Stony Brook Seawolves 2026 Season Preview

Cosh's Program Holding Steady

Billy Cosh's Seawolves finished 6-6 and 4-4 in the CAA, a split ledger that lines up with a power rating (#49) that says this roster is squarely middle of its league, not trending hard either direction. There is no gap here between talent and results to chase, just a program that treats .500 as its floor and needs 2026 to show whether that number moves. The story for Stony Brook next season is whether Cosh's staff can turn even conference results into the kind of tiebreaker wins that flip a 4-4 league mark into something better.

Efficiency Over Explosion

The 1-3 mark in one-score games is the tell here, not the 6-6 finish. A defense that ranked 26th in yards per play allowed and forced opponents off schedule at a 13th-best clip did its job, and the 39th-ranked yardage attack backs it up. The explosiveness number, 121st, is the real flaw, a unit that moves the chains at a 42nd-ranked third-down clip but rarely breaks the long ball, which is exactly why close games slipped away and why 2026 should read better than 6-6 if the offense finds even one more explosive gear.

Quinn Boyd threw eight touchdowns and zero interceptions on 1,457 yards last season, and that clean ledger is why the job is his outright heading into 2026 rather than another summer of shuffling. Chris Zellous, who split time and turned it over five times on 1,246 yards, is gone, which removes the erratic half of last year's rotation and hands Boyd a full offense built around a passing attack that already ranked 33rd nationally in yards per game. Christopher Arfanis and Tavion Byrd sit behind him without prior stats on file, so the ceiling of this unit in 2026 is simply how far Boyd's efficiency can push an offense that still ranked 121st in explosiveness a year ago.

Roland Dempster's 1,037 yards and 14 touchdowns walk out the door, and nobody left on campus has replaced that kind of production on tape. Dylan Harris returns with only 64 yards on his ledger, so Virginia Tech transfer Jeremiah Coney, who managed just 47 yards there, and Michigan transfer CJ Hester are realistic bets to grab real carries early. Stony Brook was already living through the air (237 passing yards per game, 33rd nationally) while its rushing attack sat 62nd, and with a totally unproven backfield behind Billy Cosh, that pass-first tilt likely deepens before this ground game finds its footing.

Jayce Freeman's 774 yards and 8 touchdowns walk out the door, along with Dez Williams and MarQeese Dietz, leaving Justin Reshard's 13 catches for 76 yards as the only tangible production Billy Cosh can point to in the room. That gap is jarring for an offense that ranked 33rd in passing yards per game a year ago, and it puts real weight on James Dely, Rah'Khem El, Dylan Iorgoveanu, Lucas Martin and Royalty Riley to turn unproven roles into real targets. Given how little proven volume returns, expect Reshard to see his workload jump sharply just to keep the passing game near last season's pace.

Cole Bunicci's 27 catches for 315 yards walk out the door, and Billy Cosh hands the position to a group of five with zero recorded production between them: Jacob Amburn, Brendan Barry, Finian Byrnes, Keiden Gutierrez and Alex Menghi. That's a real question for an offense that leaned on the pass (237 yards per game, 33rd nationally) but couldn't generate explosive plays (121st in explosiveness), and none of these names has caught a ball on the record to show it can pick up that slack. Whoever separates from that pack becomes the swing factor in whether Stony Brook's third-down passing game (40.0%, 42nd) holds steady or takes a step back.

Billy Cosh's offense moved the ball through the air well enough last season (237 yards per game, 33rd nationally) but explosiveness was the problem, ranking 121st in the country in average value per successful play, and that points squarely at a line that couldn't consistently create room to break a play open. That group now loses five bodies up front in Christian Forbes, Tommy Inge, Matthew Maiava, Kollin Melendez and Niko Papic, wiping out the continuity that got Stony Brook to 385 total yards per game a year ago. With no marquee transfer addition on file to plug in immediately, whichever combination Cosh settles on will be asked to hold onto that passing efficiency while finding the explosive plays this group left on the table in 2025.

Stony Brook's front held up well in 2025, ranking 26th in yards per play allowed and 13th in keeping opponents off schedule, but the production behind those numbers walked out the door with Franco Milano, Sebastian Regis, Rodney Faulk and Dyshier Clary all gone. Billy Cosh went to the portal for Lance Byndon, who logged a sack and a tackle for loss at Morgan State in 2025, to inject an edge presence into a line that must prove last year's rush numbers weren't tied to the players who just left. If Byndon can push the pass rush at all, the coverage numbers behind him, 56th in passing yards allowed, have more margin to work with.

Stony Brook's defense finished 37th in yards allowed per game and 26th in yards per play allowed, holding opponents off schedule at a rate that ranked 13th nationally, all with a linebacker corps that has since scattered. AJ Roberts, Aidan Kaler, Chayce Chalmers, Ryan Ruane and Anthony DeNicola are all gone, wiping out the entire tackling ledger at the position from that 2025 group. Billy Cosh has to rebuild the room's identity around whoever steps into those spots, with the run defense that ranked 38th in rushing yards allowed the clearest thing worth protecting.

DaMario Crawford's 4 tackles were tops among returning defensive backs last year, which tells the real story here: no one in this secondary posted big individual numbers even as the group helped keep Stony Brook's defense 26th nationally in yards per play allowed. Bryson Parker, Shamar Askin and Alhaji Kamara accounted for the bulk of the tackle production that walked out the door, leaving Sid Danenhauer, Sam Cooper, Joseph Garcia, Cam Johnson and Miles McGoy to turn a low-event, disciplined unit (13th in keeping opponents off schedule) into one with more playmakers. The scheme clearly held up in 2025 without star numbers on the back end, so Billy Cosh does not need new stars in 2026 so much as he needs one of these returners to start creating takeaways.

Michael Mannino made 11 of 14 field goals with a long of 49 and 58 points last season, and his return gives Stony Brook a proven leg while Enda Kirby's 4-of-5 kicking departs. The bigger question is the punting job vacated by Clayton Taylor, who averaged 40.5 yards on 51 attempts, since no returning punter with prior numbers is on the roster. Jason Roberts brings a second kicking option with no game statistics on file, and long snapper Trey Wallman is back to anchor the operation even as the punt game needs an answer.

Jeremiah Coney

Roland Dempster took 1037 yards and 14 touchdowns out the door, and Stony Brook is turning the backfield over to a Virginia Tech transfer with 47 career rushing yards. Jeremiah Coney has to prove that modest college line means nothing behind a passing game Quinn Boyd already runs cleanly, because zero interceptions on 1457 yards buys the ground game no patience if Coney does not hit quickly. Dylan Harris offers a returning complement, but the season's shape follows Coney's carries.

Billy Cosh's Road Cover Problem

Stony Brook backers make money by waiting for Billy Cosh's team to get home, where it covered 4-2 and won outright 5-1, including an 80% cover mark as a home favorite. That same team turns into a trap on the road, going 1-5 straight up and covering just 33% of the time, with road underdog tickets cashing at only 25%. Until this program shows it can travel, the smart 2026 play is simple: fade Stony Brook away from home and back it once it steps off the bus in its own building.