Courtesy of Will Sanok Dufallo

The Yale men’s club basketball team has enjoyed a historic run through their North Atlantic Region East Conference, earning a ticket to the North Atlantic Regional Championship that took place in St. Bonaventure, New York, this past weekend.

Operating under the umbrella of the National Club Basketball Association, the conference includes eight teams from Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. The top two teams — the winner and runner-up — are granted an automatic bid to the championship tournament.

“This is the first time we’ve made the playoffs in a long time,” said Club President Brennan Columbia-Walsh ’26. “We went on a nine-game winning streak to get there. It’s [been] a pretty spectacular year.” 

Yale finished second in the conference — closely following Fairfield University — after triumphing in 14 of 18 games. The club had previously not secured a top-two placement since its 2019–20 season.

Columbia-Walsh and Captain Will Sanok Dufallo ’26 attributed the team’s mounting momentum to the strong bonds between its players. 

“Good relationships [make] people more committed to the team,” explained Sanok Dufallo. “It [becomes] about more than playing basketball. You’re seeing your friends and having fun. So [players] want to show up to practice. They want to play the games. They want to be more competitive and push each other harder.”

As the captain of the entirely student-run club, Sanok Dufallo is responsible for organizing the team’s weekly practice regimen. Elected like Columbia-Walsh by his teammates, Sanok Dufallo shoulders the blended coach-captain role but added that several of his fellow players support in selecting drills and running team practices.

Columbia-Walsh signaled that this collaborative environment is further cause for the team’s trajectory so far.

“The behind-the-scenes progress translates directly onto the court,” said Columbia-Walsh. “We know everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. We know [the] fundamental best plays we have in our bag. Compared to three years ago, when [most of us] didn’t really know each other, that’s a huge difference.”

The team notably comprises three sophomores, seven juniors and three seniors. Three freshmen also count between its ranks, having joined the team after a competitive try-out process in October.

Over the weekend, several players of the 16-person roster drove over seven hours to compete against the No. 1 seed in the region, the Syracuse Club Basketball team, in the first round of the North Atlantic Regional Championship. 

Despite an early lead against Syracuse in the first half of the game — a product of the strong performance of several players — Syracuse rebounded in the second half, besting Yale by a narrow lead of three points, with a final score of 67–64. 

“We [fought] until the end but unfortunately they had our number,” said David Dettelbach ’28. “[However] the result, though [disappointing], is a sign of the immense progress we’ve made and look forward to continuing next year.”

Save for the graduating senior class, the entire club basketball team is set to return to the court next fall. This includes its starting lineup made up of its seven junior members — a fact that, according to Sanok Duffalo and Dettelbach, will allow the team to continue to build off its current trajectory and teamwork to further success.

Before the end of the spring season, however, the team will partake in another landmark series of games. With several other Yale club sports, Bulldogs will head to Cambridge to compete in an Ivy League bracket-style tournament on April 18 and 19, providing the opportunity for a final showing.

“It’s really exciting, and a great way to cap off the year,” said Joshua Ofodile ’28.

Club teams at Yale operate separately from Yale Athletics and are funded by the Department of Campus Recreation.