CLEVELAND, Ohio – Below is a team-by-team preview for the 2025-26 MAC Men's Basketball season.
The MAC men’s basketball season begins today, Nov. 3 with the MAC-SBC Challenge. The conference season is set to tip-off on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025.
The women's basketball regular season will conclude on Saturday, March 7 with the top eight teams in the conference moving on to Cleveland’s Rocket Arena for the MAC Women’s Basketball Tournament on March 11-14.
MAC-SBC Challenge Men’s Basketball Matchups
Southern Miss at Buffalo, 6:30PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Georgia State at Eastern Michigan, 6:30PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
James Madison at Akron, 7PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Louisiana at Ball State, 7PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Texas State at Bowling Green, 7PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
App State at Central Michigan, 7PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Troy at Kent State, 7PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Marshall at UMass, 7PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Old Dominion at Miami, 7PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Arkansas State at Ohio, 7PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
South Alabama at Toledo, 7PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Coastal Carolina at Western Michigan, 7PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Louisiana Monroe at Northern Illinois, 7PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Team-By-Team Previews (In Preseason Coaches Poll Predicted Order)
1. Akron Zips
The Zips begin the 2025-26 season, and the 125th season in program history, by hosting James Madison.
Akron is coming off a 2024-25 season that saw the Blue and Gold claim the Mid-American Conference Regular Season and Tournament title. The Zips concluded the 2024-25 season in the NCAA Tournament, falling to No. 4 Arizona 93-65 in Seattle, Wash.
The Zips will welcome six new faces to the team this season as Evan Mahaffey - Ohio State, Cody Head - Arkansas State, Chabi Barre - Duquesne transferred in, while three freshmen, Tai Perkins - Westerville North, Josh Henderson - Westerville Central and Ognjen Stankovic - Belgrade, Serbia, joined the Blue and Gold.
Akron scored 84.0 points per game in 2024-25 and outscored its opponents by 9.0 points per game. The Zips shot .469 from the field while shooting .362 from beyond the arc and averaged 10.7 3-pointers per game. The Blue and Gold held a .754 ft percentage while averaging 38.3 rebounds, 17.7 assists,11.8 turnovers, 7.6 steals and 3.7 blocks per game.
Akron ranked in the top five in the MAC in scoring offense (1st - 84.0), scoring margin (1st - +9.0), fg pct. (3rd - .469), opp. fg pct. (2nd - .433), 3pt pct. (2nd - .362), opp 3pt pct. (3rd - .319), 3pters made per game (1st - 10.7), ft pct. (2nd. - .754), rebounds (1st -38.3), off. rebounds (3rd - 11.7), def. rebounds (1st - 26.6), rebound margin (3rd - +3.3), assist-turnover ratio (1st - +1.50), blocked shots (1st - 3.74), assists (1st - 17.7) and steals (2nd - 7.63).
The Zips ranked 27th in the NCAA in assist-turnover ratio (+1.50), 4th in assists per game (17.7), 5th in bench points per game (33.97), 34th in effective fg pct. (.552), 32nd in fastbreak points (13.2), 60th in fg pct. (.469), 59th in ft pct. (.754), 84th in rebound margin (+3.4), 46th in defensive rebounds (26.66), 84th in offensive rebounds (11.83), 29th in rebounds per game (38.49), 33rd in scoring margin (9.0), 8th in scoring offense (84.0), 80th in steals per game (7.6), 10th in 3pters attempted per game (29.7), 58th in 3pt pct. (.362), 82nd in 3pt pct. defense (.319) and 8th in 3pters made per game (10.7).
2. Miami RedHawks
Miami men's basketball enters the 2025-26 regular season opener by hosting Old Dominion on Monday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. Travis Steele begins his fourth season at the helm of the program after finishing his third season with a 25-9 (14-4 MAC) record.
