 2-for-6 shooting but still found other ways to stay involved with seven rebounds.
However, a bounce-back performance was on the horizon as Lewis helped the Red Foxes to down Manhattan 82-75 with a new career-high of 18 points, aided by eight boards, two assists and two steals.
On Wednesday, with Marist’s leading scorer in Josh Pascarelli off to a slow offensive start, it was Lewis headlining the Red Foxes attack in a 68-66 comeback win against Stony Brook.
Lewis finished with a team-high 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting and 2-for-5 from three-point range, adding in six rebounds and a steal as Marist battled back from 14-down to eventually secure victory.
However, just nine starts into his DI collegiate career, Lewis still has room for improvement according to Dunne, notably shooting just 39% from the field and 16% from three despite recent performances.
“As the year goes on [Lewis] is going to shoot better and better from three as well,” Dunne said. “He’s just such a nice complementary piece to Pascarelli on the other wing [along with] other guys on the bench that I think will perform a little better for us too.”
With two more non-conferences matchups on the schedule before returning to the MAAC slate, there’s lots of growth and development left for a program that ranks 282nd nationally in DI experience.
Still, with the Red Foxes selected second overall in the MAAC’s 2024-25 Preseason poll, expectations are high but undoubtedly Lewis has played a major role in helping to meet those early predictions.
