This past week, I had the pleasure of interviewing the University of Hartford Men’s Basketball Coach, Aaron Toomey. Since 2023, Toomey has been instrumental in rebuilding a roster and culture from the ground up. During our conversation, he reflected on his journey from a standout player and coach at Amherst College to leading Hartford through one of its most pivotal transitions. Toomey shared his thoughts on this year’s team and the development of his players while sharing his long-term goals for the program.
1. Before we start, I wanted to ask if you could give a brief background of yourself and your history as a player/coach?
“I’m from North Carolina originally and came up this way to play basketball at Amherst College in Massachusetts. After that, I got right into coaching, as I was fortunate enough that my coach at Amherst gave me the opportunity to jump into coaching as an assistant on his staff.” Toomey proceeded to talk about his five years as an assistant at Amherst, ultimately leading to him receiving the opportunity to become the interim head coach at Amherst for a season. This allowed him to step to the helm of a basketball program for the first time and sharpened his experience while “being the guy and making some crucial decisions that head coaches have to make.” Coach described this experience as “a strong learning experience that was very beneficial and eye-opening in kick-starting my career as a head coach at a very competitive program.”
After his stint as an interim coach, he dove into his time coaching at the University of Rochester in NY. “After my time at Amherst, I went up to the University of Rochester for two years. I had a great time and learned a bunch from the guys up there, up until I got the job here in 2023.” All of these experiences are credited with shaping him into the coach that he has become today.
2. What can you tell me about the new incoming class of freshmen and transfers? What do they bring to the program, and what kind of impact do you expect them to have this season?
Toomey talked very highly about the incoming freshman and Transfer class. “We have five incoming freshmen alongside two transfers. We have a really unique blend of freshmen in this class, which is very exciting and is the hope for every class you recruit. It’s a great mix in terms of personalities, skill areas, and positions. It’s an awesome group of guys, and I am very excited about all of them… and I think they all have an opportunity to play an important role for us this season.” Coach goes on to explain the growth and improvement that he has seen in each of the guys and how the new class has adapted to the pace of the college environment, a very good sign for the young group coming in. In terms of transfers, the team added two to the squad this offseason. “Our two transfers are guys with a lot of experience, both guys that I anticipate having a big role for the program and contributing early on in the season.” Their experience is praised along with their buy-in to this new program. Experience is a crucial element in college sports and is a building block for many successful programs, making it a very good sign for this Hawks team.
3. What’s your message to the returning players who’ve helped establish and maintain the culture you’ve built since taking over as head coach?
Coach Toomey expresses nothing but respect towards the guys who have been with him since he got the job in 2023. When Toomey arrived, the program was in a very different place than it is now, arriving at Hartford during very uncertain times at the university, taking over the program with a zero-player roster, which makes his gratitude and connection to these players very justified. “The level of gratitude that I have towards those returners is really hard to put into words. They had a level of trust in me when I got this job, and we didn’t have a roster while there was just so much going on in the Hartford Athletics Department, but they still wanted to be a part of it and bought into the vision here. I think that speaks volumes about who they are, and there will always be a place in my heart for them.”
4. There were a lot of those close conference games last season that didn’t go your way. How does the team look to bounce back after the tough season last year?
“Throughout these last few years, I feel like we have really competed at a high level, but like you said, some of those close games didn’t go our way. I think that some of it is due to the youth and lack of experience of the young team, but I truly believe that we have grown a lot in many aspects on and off of the court since those losses.” This belief in his team was very evident, especially when talking about the returners.
In terms of improvements, he added that “One of the biggest parts of this improvement comes from having those five guys that came in with me being juniors now, with two full seasons of collegiate basketball under their belts. The experience coming from these guys, along with our older transfers and the rest of the team, gives us a great opportunity to accomplish our goal of playing postseason basketball this year.” The team looks to showcase these improvements in their season opener on November 7th, against Wooster College.
5. Looking ahead to this season, are there any opponents or matchups you’re especially looking forward to? Potentially, some conference teams such as Endicott or Nichols, both games that came down to the wire last season.
“For me I am looking to play all those games to see our growth and who we are as a team. There’s two early season games that jump off the page to me, with our first game of the season being against Wooster College, a historically successful program in Division III… along with the defending national champs, Trinity, who bring over 90% of their scorers back this year and hold the unanimous number 1 preseason spot in Division III.” There is excitement building up for both of these games, as they both present an opportunity to see where the team stands when lined up next to the elite teams of Division III. In terms of conference play, Coach Toomey emphasized the importance of each game, as they all impact getting into the conference tournament, which impacts the overall seeding of the NCAA tournament. “Every conference game has a lot riding on it, there’s teams like Western New England and Endicott, who we have had some great battles with, and we feel like we owe them one”.
6. How do you see the program growing over the next few years, and what is your vision for the team’s foreseeable future?
Optimism would be the word to describe Coach Toomey’s thoughts about the future of the Hawks. “I think the goal for us is simple, and it is to improve every day. And I know that this is very coach talk, but I think in the long run, this is a program that can compete against anybody at the national level… In the long run, I think is a program that can win conference championships and make runs in the NCAA tournament consistently… I don’t want to sit here and put a timeline on that, but every day that we improve as a team is a day that we are pushing towards that goal.” This optimism towards the future is essential in any team and is a great sign for the Hawks basketball program for the coming years.
As the Hawks prepare for their season opener against Wooster College, there is a strong sense of belief provided by Coach Toomey in his team, assistants, and culture. The Hawks look to start strong and utilize their preparation and leadership to become a competitive force in Division III.