Miami returns 10 players from 2024-25, and behind fourth-year head coach Travis Steele, the men's team is coming off a season that saw the most wins in program history. The RedHawks are 2-0 when facing off with the Monarchs. The last time Miami took on Old Dominion, the Red and White secured a 64-57 victory on November 24, 2000 in a neutral site contest in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
On Tuesday, Oct. 21, the Mid-American Conference released its annual men's basketball preseason coaches poll. Akron was named first in the preseason rankings with 143 points and was followed by Miami (133), Kent State (122), Ohio (108), UMass (98), Toledo (95), Bowling Green (73), Ball State (62), Eastern Michigan (52), Western Michigan (46), Buffalo (37), Central Michigan (31) and Northern Illinois (14). Peter Suder was picked Preseason All-MAC First Team, and Eian Elmer was selected Preseason All-MAC Second Team.
The Miami University men's basketball team earned a spot on the Preseason Mid-Major Top 25® Poll for the 2025-26 season, as the Red and White rank No. 10 overall heading into this upcoming season.
3. Kent State Golden Flashes
The Kent State University Men's Basketball team is set to begin varsity season number 110 in the 75th year their home arena The Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center has been open, under the direction of Head Coach Rob Senderoff. The Golden Flashes will tip-off their 2025-2026 season against the Troy Trojans on Monday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. Coach Senderoff is entering his 15th season at the helm of the Golden Flashes and returns eight players from a squad that posted a 24-12 record and reached the National Invitation Tournament Quarterfinals during the 2024-2025 season. The Blue and Gold will host the Trojans of Troy University as part of the Mid-American Conference Sun Belt Conference Challenge.
Some key returning players for Kent State include senior forward Delrecco Gillespie, graduate student Morgan Safford, and junior guard Cian Medley. Last season, Gillespie appeared in 35 games making 20 starts, and averaged 8.1 points per game, and a roster leading 8.1 rebounds per game during the 2024-25 season. Safford appeared in eight games making starts in all of them before stopping due to injury, he scored 85 points averaging 10.6 per game and pulled in 49 rebounds averaging 6.1 per game. He was third in average points per game despite only playing eight games. Medley appeared in 35 games making 34 starts in 2024-2025. Always starting at the one, he led the roster in assists with 141 averaging 4.0 per game by the end of the year. Additionally, he averaged 7.2 points per game.
4. Ohio Bobcats
The Ohio men's basketball team (0-0) opens the 2025-26 season on Monday, Nov. 3 when the Bobcats host Arkansas State (0-0) for the MAC-SBC Challenge. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET inside the Convocation Center and can be seen on ESPN+ where Marty Bannister, Rob Cornelius and Gabe Genovesi will have the call.
Ohio enters the 2025-26 season under seventh-year head coach Jeff Boals.
Ohio was selected to finish fourth in this year's Mid-American Conference Preseason Poll, while senior guard Jackson Paveletzke and redshirt junior Javan Simmons earned a spot on the Preseason All-MAC Teams.
Ohio finished last season 16-16 overall and 10-8 in MAC play, before falling to Toledo in an overtime thriller in the MAC Quarterfinals.
The 2025-26 Bobcats return four major contributors from last year's team, including seniors Ajay Sheldon, Aidan Hadaway and Paveletzke and sophomore Elijah Elliott, while adding seven newcomers in transfers Simmons, Dior Conners, Jalen Breath and Carter Reese and freshman JJ Kelly, Jordan Fisher and Zay Mosley.
Paveletzke started all 32 games for the Bobcats last year, averaging 13.8 points a game, while shooting .514 from the field and earning a spot on the All-MAC Third Team. He also earned a spot on the MAC Blue Ribbon Forecast Preseason All-MAC Team. Hadaway returns to the starting lineup after missing the last half of last season due to injury. Elliott looks to build on a stellar freshman season in which he worked his way into the starting lineup and averaging 5.1 points a game.
Simmons comes to Ohio after spending three seasons at Toledo and was the 2023-24 MAC Freshman of the Year, an All-MAC Honorable Mention in 2024-25 and is a two-time Academic All-MAC selection. Breath played three seasons at UNC Greensboro. The Oklahoma City native played in 87 games, while making 61 starts as a Spartan and Conners played last season at App State where he saw action in 31 games, while making 26 starts.
