Ahead of Pace Men’s Basketball season beginning November 11th, I had the opportunity to sit down with senior forward Frankyn Batista, who transferred to Pace University from American International College.

Batista is from Barahona, Dominican Republic; where Batista originally played. He originally played baseball, but was later pushed into basketball by his peers and family. “Everyone around me liked basketball, so I was kind of forced to play,” said Batista. Fortunately, Batista stuck with basketball despite baseball having such a strong influence over his homeland.

Batista moved to the United States 6 years ago, going to high school at Redemption Christian Academy in Northfield, Massachusetts.  He recounts later moving to Maine to attend the Hyde School and upon graduation, attending Hutchinson Junior College in Kansas.

Batista went back to Massachusetts to play basketball for American International College, a fellow NE-10 school. In games vs Pace last year, Batista had a huge game of 27 points, with 7 points on February 19th, and 12 points and 10 rebounds on November 20. AIC lost both games, en route to a measly  6-23   record.  Batista said AIC’s poor performance strongly contributed to his entry to the transfer portal and to Pace.

Contributing to his decision to go to Pace was the success of the basketball team. Batista noted Pace MBB going to the second round of the NCAA DII Basketball Tournament last spring. He was impressed by Pace’s campus as well.

Off the court, Bautista plays video games, though he is more devoted to basketball. He has enjoyed living in New York so far as it has been closer to family. Batista has enjoyed hanging with his friends around campus and sometimes going out.

In the classroom, Batista is close to graduation. He was one of many transfer students to not have credits accepted by Pace University. He stands 5 classes away from graduation.

A special thanks to Batista for his time. See him and the rest of the Pace Mens’ basketball team this Friday, November 11th live on https://paceuathletics.com and at Goldstein Academic Center on November 16th.