It’s been a fast turnaround for the Lake Erie men’s basketball program — literally and figuratively.
Three seasons ago, the Lake Erie men’s basketball was 8-20, then improved to 19-10 in 2024-25.
“We had a chance in the last 10 days to maybe have done this last season (make the NCAAs),” said LEC coach Kyle Conley. “We felt really good about turning it around this season.”
The Storm have done that in 2025-26 while employing a fast-paced system predicated on playing up to 12-13 players, generating turnovers off pressure, crashing the offensive boards and creating extra possessions.
“It’s a ton about getting more possessions,” said Conley about his team’s up-tempo scheme. “Some games, we have 15 to 30 more shots than our opponents because of turnovers. Offensive rebounds are also a big factor in what we do.”
.@lakeeriembk coach Kyle Conley on the excitement surrounding his team after making NCAA D2 tournament and the key to LEC’s finish that included winning 11 of its last 12 games. @LakeErieStorm @NHPreps pic.twitter.com/5CBx1FIhnK
— Mark Podolski (@mpodo) March 12, 2026
Conley’s system has worked while creating a roster full of players that extends to Down Under with Notre Dame College transfer Kai Bloom of Australia, one of the team’s top scorers.
The results to this point are a 23-8 record, runner-up finishes in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference’s regular season and postseason tournament and an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II men’s tournament.
Lake Erie College’s Trace Bishko of Brush and the rest of the Storm players get a send-off March 12 at LEC’s Athletic Center before heading to Canton for the Midwest Regional beginning on March 14. (News-Herald Staff)
The No. 6 seed Storm will compete in the eight-team Midwest Regional at host school Walsh University in North Canton. Their first game is March 14 at noon against No. 3 seed Michigan Tech.
LEC is led by Amari Williams, a 6-foot-3 point guard from Fort Worth, Texas, who leads the team in scoring at 14.5 points. There is also Jake Leibacher — one of the few seniors on the roster — from Castalia Margaretta, who leads the team in rebounds, and Bloom, one of three former players at Notre Dame College who arrived across town when NDC closed two years ago.
Bloom is one of two international players on the roster. The other is Civan Catak, a junior from Turkey. The roster also consists of players from California, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Illinois, Virginia and Florida. Of course, Ohio is represented well with 11 from the Buckeye State. That includes the likes of Trace Bishko and Damari Dammons of Brush, grad student Jacob Segulin of Riverside and Walter Cable of Wickliffe.
All have a common goal — practice and play with a purpose, that being fast and up-tempo at just about every position.
“I feel like any guy on this roster can play any position,” said Williams. “It’s really position-less from the 1 to the 5. Everybody plays free at that point.”
Conley’s rotation includes 12 to 13 players in most games because he and his staff ask his players to play so hard and at a frenzied pace.
“If you’re not playing as hard as you can, (the system) doesn’t work,” said Leibacher.
Said Conley: “Playing the way we do makes me play more guys. I think it’s created a more connected group in practice every day. Guys come to practice knowing they’re probably going to get a chance to play. It keeps guys engaged.”
At around the 20-game mark of this season, the Storm were 12-7, and Conley told his players if they were intent on making a run in the conference, it was go-time. From there, they made it count with 11 straight victories that pushed them into the GMAC tournament championship game, where they lost to top seed Walsh.
That winning streak not only made them a top-notch at-large candidate. It also provided the program and players with a boost of confidence they’ve been carrying for about two months.
“We always knew our potential. We could see it,” said Bloom. “It was about everybody buying into the same goal. We found something that worked in the second half. It’s about everyone looking out for each other and playing for the same collective.”
Now the goal is making a run in the NCAA D-II tourney. The winner of the eight-team Midwest Regional advances to the elite eight.
“We know how good we can be,” said Bloom. “This region is wide open for anyone to get and why can’t it be us? I think we can make a run at this thing. I think we’re capable of that.”
Lake Erie vs. Michigan Tech
What: First-round NCAA D-II men’s tournament game
When: Noon, March 14
Where: Alumni Arena, Walsh University
Records: Lake Erie 23-8, Michigan Tech 26-6