As a Senior (2020-21): Season did not count towards eligibility due to COVID-19 pandemic … Played in 21 games, missing four before the NCAA immediate-eligibility ruling and two due to injury, while notching 18 starts … Averaged 10.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest … Placed second among Hurricanes in rebounding and third in both scoring and minutes (32.6) … Tallied double-digit points 13 times, with 15-plus in four outings and 20-plus once … Grabbed five-plus rebounds on 12 occasions, all in his last 15 outings, with seven-plus six times and 10 once … Recorded one double-double … Played over 30 minutes 15 times, with 39-plus four times and a high of 41 … Paced Miami in steals seven times, blocks five times, scoring four times, rebounding four times and assists once … Started and played 37 minutes in his debut against Pittsburgh (12/16) … Scored 11 points at No. 24/RV Virginia Tech (12/29) … Logged 10 points against Clemson (1/2) … Notched 11 points and went 4-of-4 at the line versus North Carolina (1/5) … Totaled 14 points, six boards and two steals at Boston College (1/12) … Logged a double-double with 15 points and a season-best 10 rebounds in the win over No. 16/18 Louisville (1/16), adding three assists and shooting 6-of-11 in 36 minutes … Totaled 10 points, five rebounds and a season-best four steals against Notre Dame (1/24) … Missed the games at No. 16 Florida (1/27) and Wake Forest (1/30) due to a left shoulder injury … In the victory over Duke (2/1), scored a season-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting overall and a 3-of-5 mark from deep, both totals season bests in makes, while adding seven boards and three steals … Recorded 19 points, shooting 6-of-11 from the floor and 5-of-6 at the line, in a career-high-tying 41 minutes against No. 16 Virginia Tech (2/6) … Logged 11 points and seven rebounds at Notre Dame (2/14), playing all but 13 seconds … Registered 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, adding seven boards, versus Georgia Tech (2/20) … Scored 11 points in 36 minutes against No. 11/9 Florida State (2/24) … Notched eight points and nine rebounds at Clemson (2/27) … Totaled 12 points, six rebounds and a career-high-tying two blocks at No. 21/20 Virginia (3/1) … Posted 14 points, six rebounds and a season-high-tying three assists in 37 minutes versus Pittsburgh (3/9) in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
As a Junior at Stony Brook (2019-20): First Team All-NABC District I … First Team All-America East … Three-time America East Player of the Week (1/13, 12/30, 12/9)
Appeared in 28 games, missing five due to injury, and earned 26 starts … Averaged team-highs in points (18.0), rebounds (6.5) and assists (2.1) per game … Also ranked first in made field goals (172), made free throws (107), free-throw attempts (151) and 3-point percentage (36.1) … Placed second in steals (1.6) and minutes (32.6) per contest … Finished fifth in America East in scoring, sixth in steals, eighth in field-goal percentage (43.5), eighth in free-throw percentage (70.9), ninth in made 3-pointers per game (1.9) and No. 11 in rebounding … In conference-only action, ranked second in steals (2.0), fifth in rebounding (7.1), sixth in scoring (17.5) and eighth in free-throw percentage (72.3) … One of three players in the league with multiple 30-point games … Registered five double-doubles, including four in a row … Fourth Stony Brook player to earn first team all-district accolades … The 27th 1,000-point scorer in program history, finishing No. 18, and 10th in its Division I era … Scored in double figures 25 times, notching 16-plus in 20 games and 20-plus in 15 outings, including five in a row … Totaled at least 25 points four times and at least 30 twice, the latter mark tying a program single-season record … Grabbed five-plus rebounds 21 times with eight-plus nine times and double figures five times, including logging 11 in four consecutive games … Recorded at least three assists in 10 outings, at least three steals in five contests and over 30 minutes in 23 affairs, with 35-plus 13 times … Opened the season with a 19-point showing in 38 minutes against Yale (11/5) … Tallied 14 points and six boards at No. 12/13 Seton Hall (11/9) … Scored 21 points in just 20 minutes versus Farmingdale State (11/11) … Notched 19 points and six boards at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (11/15) … Posted 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting to go along with six rebounds and three assists versus UTRGV (11/16) … Logged 20 points and eight boards against North Dakota State (11/17), finishing 5-of-5 at the line … Scored 18 points and went 6-of-7 from the line at Wagner (11/23) … Amassed 20 points and nine rebounds at Delaware (11/27) … Scored 16 points versus Manhattan (12/2) … In his 10th straight game with at least 14 points, dropped a then-career-high 30 against Brown (12/7), finishing 11-of-15 from the floor, tying a career-best in makes, and 6-of-8 from deep, while