Stats that stick: The performances that defined the TMU Bold’s 2024-25 season

By Evan Davis

The 2024-25 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) regular season has officially come to an end. In a review of the past year, The Eyeopener looks back on this season’s statistics. From breaking records to breakout seasons, Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold athletes can shift their focus to next year after a successful season.

Women’s hockey: Emily Baxter and Megan Breen

Graduate forward Emily Baxter is the captain of the TMU Bold women’s hockey team for a reason, leading her team both on and off the ice. This year, for the second straight season, she tied the TMU Bold women’s hockey single-season point record with 23.

Last season, Baxter finished the year with 14 goals and nine assists, while this year pulled an UNO reverse card, finishing the year with nine goals and 14 assists. Her assists this season were enough for sixth best in the OUA and she finished within the top 12 for points per game at .88. Her success on the ice led to the team sneaking into the playoffs, which they missed out on in 2024.

Defender and assistant captain Megan Breen also joined the school record books this season. Her 15 assists are the most in TMU women’s hockey program history in her fourth year with the Bold. With that number, she also tied for fifth in the OUA in assists and finished second among defenders. Her .91 points per game were also second among defenders in the OUA and her 21 points was a personal career-high.

Men’s hockey: Kevin Gursoy and Jordan D’Intino

Fourth-year forward and assistant captain Kevin Gursoy was a player to watch heading into the 2024-25 season and for the right reasons. Despite a new academic experience in the Master of Business Administration program, he didn’t miss a step, finishing the regular season with a team-high 28 points and a career-high 20 assists. 

After the departure of key veteran players such as Kyle Bollers and Elijah Roberts last season, it was up to Gursoy to take charge to get the men’s hockey team back to the playoffs. His 20 assists and five power-play goals were tied for fifth in the OUA this season.

As the Bold look to make another run at the Queen’s Cup, they will rely heavily on their Gursoy to continue being a facilitator on the ice.

This season also meant an opportunity for rookies to shine. First-year forward Jordan D’Intino made an immediate impact on the team. An integral part of the team’s deadly second line alongside third-year forwards William Portokalis and Ian Martin, D’Intino finished his rookie season with 21 points in 27 games. His 17 assists ranked him fifth in the OUA among rookies.

The one Bold team left standing in the playoffs, there’s room for others on the men’s hockey team to join Gursoy and D’Intino in the history books.

Women’s basketball: Kaillie Hall and Hailey Franco-DeRyck

Back for a fifth season with the Bold, guard Kaillie Hall continued to be a leader with the women’s basketball team. Hall led the squad to a first-place finish in the OUA West division with a career-high 16.5 points per game, thanks to shooting 36 per cent from the field. She ranked ninth in the OUA in free throw percentage at 79 per cent. 

Known for her ability to attack in the paint and force fouls, Hall led the OUA with 201 free throw attempts, which were 47 more than the next player in the rankings. Her 158 free throws made were the most in a single season in TMU history, ranking her as the best free-thrower in the country at the end of the season. Head coach Carly Clarke attributes her as a “huge part of the team’s success.”

“She’s leading the country in free throw attempts and free throws made. She’s utilizing her strength and speed really well,” said Clarke in the loss against the Ottawa Gee-Gee’s on Dec. 1, 2024. 

Hall finished sixth in the OUA in points per game and her 364 total points during the season is the seventh most in school history. Her significant offensive contribution will be missed next season, especially given that Hall scored less than 10 points in a game just once this season.

Second-year forward Hailey Franco-DeRyck, another player to watch before the season began, continued to be a dominant force in the paint and on the glass for the Bold. 

After setting the all-time single-season rebound record as a first-year, Franco-DeRyck set the record again, this time by grabbing 20 more rebounds than last season. Her 10.9 rebounds per game were not only the third most in the OUA this season but also tied the school record for highest rebounds per game, tying Caroline Borsutzky’s record set back in the 1984-85 season. Borsutzky had only played in 12 games during that season while Franco-DeRyck appeared in all 22 games.  

