Three years ago, Dylan Williamson was antsy on Towson men’s basketball’s bench. The point guard had committed to redshirting for developmental purposes that season, but his team was in the process of turning the ball over 18 times in what would become a 69-59 loss at Bryant on Dec. 22, 2022.
Tigers head coach Pat Skerry was comfortable redshirting Williamson because senior Jason Gibson was set to play the bulk of the minutes at point guard. However, lingering back issues meant Gibson played just three games all year. But because Skerry didn’t learn until early February that season that Gibson wouldn’t return for the rest of the year, he kept Williamson on ice.
“We got wind the first week of February that we weren’t going to get [Gibson] back, and I didn’t think it was fair to go back on what I had promised [Williamson] at that point,” Skerry said. “That’s not how you hopefully build a relationship, but if I knew back at Bryant that we weren’t going to get [Gibson] back, hell yeah I would’ve tried to talk him out of it. We needed him.”
Three years later, it’s clear why the Tigers could’ve used Williamson. The 6-foot-1 point guard earned CAA All-Rookie Team honors in 2023-24 and second-team All-CAA honors in 2024-25, averaging 12.3 points and 2.8 assists while shooting 39.2 percent from 3-point range across 68 games between the two seasons.
Williamson’s path in college hoops — one redshirt year, followed by three consecutive seasons at the same school — is becoming increasingly rare. That redshirt year, though, was valuable for Williamson, who learned he needed to put on weight to handle the physicality of the CAA. He came to Towson at 160 pounds but now plays between 180 and 185 pounds.
“I learned that the pace of the game was way different from watching and also the physicality is something that I really had to work on — like driving into guys and being able to just play and absorb the bump,” Williamson said. “I’ve learned that really you’ve just got to slow the game down. From watching [veterans like Cam Holden, Nicolas Timberlake and Charles Thompson] play together, they really slowed the game down and played together.”
Williamson’s knack for the big moment, though, is probably more innate than learned. Just last season, he came through time and again when Towson needed it in crunch time. The Tigers won 12 games by six points or fewer, and when they needed a big shot to get to the finish line, it was often Williamson who delivered.
Towson’s game against Drexel in the CAA quarterfinals was a perfect example. The Tigers were up, 77-76, with less than a minute to play when Williamson drilled a 3-pointer with a hand in his face to put his team ahead by four points, a lead that held up.
It’s not unusual for Williamson’s big shots to come on difficult looks from downtown.
“I think it’s from trusting my work, all the work that I’ve put in since I came here,” Williamson said. “I just feel very comfortable in those moments because I’ve done those moves, I’ve taken those shots — it’s just not in such a pressure moment, I guess.”
Reigning CAA Player of the Year Tyler Tejada is never surprised when Williamson drills a huge shot from deep …
“The shots he takes in the game are the shots he works on every day,” said Tejada, a junior wing. “We’re in the gym before practice, after practice, weight room. Everything he does in the games, he works on to a T every day.”
… and neither is Skerry.
“He’s put the work in, and really he’s our most valuable guy with his ability to bail us out a lot of times last year,” Skerry said. “I’ve got incredible confidence in him. He does it every day. When people are evaluating him at the next level after college, that’s something they need to keep in mind. He can make big shots in big games.”
However, there’s a reason why those big shots were needed last year. Towson’s offense often bogged down in the second half, allowing opponents to hang around. The Tigers were fifth in adjusted offensive efficiency in the CAA, according to KenPom, a college hoops analytics site. It will fall in part on Williamson to keep the Tigers humming on the offensive end throughout the 2025-26 season.
Williamson posted 87 assists and 50 turnovers last season. Skerry would love for that ratio to be closer to 3-to-1. The coach would also like his point guard to become more of a vocal leader.
“This year [Skerry] wants me to lead, talk more and take care of the ball. That’s really my main focus — taking care of the ball and getting guys shots on the court,” Williamson said. “… A leader to him is being vocal, getting guys in position, just really quarterbacking the team. He calls me the quarterback for this team or he says I have the keys to the car, I have to steer us in the right direction.”
Williamson hopes to steer Towson’s car into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991. The Tigers have lost in the semifinal round of the CAA tournament in each of the past four seasons. Williamson would love to send Skerry, in Year 15 as the head coach at Towson, to the Big Dance in March.
“That would mean everything to the school,” Williamson said. “It’s been a while since the school has been to the tournament, so that’s really been our goal for the past couple years. Four years, stuck in that same game, so we’re really just trying to get over that hump. I think that would mean everything to me and Coach.”
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox
Issue 296: December 2025 / January 2026
Originally published Dec. 17, 2025