The final portion of the 2026-27 Mid-Major Madness preview series for SoCon basketball takes a look at three unique situations, with newcomer Tennessee Tech introducing an new unknown into the equation, and with a loaded roster, the Golden Eagles will without question compete right away, but can they handle the rigors of a road environment on a random Wednesday night in the SoCon at Cameron Hall or Timmons Arena
What about the home atmosphere? Can the Hooper-Eblen Center keep on par with a majority of the league’s other home venues and become an intimidating fortress?
Then, there is The Citadel, which brings perhaps more momentum into a season than it has in over a decade since the last time Ed Conroy was the head coach. The Bulldogs have put together their most talented portal class to date under Conroy, and if preseason results are any indicator of projected success, than being a “long shot” in this tough league might be much too low of expectation for The Citadel in 2026-27. Still, as talented as the Bulldogs are, they have to go out and prove that they are the real deal and not the Bulldogs we’ve known so many times before.
Finally, UNCG brings a new coach on-board, in Jerod Haase, and the big question is can this program recover its status as being a perennial title contender, and if so, how long will it take Haase to build that strong foundation and rebuild that winning culture that the Spartans were able to build and sustain under Wes Miller and Mike Jones for the past 11 seasons, winning 233 games, which is the second most wins only to Furman’s 245 victories in that same span.
Tennessee Tech (13-19, 8-12 OVC/ninth)
Change is something that has been needed for a long time in Cookeville for the men’s basketball program at Tennessee Tech.
The dominoes started to fall in favor of change even before the 2025-26 season when it was announced in July 2025 that the Golden Eagles would be joining the SoCon as its newest league member. Then came the 2025-26 season for the Golden Eagles, which would turn out to be a very disappointing one in their final season in the OVC.
It was out with a whimper, as the Golden Eagles failed to qualify for even the OVC Tournament, as Tech finished one place out of being eligible for the conference tournament. That led to the dismissal of former head coach John Pelphrey and the naming of Tobin Anderson as the head coach in the spring. TTU also renovated its locker rooms at the Hooper-Eblen Center.
For a program that hasn’t made an NCAA Tournament appearance since 1963 and entering a conference that is traditionally much stronger on the hardwood than the one it called home, Tennessee Tech showed it has become the place to be for recruits and that has a lot to do with a forward-thinking administration.
Only two regulars returned to the fold from the previous edition of Golden Eagles basketball: forward Mekhi Turner (4.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG) and guard Ty Owens (6.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG). Those two players will be pillars for the new head coach to lean on this season.
Both Turner and Owens figure to play much bigger roles this season for the Golden Eagles. For Anderson, Tennessee Tech represents a second chance after he was unceremoniously let go after two years at Iona following a season in which he led the Gaels all the way to the championship game of the MAAC.
Anderson spent a season as a top assistant at South Florida under Bryan Hodgson, helping South Florida to an American Conference title. He was announced as Tech’s new head coach just before USF’s conference tournament title run.
Anderson detailed how much the year as an assistant under Hodgson helped him learn a new system, which was influenced by Nate Oats’ system at Alabama due to Hodgson’s time coaching with Oats in Tuscaloosa.
The Golden Eagles have athleticism and talent acquired from the portal, and under Anderson, the Golden Eagles will be a little bit like the newest version of Bucky Ball in the SoCon, which if you don’t know the reference, it was a style of play that was utilized by Samford of full-court pressure to influence tempo and create chaos over a five-year span from 2020-25 when Bucky McMillan was the head coach there in Homewood.
Tennessee Tech will be one of the more athletic teams in the SoCon in the coming season, and if there’s a name you need to know, it’s Davante Hackett, who comes to Cookeville having already established himself as a big-time scoring threat. The Stonehill transfer started 11 of 33 games for the Hawks last season, averaging 13.6 PPG, 1.5 APG and 4.1 RPG.
The 6-foot-3 senior point guard will have one year of eligibility remaining after putting together a solid 2025-26 season, which saw him score in double figures in 21 of 33 games for the Hawks last season, including scoring a combined 132 points in the final five games of the season, averaging 26.4 PPG in those final five games of the season. That included setting the program’s new NCAA Division-I milestone by posting 40 points against Saint Francis on Feb. 26. In the 103-77 win over the Red Flash, Hackett connected on 14-of-24 shots from the field, including going 8-for-14 from 3-point range.
Staying in the backcourt, Cbo Newton will also have a chance to have an immediate impact for the Golden Eagles in year one, as he transferred into the program from a reputable Division-I program, Abilene Christian. The 6-foot-3 redshirt junior point guard could be in the mix for major playing time this coming season.
