Daemen University men's basketball coach
Mike MacDonald has announced the addition of a new team member, signing nine-year-old
Logan Wilson through Team IMPACT.
Logan was officially introduced at a signing day press conference on Saturday, October 15 just after the first official practice for the 2022-23 season. Logan will participate in many activities with the team including games, practices, and other team events.
Team IMPACT, a national non-profit organization, has developed a unique multiyear program that matches children facing serious illness and disability with college athletic teams across the country. Based on a clinical model, Team IMPACT guides a symbiotic relationship between teams and children focused on socialization, empowerment, and resilience.
"Team IMPACT is excited to see Logan officially join the Wildcats," said Danielle Hardee, Regional Director of Programs, Northeast at Team IMPACT. "We are proud to work alongside Daemen, their athletic department, and coaching staff to create lifelong bonds and life-changing outcomes between student-athletes and their Team IMPACT teammates."
Daemen has worked with Team IMPACT for the past eight years, matching 10 children across its men's and women's basketball, men's soccer, men's and women's volleyball, and men's and women's cross country/track and field teams.
"Our program has been involved with kids from Team IMPACT in the past, and I've found it to be a very rewarding experience, both for the child and his family, as well as for our student-athletes," added MacDonald.
Logan is joining a Wildcat team which is about to embark upon its 2022-23 season, which unofficially opens this weekend when Daemen heads to Philadelphia, Pa. to take on Division I Penn in an exhibition game.Daemen returns 10 players from last year's team that finished 20-9 overall and 16-2 in the ECC. The Wildcats suffered a 59-48 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas in the championship game of the ECC Tournament and were denied an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Daemen was looking to make its fourth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
"We had a very good first day of practice," added MacDonald. "We have six freshmen and three transfers, but we felt like we needed a little more height and we were very lucky to be able to add Logan to our team this year."