Kelly comes to Athens from Chambersburg, Pa. and played at Chambersburg Area. Kelly also averaged 21.8 point, 7.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists during his senior season. Fisher, a Pickerington, Ohio native played at Reynoldsburg. Fisher became the all-time leader in career points in Reynoldsburg history with 1,306 points during his senior season.
5. Massachusetts Minutemen
The Minutemen open the 2025-26 campaign against Marshall on Monday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. in the Mullins Center.Monday's matchup marks the 7th meeting between the two programs with UMass holding an even 3-3 record all-time. The Minutemen will face Marshall for the first time after claiming an 83-65 win on Dec. 20, 2003.
Massachusetts saw four players score in double digits en route to a 109-78 win against Rhode Island College at the Mullins Center last Saturday.
The Minutemen were led by senior Daniel Hankins Sanford who recorded his first double-double of the season with 22 points and 13 rebounds on 28 minutes of action.
Leonardo Bettiol also tallied a team-high 22 points, going 7-8 from the field with three rebounds.
Dimitri Clerc totaled a season high 14 points with three rebounds and an assist over nearly 19 minutes of gameplay.
Massachusetts basketball enters its fourth season under head coach Frank Martin in 2025-26.
Martin and the Minutemen finished the 2024-25 season with 12 wins, including seven in conference play. Under Martin's tutelage guard Rahsool Diggins had a breakout senior season, averaging a team-high 16.8 points on his way to earning All-Atlantic 10 Third Team honors.
In 2023-24 Martin led the Minutemen to their best season since 2014, finishing with a 20-11 overall record and securing a top-four seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship.
Coach Martin started his time in Amherst by leading the Minutemen to their best record under a first-year head coach since 1996 and the Myrtle Beach Invitational title during the 2022-23 campaign.
Martin holds a 334-245 (.577) collegiate coaching mark, picking up 171 of his wins in 10 seasons at South Carolina while recording 117 wins in five seasons at Kansas State.
Head coach Frank Martin picked up his 300th collegiate coaching win on Jan. 25, 2023 with a 85-76 win over Richmond.
6. Toledo Rockets
The Toledo men's basketball team will open its 2025-26 season and compete in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge for a third straight year when it hosts defending SBC co-champion South Alabama (21-11, 13-5 Sun Belt in 2024-25) on Monday, Nov. 3. The Rockets' meeting with the Jaguars will mark the start of UT's 111th season of basketball. The contest will tip off at 7:00 p.m. with streaming on ESPN+.
Junior guard Sonny Wilson is the Rockets' lone returning starter from last year's squad that posted an 18-15 overall record and a 10-8 league ledger. UT tied for fourth place in the Mid-American Conference last year, marking the first time in five seasons it didn't win the league title. Wilson ranked second on the team last year with 15.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 3.2 apg en route to earning Third-Team All-MAC honors. Sophomore guard Tyler Ode and sophomore forward Jaylan Ouwinga also are back this season.
The Rockets have added transfers Sean Craig (Sr., F, 6-7, 220, IUPU-Indy), Austin Parks (Jr., C, 6-10, 250, Ohio State), Chris Riddle (So., G, 6-5, 213, DePaul), Mynor Strong (So., G, 6-3, 175, Dodge City C.C.) and Kyler Vanderjagt (Sr., G, 6-4, 205, Central Michigan) in the offseason.
Toledo was picked to finish sixth in the MAC in this year's preseason poll by the league's head coaches, with Akron predicted to win the league title. Wilson was also honored by being named to the Preseason All-MAC Second Team squad.
The Rockets have split their two contests in the MAC-SBC Challenge each of the last two years, defeating Louisiana and James Madison at home and suffering defeats at App State and Troy.
