April 22, 2008

Siena landed its second and final recruit of the season today when 6-10 center Wolfgang Gieler, a junior college player from Allan Hancock (Calif.) College, submitted his National Letter of Intent to the College.

"Wolfgang will give us added depth in the front court and help our rebounding a great deal," head coach Fran McCaffery said. "He is a mature student-athlete who should be able to adjust quickly as a result of his experience at the Division I and Junior College level. He's also a tremendous person who will contribute greatly to the Siena community."

Gieler, who hails from Bonn, Germany, averaged 17.5 points and 13.1 rebounds for the Bulldogs this past season earning All Western State Conference North Division Team honors.

His field goal percentage of 61% led the conference, as did his 16.8 rebounds per conference game.

Gieler registered double-doubles in 19 of Hancock's 30 games in 2007-2008, and he had six games where he pulled down 20 or more rebounds.

In 2006-2007, Gieler played in 13 games at Division I UC-Irvine averaging nearly two points and over seven minutes per appearance.

Gieler has two years of eligibility remaining. He is the second recruit to sign, and will take the final scholarship available to the program next season.

Owen Wignot, a 6-5 forward from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., inked his NLI on November 16.

The Saints recently completed one of their most successful seasons in program history. The team posted a 23-11 overall record, claimed a share of the MAAC regular-season title, won the MAAC Tournament Championship and advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Championships with an 83-62 win over Vanderbilt in the First Round.