A Couple of Real Pros

When the final horn sounded and the celebration began, CJ Hapward, MBA ’25, stood proudly on the ice at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton, New York. His professional minor league ice hockey team, the Binghamton Black Bears, had just won the 2025 Commissioner’s Cup Championship, and he was scanning the crowd of 5,000 screaming fans, looking for his parents.

“It was a night with a lot of emotions, and I was just standing there feeling lucky to be sharing it with my family,” says Hapward, a first-year back-up goalie for the Binghamton squad, which defeated the Carolina (NC) Thunderbirds, 5-2, in the Federal Prospects Hockey League title game in early May. “I’ve been playing hockey all my life and they have always been there to support me.”

Hapward is not the only Suffolk student-athlete has taken his playing career to the next level. Evan Cook, MBA ’25, a star point guard for the Rams men’s basketball team, crossed an ocean to find his new professional home, playing for the Dublin Lions of the Irish National Basketball League.

While competing at the pro level comes with adjustments, both say their time at Suffolk, where each earned an MBA degree, made the transition relatively smooth.

‘A real game-changer’

Hapward—who joined the Suffolk men’s ice hockey team in January 2024 after graduating early from Colby College—helped lead the squad to its most successful season (13-11-3) in ten years during the 2024-25 campaign. He started all 27 games between the pipes and posted a 1.99 goals against average and a .931 save percentage, good for 15th and 16th, respectively, in the NCAA Division III this past season. He was also named an All-Conference of New England second-team selection.

“CJ was one of the best goalies in college hockey, and a real game-changer for us,” says Suffolk Head Coach Shawn McEachern. “He was aggressive, competitive, and very professional. He’s a great person who has a bright future.”

Hapward’s impressive stats caught the attention of Binghamton coaches, who reached out to McEachern in February to recruit Hapward. As soon as his college hockey season ended, Hapward’s pro season began—with no pause in play. For the next two months, he lived a double life, driving back and forth from New York to Boston to train and compete with the Black Bears while finishing up his classes.

The move to Binghamton meant playing in bigger arenas before bigger crowds, alongside a team of experienced, talented hockey players who had already clinched their league title the previous season. “While it was an adjustment,” Hapward says, “my teammates are a great group of guys who made the transition super easy for me.”

Hapward started four games for the Black Bears and won them all. His best performance was a 4-1 road victory against the Athens (GA) Rock Lobsters, when he made 37 saves on 38 shots. In his first start at home, he made 22 saves in a 4-3 win over the Danbury (CT) Hat Tricks.

“The team gave me the game puck for my first win,” he says.

While Hapward was excelling on the ice, Evan Cook was making a name for himself on the court with the Dublin Lions.

After graduating from Wheaton College in 2023 with another year of eligibility, Cook enrolled at the Sawyer Business School. During Suffolk’s 2023-24 season, he averaged 14.6 points per game (with a 45.3 field goal percentage) and led the Rams to a 15-12 record and an appearance in the conference championship game. He was also an All-Conference second team selection and became the 32nd men’s player to join the Rams’ 1,000-point club, finishing his career with 1,156 points.

“What I remember most,” says Cook, “is that my teammates were hard workers on the court and great human beings off it.”

“Evan was quick, a good ball handler, sneaky-athletic, and a natural scorer from anywhere on the court,” says Suffolk Head Coach Jeff Juron. “His leadership, maturity, and positive energy were key factors in our team’s success.”

Cook had always dreamed about playing basketball beyond college. After reaching out to some overseas contacts, he learned that Dublin was looking for a new point guard. Soon he was packing his bags and taking the 3,000-mile flight from Boston to Ireland.

While he arrived in midseason with little fanfare, it didn’t take Cook long to prove himself in a league that puts a strong emphasis on fast play and scoring. In just his second game, he scored 39 points, pulled down nine rebounds, and dished out 14 assists.

“I felt confident and showed that I belonged,” says Cook, who averaged 22 points, eight rebounds, and five assists per game for the Lions. “I quickly got the respect I needed from my teammates and the league.”

Despite being the only American on the team, Cook fell in love with the easygoing culture of Dublin, the capital city of his new country. “The people are so down-to-earth and funny,” he says, “and the food is really good. I’ve met a lot of friends socially, even from other teams that we play.”

While Cook hopes to continue playing pro ball next season, Hapward is keeping his options open. Long term, he plans to work in commercial real estate and as a performance coach at the youth hockey level. And when their time on the ice and the basketball court is over, both say their Sawyer Business School experiences have prepared them well for their next chapter.

Hapward points to specific lessons he learned in problem solving and team leadership from Management and Entrepreneurship Professors Bari Bendell and Tammy MacLean, while Cook credits Suffolk’s “diverse and driven student body for pushing me to think outside the box and learn from different cultural perspectives,” he says. “These experiences have definitely prepared me to adapt quickly, think strategically, and work together in any professional setting.”