adding seven boards … At Providence (12/14), recorded 25 points, nine rebounds, three assists and four steals, shooting 9-of-15 overall, 3-of-5 on 3-pointers and 4-of-4 at the stripe in 38 minutes … Tallied 11 points and seven boards at the reigning national champion, No. 9/7 Virginia (12/18) … Registered 21 points, including the tiebreaking layup with 1:24 left, and six boards at American (12/21) … Compiled 20 points, seven rebounds and a career-high seven assists against Norfolk State (12/29) and went 8-of-10 on free throws in 35 minutes … Set or tied then-career-highs in points (28), rebounds (11), made free throws (eight), free-throw attempts (14) and field-goal attempts (21) at Vermont (1/8), adding four assists in 39 minutes … Scored 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds against New Hampshire (1/11) … Posted 22 points and 11 boards at Hartford (1/15), finishing 10-of-12 from the line to set a career high in makes … Recorded 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting, 11 rebounds and three steals in 38 minutes against Albany (1/18), his fourth straight game with a 20-point double-double and a career-best 11 boards … Notched 20 points, six rebounds and three assists in 35 minutes against Binghamton (1/22), capping a five-game 20-point streak … Amassed 21 points and five boards versus UMBC (2/1), hitting all seven of his free throws in 35 minutes … Scored a career-high 33 points against UMass Lowell (2/5), shooting 11-of-20 from the field, 3-of-4 on 3-pointers and 8-of-10 at the line, while adding 10 boards to notch a double-double … Played just 12 minutes at New Hampshire (2/8) and then missed the next five games due to an ankle injury … Posted 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals versus Albany (3/7) in the conference quarterfinals … Totaled 19 points and nine boards against Hartford (3/10) in the America East semifinals to end the year.
As a Sophomore at Stony Brook (2018-19): Third Team All-America East
Appeared in 31 of 33 games, logging 30 starts … Averaged 12.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 31.1 minutes per outing … Ranked second on the team in points, rebounds, assists, made field goals (131), made free throws (91) and free-throw attempts (129) … Placed eighth in America East in free-throw percentage (70.5), No. 10 in rebounding, No. 11 in field-goal percentage (42.5) and No. 18 in scoring … In league-only play, finished sixth in field-goal percentage (47.9), ninth in rebounding (6.3) and No. 16 in scoring (12.1) … Scored double-digit points 21 times, notching at least 15 in 10 appearances and surpassing 25 twice … Grabbed five-plus boards in 23 outings, including each of his last 11, with at least eight on nine occasions … Posted three-plus assists nine times and reached 30 minutes in 20 appearances, with 35-plus in eight … Recorded his lone double-double of the year in the season opener, finishing with 18 points, including 15 after halftime, and 10 boards in an overtime win at George Washington (11/6), adding three assists in 40 minutes, one shy of a career high … Logged 16 points and nine rebounds in a win at South Carolina (11/9), finishing 8-of-10 at the line … In the Hall of Fame Tip-Off, scored 19 points against Holy Cross (11/16), then totaled 14 points and eight rebounds versus Norfolk State (11/17), posting a 6-of-7 clip at the line … Scored 13 points against Quinnipiac (12/1) … Registered 14 points, five boards and three assists versus LIU (12/12) … Notched 12 points, five rebounds and three assists against Delaware (12/16) … Dished out a season-best five assists against Hofstra (12/19) … Put up 12 points and five rebounds in a victory at Northern Iowa (12/29) … Posted 11 points and six boards at UMass Lowell (1/5) … Recorded 12 points and six rebounds against Binghamton (1/9) … Amassed 15 points and six boards versus New Hampshire (1/12) … Scored 14 points at Maine (1/19) … Dropped a season-high 28 points, including 20 before halftime, against Hartford (2/2), finishing 11-of-16 from the floor, good for a career-high in makes, and 4-of-9 from deep, while adding seven boards and four assists in 35 minutes … Compiled 17 points and six rebounds at Binghamton (2/6) … Posted 15 points and eight boards against UMass Lowell (2/9), shooting 6-of-7 from the floor in 37 minutes … Totaled 16 points and eight rebounds against Maine (2/23), shooting 5-of-6 from the field and hitting both his 3-pointers … Notched 15 points, six rebounds and three assists against UMBC (2/27), finishing 6-of-7 at the stripe in 38 minutes … Logged 11 points and nine boards at Vermont (3/2) … Recorded 11 points and seven rebounds at Hartford (3/5) to end the regular season … Amassed 27 points and nine rebounds in 36 minutes against Binghamton (3/9) in the America East quarterfinals, tying a season high in made free throws (eight) and setting a top mark in attempts (12) … Posted 13 points and five rebounds at USF (3/20) in the opening round of the CBI to conclude the season.
