The 2024-2025 DCC Athletics Season began on 8/1/24.  The Department has been supporting coaches and student-athletes as we prepare for competition starting in late August and early September for volleyball and soccer, respectively.  During the 2024-2025 academic year DCC plans to offer six traditional athletic programs: Women's Volleyball, Men's Soccer, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Women's Softball and Men's Baseball as well as the co-ed Esports Program.  The Athletic Department added Coach Robert Piano as a part-time Assistant Athletic Director for the department and Coach Piano worked with AD Paquet, Asst. AD Santoro, and the Coaching staffs to set up student-athlete orientation sessions, 1:1 weekly meetings for academic oversight, and mandatory study halls for each respective team.  The teams will meet regularly with Coach Piano, AD Paquet, their Coaches, and staff from the Center for Academic Achievement, The Math and Science Center, and the Writing Center to assist with meeting academic progress each semester. 

Men's Soccer Coached by Julien Austin and Zach Reid
Head Coach Julien Austin and Assistant Coach Zach Reid were hired during the Summer of 2024 and have been doing an excellent job thus far. The Men's Soccer Program began their season on 9/10/24.  There are currently 20 members on the roster, with 4 sophomores and 16 freshmen.  The team will compete through October in hopes of advancing to the Regional Tournament for a chance to complete for a National Tournament berth. 
 
Women's Volleyball Coached by Frank Sanfilippo, Didi Spero, and Tim Milholm
The DCC Falcons Women's Volleyball team coached by Frank Sanfilippo, Didi Spero, and Tim Milholm began their season on 8/31/24. Coach Milholm was added to the coaching staff this season.  The team currently has 9 members on the roster, with two sophomore student-athletes and 7 freshmen.  The team received votes for the National poll during Week 2 of the season.  The Falcons aspire to win their third straight Mid-Hudson Conference Championship and earn a spot in the National Tournament as Region Winners or Runner Ups for a third year in a row. 

Men's Basketball Coached by Robert Piano, Justin Kinlock and Ian Umpierre
The DCC Falcons Basketball begins the 2024-25 pre-season with 7 sophomore student-athletes and 11 freshmen.  This will be Coach Piano's 4^th season at Dutchess.  The team expects to be Nationally ranked in the 24-25 Pre-Season poll for DIII Men's Basketball and aspires to finish as Region Champions and travel to the National Tournament to be held at Herkimer Community College in New York.  The team begins official practices in October and will start their season on 11/2/24. 

Women's Basketball Coached by Tyrone Moultrie
Head Coach Tyrone Moultrie was hired in Summer 2024 to head the Dutchess Women's Basketball program.  The team will compete in their second season of competition since prior to the pandemic in 2019-20.  The roster will include one returning sophomore student-athlete and a group of incoming freshmen.  Women's Basketball team had a successful restart to the program after a three-year hiatus. A special thanks to Coach Jackson for all his hard work to return DCC Women's Basketball to competition and his is wished all the best as he transitions away from coaching at DCC after two years and one season with the program. 

Women's Softball Coached by Chip Watt, Cassidy Watt, and Liz McCarthy
Women's Softball team returned to competition for the first time since prior to the pandemic in Spring 2024. The 2024-25 roster will be comprised of 8 returning sophomore student-athletes and a group of incoming freshmen student-athletes.  The team began preseason practices for Fall 2024 in September and will conclude the Fall 2024 preseason with a scrimmage against the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) at DCC on 10/19/24.  The team aspires to finish as Region Champions and travel to the National Tournament in Spring 2025. 

 Esports Coached by Jesse Navarra
The DCC Esports Program plans to compete in the NJCAAE Tier #3 and Tier #2 Level for 2024-2025.  The team currently has over 30 interested students-athletes who wish to participate in Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 in games such as Tekken, Valorant, Overwatch, Call of Duty, Mario Kart, and Super Smash Brothers.  Head Coach Jesse Navarra continues to do an amazing job with growing the program and onboarding interested student-athletes at the DCC Esports Arena in Dutchess Hall. Practices will be held in person and remotely on weekdays and weekends for each respective team.  Competition with other NJCAA schools will occur on weekday evenings in person in the Esports Arena.  The space is currently being utilized on average of 20+ hours per week.   The team will continue livestreaming matches via the DCC Esports Twitch Channel and are working to add live commentary to their broadcasts.  The program is currently looking at adding some assistant coaches in the coming weeks to help with the program. 

Men's Baseball Coached by Al Hammell
Men's Baseball did not field a team in the Spring 2024 semester due to low interest from prospective student-athletes.  Coach Hammell held optional training sessions with baseball student-athletes twice per week during Spring 2024 to keep the program running.  Interest for 2024-2025 has improved significantly and there are approximately 30 students interested in baseball for this season.  The team began preseason training sessions at the start of September and will work out until the end of October before breaking for the winter.  The Athletic Department is working with the new and returning student-athletes to ensure they have access to academic resources for continued success in the classroom and to ensure they meet the requirements for Spring 2025 as 1st or 2nd season athletes.  
 
24-25 Scheduled Community Involvement

• Falcon Hall will host Career Fair – October 2024
•  Falcon Hall will host College Fair – October 2024
•  Region XV DIII Volleyball Tournament Host – 11/2/24
• Al Hammell Fundamentals Winter Baseball Clinic for Local Youth Programs - TBD
• Officials v. Cancer Tournament – February 2025 
• Boys' and Girls' MHAL High School Basketball Championships - February 2025
•  Section IX High School Basketball Championships – March 2025 
• Falcon Hall will host Dutchess County Science Fair – April 2025
•  Falcon Hall will host DCC Career Fair – April 2025 
• Falcon Hall will host DCC Health Fair – April 2025