April 9, 2010

Citing a desire to try his hand at Division I basketball, sophomore guard Kyle Caiola will transfer from UMass Lowell at the end of the semester, Head Coach Greg Herenda announced Thursday.

“Kyle had two terrific years for us, but I respect his decision and wish him well,” said Herenda. “Being closer to his family and playing closer to home is very important to him.”

Caiola has expressed interest in transferring to a University closer to his home in Parma, Ohio.

“I had great success in my two years at UMass Lowell, but I have decided to transfer to try to play Division I in Ohio,” Caiola said. “I want to thank everyone at UMass Lowell for the opportunity I was given, but I want to play closer to home.”

A two-time Northeast-10 Conference Second Team all-star, Caiola enjoyed two highly-productive seasons at UMass Lowell, the first which saw him earn Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Year and Second Team honors.

As a sophomore, Caiola was named to both the NABC All-East Region Team and the NE-10 Second Team. He was named the NE-10 Tournament Championship Most Valuable Player after leading the River Hawks to the title and their second straight NCAA Tournament bid.

Over the course of the season, Caiola put together averages of 20.2 points, 3.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game this season while shooting .401 from 3-point range and .899 from the free throw line.

He ranked among NE-10 leaders in five categories: free throw percentage (first), scoring (third), 3-point accuracy (seventh), minutes per game (34.9, eighth) and steals (11th).

Caiola is a former standout at Normandy H.S. where he was a four-time Northern Ohio Conference all-star and MVP as a senior.

He is the son of Glenn Caiola and Patricia Metlesitz of Parma, OH.