7. Bowling Green Falcons
The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team will kickoff the 2025-26 season Monday night (Nov. 3) inside the Stroh Center, hosting Texas State for a 7 p.m. tip. The game will mark the first of three-straight home games for the Falcons to open the season, also hosting Bethany College on Nov. 6 and Le Moyne on Nov. 9. The game against Texas State will be part of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, now entering its third season. BGSU is 2-0 at home during the challenge and 2-2 overall. The game between the Falcons and Bobcats will be available to stream on ESPN+ with a radio feed from Todd Walker on WFRO Eagle 99.
The Falcons will open the season against Texas State as part of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. Since the challenge began in 2023-24, BGSU has a record of 2-2 in such games, including a 2-0 record when hosting Sun Belt opponents during the challenge. Bowling Green enters the third season under head coach Todd Simon. During his time with the Orange and Brown, BGSU has posted a record of 34-32. The Falcons will open the season with three-straight home games, the most since 1998-99 while also returning six players that saw the court for BGSU during the 2024-25 season.
The Falcons and Bobcats will be meeting for the first time in program history, marking the 327th unique opponent for the Falcons. While Texas State is the first new team to join the list this year, BGSU added six teams to the list last season, including MAC-Sun Belt Challenge opponents Southern Miss and Coastal Carolina. This will mark the fifth game in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge for BGSU. Overall, the Falcons are 2-2 in the challenge with wins over Arkansas State in 2023-24 and Coastal Carolina last year.
This year, the Falcons will roster a total of 17 players with 10 of those 17 being new to the program this season. While this will be the third-straight season with 10 newcomers for BGSU, the increase in roster size from last year's 15 improves the percentage of returners for BGSU. For the 10 newcomers, five come from D-I or D-II, two from JUCO and three will be listed as true freshmen.
8. Ball State Cardinals
The Ball State men's basketball team is hosting Louisiana for the season opener at 7 p.m., on Monday at Worthen Arena.
Links to the ESPN+ stream, radio broadcast, live stats and tickets can be found below and on the schedule page. The game will be part of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge.
Ball State added seven transfers and three true freshmen to the team in the offseason. The seven transfers hail from seven different conferences: Elmore James IV from Ohio (MAC), Davion Hill from Northwest Florida State College (NJCAA Panhandle Conference), Juwan Maxey from Youngstown State (Horizon League), Kayden Fish from Iowa State (Big 12), Armoni Zeigler from Saint Peter's (MAAC), Cam Denson from Long Beach State (Big West), and Devon Barnes from UTEP (CUSA).
The 2025-26 Ball State men's basketball roster features student-athletes from 10 different states: Indiana, Arizona, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Missouri, New York, California, Georgia, and North Carolina.
Ball State has won each of its home games in the first two seasons of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge and will have a chance for a third when the Cardinals open the season hosting Louisiana on Nov. 3 against Louisiana.
9. Eastern Michigan Eagles
The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team is set to face Georgia State University for a 6:30 p.m. game Monday, Nov. 3, as part of the Mid-American Conference-Sun Belt Challenge inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center.
Eastern never trailed in its 73-65 exhibition win over Tuskegee, outscoring the Golden Tigers 26-7 in the first 10:26.
The game, which was part of the Horatio Williams Foundation's "Hoops and Culture" event, saw Mo Habhab and Addison Patterson each net 14 points while the Eagles were 27-of-31 (87.1%) from the free line, a mark that would be its best (min. 30 attempts) since 2016.
Eastern finished 9-9 in MAC play and 16-16 overall in the 2024-25 season and secured its bid to the MAC Tournament for the first time since 2020, playing in postseason competition in Cleveland for the first time since 2018.
EMU will need to replace key contributors from last year's squad. The Eagles are returning 7.8% of minutes played (502) and 2.9% of points scored (69). Jalen Terry ranked second in the MAC at 16.6 points per game while Da'Sean Nelson was sixth with 16.0 points per game. Both players were named Second Team All-MAC. Christian Henry scored 14.7 points per game and Jalin Billingsley added 10.5 points per game.
Eastern has a quartet of high-profile road games in the 2025-26 season (Nov. 10 at Pittsburgh, Nov. 24 at #11 Louisville, Nov. 26 at Cincinnati, and Dec. 2 at Butler).
