Caldwell rising senior Addy Keenan has enjoyed her final summer of travel ball with all the tournaments as a member of the United U-17 AAU squad, plus -at the same time - also continuing in the process of finding her college destination for the fall of 2027.
She had a couple of top-notch Division III schools in New York University and Scranton as possibilities, along with Division I Rider, and she was still holding out hopes of finding just the right fit and -if it all worked out- with a D1 program.
“It was always a dream of mine to play at the Division I level,” said the Chiefs’ veteran backcourt ace. “It was just a matter of finding the right fit.”
Enter Lafayette College which is one of the strong academic schools and a charter member of the Patriot League.
In between July AAU tournaments with her United U-17 squad in Ohio and then in Kentucky Keenan had the opportunity to visit the Easton, Pa. school that is home to the Leopards, and she felt right away that it would be the right place for her to continue with basketball and her education.
Lafayette hired a first-year head coach this past April in Ben O’Brien, who had great success at Scranton while compiling an amazing 4-year record of 117-7, including three Elite 8 berths in the NCAA tournament and capped by a runner-up appearance opposite Denison in the 2026 NCAA Division III championship game at Salem, Va.
O’Brien was also selected as D3hoops.com’s National Coach of the Year.
Keenan had most of her early contact with Lafayette’s women’s basketball team through first-year assistant coach Hannah Angelini, who is a former star player at Scranton where she also later served on the coaching staff.
Lafayette has struggled with six straight losing seasons, including this past winter’s 11-19 record that included a 7-11 mark in the Patriot League.
O’Brien has what he hopes is a strong 2026 recruiting class with freshmen forwards Sophia Brooks from Clarksburg, Md and Johair Hall of Edmond, Okla. along with 5-7 point guard Neyia Pickering from Upper Marlboro, Md. and 5-8 combo guard Carly Voce from Clarkstown South High School in New City, N.Y.
Keenan has a former NJ Gemz AAU teammate already on the Lafayette roster in sophomore guard Haley Poser, who played scholastically at the Ranney School in Monmouth County.
“I know that coach O’Brien developed a great reputation for building the team at Scranton,” said Keenan. “And, I’m confident that the talent will definitely on hand when I get on campus next year.”
Among the other new assistant coaches with the Leopards is former, longtime Chatham High School coach Joe Gaba, who also had coached Keenan with the United AAU program.
