SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College men's basketball team has made the Liberty League Tournament semifinals for the second straight season and will host the semis for the first time in eight years when the second-seeded Garnet Chargers host third-seeded Vassar College on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Viniar Athletic Center.
Union brings a 19-6 record into the semifinal after finishing in sole possession of second place in the conference standings with an 14-4 mark, while Vassar finished with a 13-5 league record and is 18-8 overall after its 67-64 first-round win over sixth-seeded Skidmore College on Tuesday. The other semifinal pits top-seeded Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (20-5, 16-2 Liberty League) against fourth-seeded St. Lawrence University (14-12, 11-7 Liberty League), a 72-64 first-round victor over fifth-seeded Ithaca College, in Troy.
POSTSEASON HISTORY: Union is making its third straight appearance in the Liberty League Tournament and the 17th in program history, and is hosting a semifinal game for the first time since 2018. Union has captured four conference tournament titles (2002, 2005, 2017, 2018) and is 12-12 all-time in the conference postseason, including six appearances in the title game.
ALL-TIME VS. VASSAR: Union owns a 44-19 advantage over Vassar in the all-time series, helped largely by Union's 23-2 record in the first 25 meetings between the teams. Over the last 10 meetings, the Brewers hold a 7-3 advantage. The teams have only met once in postseason play, with Union earning a win on the home court in the first round of the 2020 conference tournament.
MEETINGS THIS YEAR: Vassar handed Union two of its four conference defeats this season, sweeping the regular-season series for only the fifth time ever. In a battle of then-conference unbeatens, Union fell behind by 17 points in the first half and dropped a 76-74 contest to Vassar in Schenectady on January 17 despite a 30-point effort from junior Jack Plesser. In the teams' most recent meeting on February 13, Union had its worst shooting game of the year in a 68-61 (OT) loss, shooting 31.4 percent from the field.
GOING FOR 20: Union is one win away from reaching the 20-win plateau for the seventh time in program history and the first time since 2012-13. A semifinal-round win would tie the squad for the fourth-most wins in a season in program annals, behind only the 21 wins first achieved in 1973-74 and matched in 1982-83 and 2001-02.
THE SHOOTER'S TOUCH: Union is the top shooting team in the Liberty League in all aspects this season, pacing all conference schools in field-goal percentage (.463), three-point field-goal percentage (.373) and free-throw percentage (.746). The Garnet Chargers are 14-0 this season when shooting over 44.5 percent from the field.
THREE-POINT THREATS: Union ranks 17th in Division III by shooting 37.3 percent from beyond the arc and makes an average of 8.2 long balls per game. The team is 16-0 when shooting at a 35.0 percent or better clip from deep on the year. Junior Tanner Tedesco leads the Liberty League by shooting 41.2 percent (61 of 148) from long range and ranks third in three-pointers made, while classmate Matthew Garside is fifth in the conference with 57 made threes.
PLESSER POURS IT ON: Junior Jack Plesser has emerged as one of the top scoring threats in the country, averaging 22.6 points per game and already ranking fifth on the school single-season scoring with 542 points on the year. His current scoring average would rank fifth in program history and would be the highest since Aaron Galletta '02 went for 22.9 points per outing in 2001-02. Plesser leads the Liberty League in scoring by 3.5 ppg and also paces the conference by shooting 55.2 percent from the field. He enters the postseason 25th in Division III in scoring average and 17th in field goals made.
LENDING AN ASSIST: Junior Tanner Tedesco is on track to lead the Liberty League in assists for the third straight season and enters the weekend averaging 5.8 assists per game, a mark that ranks 13th in Division III. With a full season still to go, Tedesco already ranks fifth in program history with 446 career assists and is 110 away from breaking the program standard set by Joe Clinton '83 in 1983.
1K WATCH (AGAIN): Junior Jack Plesser became the 25th player in program history to record 1,000 career points with a 30-point effort against Rochester Institute of Technology on January 13 and enters the week 14th in school annals with 1,239 points. Classmate Tanner Tedesco enters Friday just a single point short of joining Plesser in the quadruple-figures club, and would make him and Plesser just the fourth pair of Union teammates – and first pair of non-seniors – to both reach 1,000 points in the same season.
ABOUT THE BREWERS: Vassar is one of the top defensive teams in the Liberty League, ranking second behind Rensselaer and 18th in Division III in points per game allowed (64.5 ppg), while also pacing all conference schools in opponent field-goal percentage (.385) and opponent three-point field-goal percentage (.274), ranking 10th and third nationally, respectively. The Brewers also lead the Liberty League in rebounding at 42.9 caroms per game, a mark that ranks top-20 in the country.
Last year's Conference Player of the Year Shea Fitzgerald leads the Brewers in scoring at 16.3 points per game and leads the conference with 69 made three-pointers and 88.1 percent accuracy from the charity stripe. Parker Neuenhaus adds 14.3 ppg and ranks second in the Liberty League by shooting 53.4 percent from the field, while Nathan Denham sits in the top-10 among conference players in rebounds (7.2 rpg), blocks (21) and steals (38).
WHAT'S NEXT: The winner of Friday's game will advance to the Liberty League Tournament championship on Sunday, where they will face off with the winner of Rensselaer and St. Lawrence at the highest remaining seed.
2026 Liberty League Men's Basketball Tournament
Tuesday, February 24, 2026 – First Round
#3 Vassar College 67, #6 Skidmore College 64
#4 St. Lawrence University 72, #5 Ithaca College 64
Friday, February 27, 2026 – Semifinals
#4 St. Lawrence University at #1 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 7:00 p.m.
#3 Vassar College at #2 Union College, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 1, 2026 – Championship
Semifinal Winners at highest remaining seed