The Eagles were picked ninth in the MAC Preseason Poll after placing tied for sixth last season.
EMU has nine players from the state of Michigan, its most since the 2022-23 season (11).
Eastern Michigan's Stan Heath is in his fifth year at the helm of the Eagles, holding a 47-78 record at EMU and a 256-285 record over 18 years as a collegiate head coach.
Eastern returns four players from its 2024-25 roster. The Eagles are returning 7.8% of minutes played (502) and 2.9% of points scored (69).
10. Western Michigan Broncos
Western Michigan opens up its 2025-26 season on Monday night as it welcomes Coastal Carolina to University Arena. Monday's game is the first of this year's MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, with the second wave of games to come in February.
Western Michigan is 5-5 the last 10 years in season openers, but has won 13 of its last 14 home openers. The Broncos led the MAC in offensive rebounding for the third straight season last year, averaging 13.2 per contest.
Western Michigan returns just 14.0% of its scoring from the 2024-25 campaign. WMU's returning leader in both scoring and rebounding is Max Burton, who averaged 5.8 points and 5.2 boards last year.
Monday's contest marks just the second all-time meeting between Western Michigan and Coastal Carolina. The only prior meeting was last year's season opener down in Conway, S.C., which the Chanticleers won, 60-56.
Monday's season opener also marks the first game of this season's MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, the third year of the scheduling alliance between the two leagues. Last season, the two conferences split the 24 matchups evenly, 12-12. The Broncos are 0-4 all-time in the challenge, including last year's road loss to Coastal Carolina in the season opener and a home setback against Georgia Southern in February. The second game of this year's challenge is slated for Feb. 7, with WMU set to go on the road to face a Sun Belt team which will be announced in January.
WMU enters the 2025-26 campaign with a total of 10 new players, among the highest number of newcomers in the nation. Between graduations and transfers out, Western Michigan brings back just 14.0 percent of its scoring from last year's squad. After once again being one of the top rebounding teams in the MAC, including having three individuals among the league's top-20 rebounders, only Max Burton (5.2 RPG, 18th) returns from that group. In total, WMU returns 21.3 percent of its rebounding.
The Broncos and Chanticleers are meeting on Opening Night for the second consecutive season. Coastal Carolina won last year's contest down in Conway, S.C., 60-56, after holding off a second-half rally by Western Michigan. Rasheed Jones, one of CCU's top returners, led the home team in scoring with 15 points. Markhi Strickland and Donovan Williams netted 13 points apiece for a WMU squad which struggled from the floor, making just 34.6 percent, including 20.0 percent (3-for-15) from three-point range.
11. Buffalo Bulls
The University at Buffalo men's basketball program (0-0, 0-0 MAC) is set to open the 2025-26 season in Alumni Arena on Monday evening as they host the Southern Miss. Golden Eagles (0-0, 0-0 SBC). The game will be part of the third annual MAC-Sun Belt Challenge as teams from across both leagues will play.
The Bulls and Golden Eagles have only met once in their history. In their lone meeting, they met at the Utah State Classic in Logan, Utah on Dec. 28, 1995. The Golden Eagles came away with a 77-71 win.
Buffalo enters its third season under Head Coach George Halcovage III. The Bulls look to build on last year's improved win total as they won five more games than in his first season.
The Bulls return their top scorer and rebounder from last season in junior Ryan Sabol (14.4 ppg) and Noah Batchelor (6.1 rpg). Sabol led the Bulls in scoring in 14 games in 2024-25 including scoring in double figures 25 times. Batchelor led UB in rebounds 16 times with four performances with 10+ rebounds. He finished the season with a pair of double-doubles. The Bulls also bring back starter Tim Oboh and Omar Migues-Hibeljic.
Unlike last year when the Bulls had eight freshmen on the roster, they brought in six transfers to Buffalo. Ezra McKenna (Mobile), Derrick Talton Jr. (Oklahoma Wesleyan) and Angelo Brizzi (Longwood) are all grad transfers. Kyle Jones (St. Thomas Aquinas) is a red-shirt junior as Mikhail Pocknett (King) and Daniel Freitag are a junior and sophomore, respectfully. In total, they've scored a combined 4,908 points in their college careers.
