Mission accomplished. Photo by Doug Sasse, d3photography.com

By Ryan Scott
D3hoops.com

FORT WAYNE – “We made goals as a team,” said Trinity junior and Division III Men’s Basketball Championship Most Outstanding Player, Henry Vetter, about the Bantams’ approach to this season after losing the national semifinal last spring. “We put it on the locker room door and we all signed it: National Championship.”

Mission accomplished.

Vetter, who has historically struggled in important games, came through in the biggest moment, hitting three huge threes down the stretch, including the game-winner from the top of the key with ten seconds left to secure the school’s first men’s basketball title.

“I knew my teammates had confidence in me. They always tell me to keep shooting. People talk about that shot, but it’s what happened in the 39 minutes before that matters.”

• Final 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket
• Game story: Vetter carries Trinity to title
• All-time Division III national champions

Trinity, who uses a five-in, five-out substitution pattern, with a first team and a second unit, relies on trust and teamwork to achieve success. It was hard-won after last year’s disappointment, where the Bantams lost to eventual champion Trine, 66-54 in the national semifinal.

“We graduated our leading scorer, the best defender in the history of the school, and another outstanding defensive player,” recounts head coach James Cosgrove. “Three kids who were unbelievable players. We didn’t add a ton of pieces. To persevere like that, after losing guys who were important to our success, it’s unbelievable and a credit to the guys in that locker room.”

Vetter recalled, after their semifinal win, a third meeting with archrival Wesleyan, “Part of me thought about how it felt last year sitting in that [same] locker room last year never wanting to go through that feeling again.”

Trinity came out with an extra level of trademark intensity, led by Will Dorion, a senior playing his last game, regardless of the outcome. He said, “there’s no reason to hold anything back,” yet it wasn’t quite enough. The Bantams were 2-for-21 from three at one point and trailed NYU at the half.

Coming out of the locker room, there was an even higher level of execution and focus, leading to a 10-0 run.

“That didn’t surprise me,” said Cosgrove. “We’ve been doing that all year. It wasn’t any different than the Wesleyan game. That is what this team does.”

Still, the experience of the previous season mattered, not just as motivation, but in feeling comfortable and confident under the bright lights. Senior Alex Douglas noted, “Last year we were kind of shell shocked when we got here. The lights were a little bright. We brought a lot of experience back and this is the hardest working team I’ve ever been on.”

Hard work is a recurring theme. From extra conditioning drills with the training staff to banning music during practice. Each and every Trinity player spoke of this weekend as a business trip. They were deadly serious and it paid off.

“We prioritize energy,” said Sean Macarchuk, who might be a deep bench player on another squad, but anchors the post in the second unit and made some huge plays, every one of which was needed for the win. “We trust our guys to hit big shots and we focus on defense.”

It sounds simple, but, as any coach or player will tell you, it’s incredibly hard. NYU featured eight graduate students, a couple with Division I experience, multiple All-Conference selections and they never gave an inch. Trinity went toe-to-toe with the best in Division III and came out on top. There is no one reason, but a lot of little ones, built up over multiple seasons and a long history of basketball excellence.

“Trinity made the Final Four (in 1995),” said Cosgrove, and the NESCAC was not eligible to play in the NCAA Tournament before 1994. “To carry the tradition and enhance it, to do something no team has ever done. It’s pretty special. They’re cemented in history, but they’re cemented together for the rest of their lives. That’s most important.”

When Cosgrove saw the goal on the locker room door, he wanted the team to tone it down.

“That’s crazy. Let’s put ‘championships,’ because winning the NESCAC championship is unbelievable, winning a sectional championship is unbelievable. Credit to these guys, they won the NESCAC championship, they won the sectional championship, and they won the national championship. [These] guys were right and I was wrong.”

We think this is the first time James Cosgrove has ever admitted such a thing, but Trinity has accomplished something unprecedented and it deserves unprecedented praise.

The Bantams lose three seniors, but bring back the majority of the points and minutes, including All-Tournament performers Jarrel Okorougo who went for 20 and 9 in the title game after a double-double in the semifinal, and Drew Lazarre, an incredibly impactful defensive player, who scored 10 in the final, with 10 rebounds. Vetter also returns, along with eight of the top ten.

It’s very possible we’ll see Trinity in Fort Wayne again next year, if so, it will be because of another season of hard work and unrivaled commitment to each other and the goals on the locker room door.