In a season that saw her break or tie numerous records, Franco-DeRyck also tied her record for most blocks in a single season with 33 and her record for blocks per game with 1.5. 

With the pending departure of key players such as Hall, fourth-year guard Jayme Foreman and fifth-year forward Callie Wright, this leaves the door wide open for Franco-DeRyck to continue extending her records next year as the team’s go-to defender in the paint.

Men’s basketball: Aaron Rhooms and Aidan Wilson

In his fourth year with the Bold, guard Aaron Rhooms helped the men’s basketball team advance to the semi-finals of the OUA playoffs this season. 

Rhooms led the OUA in points per game with 22.0, the eighth-best mark in school history. His 463 total points for the season was fifth best in school history—and second in the country during the regular season. A three-level scorer, he also finished this season second in school history for total three-pointers made with 59. 

Rhooms also finished the year with 14 games of at least 20 points and seven games with four or more three-pointers.

Another one of head coach David DeAveiro’s trusty starters, fourth-year forward Aidan Wilson, was a dynamic center for the team and a shot-blocking threat throughout his career. Set to leave the Bold now, Wilson made his mark this year. 

His 32 blocks this season ranked fifth in the OUA for total blocks. His 1.5 blocks per game were also the eighth highest in school history. 

At the other end of the court, Wilson’s 39 offensive rebounds this season ranked just outside the top 20 in the OUA for that category. After just 54 total points last season, Wilson more than doubled that number, scoring 116 points and averaging 5.5 points per game. 

Women’s volleyball: Mary Rioflorido and Hannah Bellai

While a rocky season with a 4-16 record wasn’t ideal for the women’s volleyball team, they knew they were going through a rebuilding year after five players graduated last season. With the turnaround in mind and lots of new faces taking to the court, this season presented the opportunity for a couple of players to shine bright. 

Fourth-year libero Mary Rioflorido faced a lot of hits throughout the season but the Markham, Ont. product knew exactly how to handle them. She finished the regular season with 286 digs and 3.97 digs per set, finishing first in the OUA in several defensive stats. 

Rioflorido also reached 1,000 career digs with the Bold on Seniors Night, the second player in the program’s history to achieve this milestone. She joins  Julie Longman and her 1,203 digs from 2013 to 2018. 

While Rioflorido was the defensive backbone of the team, first-year outside hitter Hannah Bellai was one of the pillars on the offensive side of the ball. She finished the regular season with 105 kills, the most kills from a rookie since Cailin Wark’s 137 in the 2016-17 season. 

Men’s volleyball: Jacob Walker and Riley Donovan

The Bold men’s volleyball team missed this year’s playoffs by only a hair, losing six of their last eight games of the season and finishing one game outside the playoffs with an 8-12 record. Nonetheless, it was a step up from a season ago when they finished 5-15.

The biggest difference between 2023-24 and 2024-25 was that the Bold had fourth-year outside hitter Jacob Walker available to them throughout the season. After missing the first half last year, he finished third on the team in points with 151.5. This year, he kept things rolling as the Bold’s top offensive threat.

The Bold looked to Walker a lot—he finished third in the OUA in total attacks per set with 8.94—but he lived up to the responsibility. He finished fifth in points with 300.5 and third in points per set with 4.23, as well as third in kills per set with 3.66. Walker also dominated from the service line, finishing the year third in the OUA in service aces with 27. 

Outside hitter Riley Donovan finished the season with a ton of career bests as he took on a much greater role in his third year with the Bold than he held in his first two. The Sydney, Australia product did not play every game during the fall but became a force to be reckoned with in the winter, scoring 10 or more points in six of 12 games of the season’s second half. His biggest moment came against his brother Killian Donovan’s team, the Guelph Gryphons, where he had 21 points on 17 kills as well as three assists—all career-bests. 

Donovan finished fourth on the team in kills per set and points per set, behind three upper-year players in Walker, graduate middle Alex King and fourth-year outside hitter Kai Higuchi.

With files from Tristan Forde.