ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Basketball opens the 2022 season with a non-league match at Salisbury University this evening. The Eagles return several members of the squad that went 21-6 and advanced the the NCAA Tournament last spring, but will also feature several new faces.

To start the 2022-23 campaign, Coach Dan Pruessner's group will feature three returning starters. Kaeshawn Ward, Sam Gallardo, and Jaron Fairweather all averaged in double-figures and started throughout Eastern's historic season. The Eagles will look to several new players to replace the interior defense and scoring that the Eagles lost to graduation.

Fairweather started all 27 contests for the Eagles and was a defensive catalyst who scored 11.2 points per game. Capable of guarding five spots on the floor, Fairweather will likely spend the year on the wing. He had 45 steals and 18 blocked shots to go with 32 made 3-pointers.

Gallarado is the top returning scorer for the Eagles. The senior from San Antonio hit 43 percent of his 3-pointers last season while averaging 12.4 points and 4.1 rebounds. He was the only Eagle to play over 30 minutes a game.

Ward, a junior from Norfolk, Va., will start a the point for the third-straight season. After picking up valuable experience in the COVID-shortened 21-22 campaign, he averaged 11.5 points, three assists, and nearly four rebounds per game. He led the Eagles with 57 steals. He had at least one steal in 25 of the 27 games for the Eagles.

Davin Hernandez, Jairus Carroll, and Kevin Reeves all saw significant time in the back court last year and figure to play prominent roles. Several other wings are battling for minutes and creating a competitive atmosphere in practice.

Olutobi Okinbayo is the most experienced post player on the Eastern roster and will play an important role as a passer, and rebounder. He is joined by a number of new faces. Junior transfer Eljay Morris averaged five and a half points and four and a half rebounds at Emmanuel College last year. The Eagles have several young promising bigs that will work into the rotation as the season progresses.

The Eagles open the year at Salisbury against a team featuring a pair of fifth-year guards and a junior All-Conference forward. Salisbury head coach Mo Williams is a former assistant coach for the Eagles.

In last year's contest between the two teams, the Eagles jumped out to a 19-4 lead and never trailed in the game, but they needed to hit free throws down the stretch to hold off the Sea Gulls for a 73-72 win.

The Eagles will play two games at Gettysburg on the weekend before coming back to the nest for a home-opener against Eagle Road-rival Cabrini on Nov. 15.

The Eagles were picked second in the MAC Commonwealth Preseason poll and will open the league season at home against York on Dec. 3.