As a Freshman at Stony Brook (2017-18): America East Rookie of the Year … America East All-Rookie Team … Four-time America East Rookie of the Week (2/26, 2/12, 12/4, 11/27)
One of five Seawolves to play in all 32 games … Started eight of the final nine outings … Averaged 7.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 22.3 minutes per game, while shooting 45.7 percent from the floor … Placed second on the team in field-goal percentage and field goals made (96), as well as third in steals … Ranked fourth in both scoring, rebounding and minutes … Compiled double-digit points in 13 appearances, eclipsing 15 in three of them, as well as five-plus rebounds in nine outings and three steals on four occasions, while playing 30-plus minutes seven times … Posted one double-double … Amassed 13 double-digit point totals, eclipsing 15 three times, and nine five-rebound outings … Recorded three steals in three outings and played 30-plus minutes on seven occasions … Logged three points and three steals against Maryland (11/10) in his collegiate debut … Registered seven points at UConn (11/14) in his first road outing … Scored a season-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including a 3-of-4 clip from deep, at second-ranked Michigan State (11/19) in the fourth game of his career … Posted 11 points versus Brown (11/22) … Tallied 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting against Bucknell (11/26) … Recorded a season-high-tying 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting versus Shawnee State (11/29), adding three steals … Notched 13 points against St. Francis (PA) (12/2), his fifth straight double-digit outing … Registered eight points and nine rebounds at Columbia (12/7) … Finished with 16 points and six rebounds against Hofstra (12/12), shooting 5-of-8 from the field, 2-of-4 on 3-pointers and 4-of-4 at the line in 30 minutes … Logged a co-season-best 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting at UMass Lowell (1/24), adding five boards in 36 minutes … In his first collegiate start, set season highs in rebounds (10), assists (three) and minutes (39) against Hartford (2/3), as well as tied a season-best with three steals and scored 10 points to tally his first double-double … Posted 11 points, six rebounds, three steals, a season-high two blocks and a 3-of-5 clip from deep in 33 minutes at Maine (2/11) … Scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 31 minutes at UMBC (2/21) … Recorded 11 points against Vermont (2/24) in the regular season finale … Scored 12 points in 32 minutes at Albany (3/3) in the conference quarterfinals … Totaled 13 points at Vermont (3/6) in the league semifinals to cap the season.
High School: Graduated from East Side in Newark, N.J. … Labeled the No. 11 recruit in New Jersey by ESPN … Averaged 10.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in his four-year high school career, totaling 928 and 588, respectively … As a senior, tallied nearly 15.0 points per game … Aided his team to a state title as a sophomore (2015) and to county championships as both a senior (2017) and freshman (2014) … Attended Great Oaks Charter School for the first semester of his freshman year … Played AAU ball for the NJ Roadrunners, who produced players such as Kyrie Irving, Al Harrington and Randy Foye, the latter of whom also went to East Side.
Personal: Full name is Elijah Olaniyi … Last name is pronounced Oh-LAH-Nee-Yee … Born Jan. 11, 1999 in Brooklyn, N.Y. … Goes by “E” … Parents are Festus and Ruth Olaniyi … Father, who works in construction, immigrated to the U.S. from Nigeria over 30 years ago and mother followed several years after … Fourth of seven children and the first one born in the U.S. … Has two older brothers, Noah and Samson, and one older sister, Esther … Has two younger brothers, Gabriel and David, and one younger sister, Hannah … Family moved from Brooklyn to New Jersey when he was three or four years old … Majoring in sociology with a minor in Africana studies … Favorite athlete is Kobe Bryant because of his approach to both life and basketball … Best sports memory is getting his first scholarship offer … Committed to Miami over Arkansas, DePaul, Minnesota, Nevada, Western Kentucky and Xavier … Chose Miami because of its combination of high-level academics and basketball.
