SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- On Friday, the Syracuse men's basketball team held its annual media day session at the Carmelo Anthony Center.

We had a chance to hear from several Syracuse players, including transfer Francis Folefac, but we also heard from the lone freshman on this roster:

Ryan Moesch spoke to SyracuseRoundtable about his decision to flip his commitment from Siena to Syracuse, and the pride he has in representing his hometown. 

A four-star prospect, Moesch in 2025 committed to current Syracuse head coach Gerry McNamara and Siena, making Moesch the highest-ranked player ever to commit to the Saints. However, after McNamara left Siena for Syracuse, the 6-foot-1 guard followed McNamara to Central New York.

Moesch de-committed from Siena on March 26 with Syracuse offering him almost immediately. Moesch played at Chittenango High School, not far from Syracuse, before finishing his career at Cushing Academy in Massachusetts. 

As noted by 247 Sports, he also had previous interest from Providence, Bowling Green and Akron.

Moesch spoke at Friday's media session and said this in regards to staying in the Central New York area:

"It means a lot being from the 315 (Syracuse's area code), I got a lot of friends out here who are really supportive, when I play I kind of feel like I'm playing for them as well."

Moesch is one of three players on this year's roster who played high school basketball in the Central New York area.  Gavin Doty played at G. Ray Bodley High School in Fulton while Noah Lobdell played at Faith Heritage High School in Syracuse. 

Moesch could play himself into an "X-factor" like role for the team. While Moesch is one of the youngest players on the team, his ballhandling skills and scoring ability could prove to be a spark needed off the bench for the Orange. It is likely that Moesch will begin the season playing a backup role to guards Kiyan Anthony and Garwey Dual. If Moesch is able to play efficiently when seeing action this season, the Central New York product could carve out more minutes for himself as the season progresses.

Moesch's exciting style of play and local roots could result in him being of the most popular players among Orange fans this upcoming season. 

Unlike some of his teammates, Moesch has yet to play any minutes at the collegiate level. The hope for younger players like Moesch is to get him on the floor against higher levels of competition early and hope that he develops in practice throughout the season. 

The Orange's preseason schedule includes the first game against UConn on Tuesday. That's followed by a matchup against Siena on Oct. 18 and a final tune-up game against Niagara on Oct. 24,