Central College assistant men’s basketball coach Conor Riordan is leading a talented contingent of Division III players on a trip to Brazil next week.

The trip is coordinated by USA Sports Tours & Events and starts July 8th and runs through July 17th. Traveling with a women’s team coached by Coe College’s Kayla Waskow, both squads will each play four competitive games against Brazilian teams. The trip starts with a flight to Sao Paulo where the team will play a pair of games, before continuing to Rio de Janeiro to play two more games. The teams will also visit several famous cultural and historical sites, including the Christ the Redeemer statue and Sugar Loaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro. Riordan has 10 players on his team from Illinois Wesleyan University, Schreiner University (Texas), Oberlin College (Ohio), Hobart College (N.Y.), Trinity University (Texas), Coe College, Ithaca College (N.Y.) and Macalester College (Minn.). Riordan, who had the opportunity to play for this team when attending Simpson College, says his hope is that this group appreciates the opportunity to build new friendships on the trip. 

“I think it’s just pretty cool that ten guys going into this trip, they aren’t going to know probably a single thing about each other, and then ten days later they’re very close. That’s kind of how it was with our group and there’s still guys that I stay in touch with from my ten days when I went down to Brazil. So, I’m hoping they can just have a really awesome experience, and make some new relationships, and experience a new culture. And then, hopefully, they can just kind of gain confidence heading back to their programs for their next season as well.”

Hear more about the trip from Riordan on Today’s Lely Radio Sports Page.