Niang brought his excellent high school stats from New Bedford High School to the Mountaineers as a freshman. His scoring credentials included scoring 28 goals in just one year of high school play. As a freshman, he was going to be counted on to pick up the scoring slack. It was also believed that he was going to team up with his brother Abibou to give the Mountaineers better quickness on offense. Many also thought he was going to be one of the most explosive scorers in Mountaineer soccer history. As a freshman, Niang batted a knee injury that limited his playing time. Heading into his sophomore year, he was sure to see more playing time if he was healthy.