The Quinnipiac men’s basketball team loves to recruit locally and they have continued that trend this summer. For rising East Catholic High School senior Samson Reilly, staying in the area is important.
Just two years ago, the team brought in forward Brody Limric (also an East Catholic alum) and guard Quinn Guth, both Connecticut natives. It’s a key tool for maintaining basketball connections.
“It’s a big draw, for sure,” Reilly said. “Being the local kid playing at Quinnipiac, I feel like that would draw more attention than (at) other places.”
Quinnipiac, located just under 40 minutes from Reilly’s high school in Manchester, gave the point guard an offer to join the program in 2024-25.
“It’s a really awesome place,” Reilly said. “From my visit, (it) looks awesome.”
And on Aug. 3, Reilly told the Chronicle that he officially committed to the Bobcats.
Led by new head coach Tom Pecora, the coaching staff brought the 6-foot-2-inch shooter to campus in the spring, as Reilly met with both Pecora and associate head coach Shaun Morris.
“Coach Pecora, he’s a veteran coach who’s been around, and anyone who’s been in the college game that long, they know what they’re doing,” Reilly said. “Coach Morris is great and super personable in the recruiting process. I can relate to things he says.”
Reilly wants to win, something he looks forward to in Quinnipiac’s program. He’s coming off two Connecticut Division I state titles, playing alongside his brother and coach — both named Luke — with the latter happening to be his own father.
“I think he brings a certain level of toughness,” Luke Reilly, Samson Reilly’s father said. “A team first mentality, something’s he’s kinda been raised on.”
That “team-first mentality” has built the Reilly sons into a machine at East Catholic, helping the eldest earn a spot at Florida Southern this fall and Samson staying in-state. Along with Quinnipiac, official offers for Samson came in from Sacred Heart, Central Connecticut State, Buffalo and Le Moyne.
“I want to play for a really, really good coach who cares about me and cares about his program,” Samson Reilly said. “And, you know, wins in a way … Makes it fun to play for him.”
What the Bobcats are getting in Samson Reilly is someone who is over a 40% shooter from beyond the arc. What they are also receiving is a ringing endorsement about their commitment to the recruiting process and their basketball operations.
“The commitment is very clear from Quinnipiac, in terms of the facility and the support that they give their athletes,” The elder Luke Reilly said. “I’ve been on a lot of visits and sat in a lot of offices, but the direction that the program is heading and the commitment to the university’s making is very clear, because they have done a wonderful job of creating an environment that is super high level.”
Both Reillys have the same goal for “Sam” – a nickname his father passionately gives him: to help lead Quinnipiac to the NCAA Tournament, something the Bobcats have yet to do in their Division I history. Those aspirations are just the next stepping stone in his basketball dreams.
“I’m thrilled for him because see the hard work that they put in and there’s no guarantees,” the eldest Reilly said. “To have the type of high school experience that they’ve been able to have, and now continue on at a very high level of college is, is a great credit.”
