In NESCAC basketball, Sam Peek ’18 needs no introduction. The senior guard from Wesleyan University dominated the top DIII league in the country this year, and his team’s success certainly followed. Wesleyan hosted the NESCAC tournament, sweeping the field for a conference title in front of 1,300 fans. Just before the tournament, Peek was named the league’s top player.
After a canceled season due to COVID, Wesleyan returned Peek along with a core of sophomore stars — now grown into senior form. “I knew I was the leader of the team,” Peek said. “Which was hard because I had to find the balance of being the man, but also being a team player to let other guys do their jobs.”
Peek had been part of a dynamic group since joining Trinity-Pawling. His senior teammates Nikkei Rutty ’18 (Monmouth), Beau Smith ’18 (Babson), and Korey Lee ’18 (Mercy) have continued to stay in touch throughout their collegiate playing careers.
Peek’s move from Poughkeepsie public school to Trinity-Pawling was challenging but prepared him to excel in the next chapter as an athlete and student. “The NEPSAC is super competitive — coming to T-P was a huge adjustment,” he said. “It was more physical, guys were more talented.” On the academic side, he explained, “Time management was huge — with free blocks at T-P, sometimes you got to hang out and sometimes you had to put in more effort to get some work done. It was the first time I had to set my own schedule, so I found the transition [to college] a lot smoother than some kids coming from public school.”
Now that his time at Wesleyan has come to an end — Wesleyan lost to RPI in the NCAA tournament — Peek is looking ahead to the next steps in his basketball career. Most athletes exit the tournament saying goodbye to their sport, but thanks to COVID, Peek has retained a year of eligibility. Peek took home First Team All-American honors, as announced by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) on March 16. He hopes to get some looks from Division I coaches for his final year of NCAA eligibility — prominent 6’5″ shooters who transferred D1 after dominating the NESCAC have ended up in the NBA. No matter where he lands, the Trinity-Pawling community will keep cheering on Peek from Pawling — Roll Pride!
by Cyrus Rothwell-Ferraris