The Bulls and the Miami RedHawks are the only MAC programs to return their leading scorers and rebounders from last season.
In the Blue Ribbon MAC Preseason Forecast, sophomore transfer Daniel Freitag was named MAC Newcomer of the Year.
With the transfers that Halcovage and his staff brought in, they have combined for a 352-158 overall record and a .690 win percentage.
12. Central Michigan Chippewas
A new era in Central Michigan men’s basketball begins on Monday when the Chippewas (14-17, 7-11 MAC in 2024-25) open their 2025-26 season by hosting Appalachian State (17-14, 10-8 SBC in 2024-25) for a MAC/SBC Challenge game and season opener at 7 p.m. at McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant, Mich.
New head coach Andy Bronkema will make his debut and coach in his first regular season game at Central Michigan. Bronkema, along with his entire staff and 15-player roster, will all make their Central Michigan debuts on Monday night. The entire coaching staff and roster is new from Central Michigan’s 2024-25 team.
Central Michigan and Appalachian State meet for the second time in men’s college basketball with the Chippewas holding a 1-0 advantage. The two teams last met on Dec. 21, 1989 in the Youngstown State Classic, where CMU registered a 77-69 win.
Central Michigan will compete in its third MAC/SBC Challenge. The event began in 2023-24. CMU is 3-1 all-time in MAC/SBC Challenge games and has won three straight games in the annual scheduling series.
Central Michigan has an entirely different 15-player roster in 2025-26.
Central Michigan’s 2025-26 roster is made up of 12 transfers and three freshmen. The 12 transfers include Phat Phat Brooks (Michigan), Rodney Johnson, Jr. (Tennessee Tech), Logan McIntire (Kentucky Wesleyan), Keenan Garner (IU-Indianapolis), Nick Mullen (IU-South Bend), Will Ashford (Purdue Northwest), Kayden Nation (Indian Hills C.C.), Tamario Adley (Wayne State), Kareem Aburashed (Wayne State), Nathan Claerbaut (Ferris State), Jaxson Whitaker (Ferris State), and Jorden Brooks (Ferris State). CMU’s three true freshmen are Jalen Kampen, Uchenna Amene, and Nskian Usen.
With no players returning to the program, the entire 15-player roster was assembled by Central Michigan’s coaching staff from April through June, 2025.
New head coach Andy Bronkema was named the program’s 22nd head men’s basketball coach on April 14, 2025. The university hosted a Welcome Event for Bronkema on the following day, April 15.
13. Northern Illinois Huskies
The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team tips off the 2025-26 regular season on Monday night, Nov. 3, as the Huskies host ULM in the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge. Game time against the Warhawks is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be available on ESPN+ as well as WDKB 94-9 FM.
Last Tuesday (Oct. 28), the Huskies scored an 82-68 exhibition victory over Quincy. JJ Taylor (Chicago, Ill./San Ysidro) led four Huskies in double figures with 14 points. Makhai Valentine (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) added 12 points, on four three-point field goals, while Gianni Cobb (Chicago, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) and Daemar Kelly (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) each chipped in 11 points. Cobb also had nine assists and zero turnovers.
NIU shot 54.7 percent (29-of-53) from the field against Quincy, including 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from three-point range.
Monday's matchup is the first half of this season's MAC/Sun Belt Challenge, with all 12 MAC men's basketball teams hosting Sun Belt foes. The MAC men's teams will go on the road for the second leg of the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge on Saturday, Feb. 7, with matchup to be determined in January. NIU is 1-3 all-time in the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge.
ULM comes to DeKalb after recording a 7-25 mark a season ago, including 3-15 in Sun Belt Conference play. ULM did not participate in the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge last season. Phil Cunningham begins his first season as head coach at ULM. The Warhawks were picked to finish 14th in the Sun Belt preseason coaches poll.
Monday's contest will be the first all-time meeting between NIU and ULM.