He started in 24 games in his lone season with the Wildcats last season, and he ended up averaging 10.1 PPG, 2.2 RPG and 1.2 APG. Newton is a physical point guard who can score at all three levels and figures to a key contender for a starting spot at point guard.
The next player to be aware of is another point guard, with the diminutive 5-foot-9 Cohenj Gonzales transferring in from Colorado Mesa. Prior to that, he spent his first two seasons at Pima Community College.
During his two seasons spent at Pima CC, he was an all-conference selection as both a freshman and sophomore. In his sophomore season, he averaged 18.4 PPG and started all 32 games, while shooting a strong 38.5% from 3-point range.
He was both freshman of the year and conference player of the year during his two seasons at Pima, helping his program to a third-place finish in the 2023-24 NJCAA Division II Championship. In addition to those accolades, he was also a NJCAA All-American selection in both seasons.
In his one season at Colorado Mesa, Gonzales finished the season averaging 10.6 PPG and found his way into double figures in 18 of 31 games last season for the Mavericks. Gonzales was one of the team’s top perimeter threats last season, connecting on an impressive 42% (55-of-131) from 3-point range. He saw action in 31 games, garnering 22 starts.
Gonzales was also an outstanding free throw shooter, as he completed the season by connecting at an 88.9% (48-of-54) clip from the charity stripe. He also added 2.2 RPG last season, while dishing out a total of 83 assists. He’ll also be another valuable piece in the rotation at the point guard position.
Combo guard Trent Mosquera comes aboard from Le Moyne and will add a “glue guy” vibe, as he is a gritty, tough defender, as well as being accomplished on the backboards where he averaged almost six boards per game (5.8 RPG) last season.
Mosquera’s ability to step out and be a 3-point threat for the Golden Eagles will be key this season. His scoring ability, consistency and leadership were all reasons the new head coach brought him into this collection of talent.
In his final of three seasons at Le Moyne last season, Mosquera started 30 of 32 games, helping the Dolphins to a 15-17 mark in what was its third season in Division I. He ranked second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.5 PPG, and he finished the season as one of the best perimeter shooters in the NEC, knocking down an impressive 40.4% from 3-point range (77-of-219) last season.
Caleb Hollenbeck is a 6-foot-4 guard who comes about with one year of eligibility remaining after having spent one season with the Marshall Thundering Herd in the Sun Belt Conference. Before that, he played two seasons at Gillette College. In his one season spent in Huntington, W.Va., playing for the Thundering Herd, he started 27 of 32 games, averaging 5.7 PPG, 1.6 RPG and one APG last season.
Hollenbeck enjoyed his best game of the season against West Virginia Tech last season, as he posted a 25-point outing. Hollenbeck will figure into the mix as a 3-point specialist for the Golden Eagles in the upcoming season, as he comes off a solid first season of Division-I basketball, connecting on 39.7% (54-of-136) from 3-point range. Hollenbeck finished his one season in Huntington with just seven 2-point field goals.
A big man that joins Anderson in making the transition from South Florida is 6-foot-10 power forward De’Ante Green. The Asheville, N.C., native arrives in Cookeville having had an injury-plagued career, which is the primary reason Green did not see any action during the 2025-26. As a junior in 2024-25, Green logged action in 21 contests, including four starts before suffering that season-ending injury. He’s looking to make the most in his final season of ball, and like Anderson, he’ll be looking to make the most of this “second-chance” opportunity.
As for comparisons for Green go, although a little older, he reminds me a little of former Mercer big man Armani Mighty from last season. He has similar size and athleticism to that of the former Mercer all-conference big man from last season.
Another player from South Florida is 6-foot-6 forward Caleb Sanders. He logged action in 11 games and made a pair of starts in his rookie season with the Bulls. Sanders scored in six out of the 11 games he logged action in, highlighted by his 12-point outing on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point land in a win over Coppin State. He posted eight points, five rebounds and four assists in his USF debut in a win over Florida A&M. Sanders is a good shooter on the wing and could also prove to be an effect asset on the defensive end with his length and athleticism.
Shaun Arnold (Thomas Aquinas/Univ. of Indianapolis), Dane Christensen (Gillette College/Texas Rio Grande Valley) and Kyler Fox (Itawamba CC) round out the front court portal additions.
Fox comes to Tennessee Tech following one season at the JUCO level at Itawamba CC and averaged 7.7 PPG and 7.7 RPG in 31 games, including 28 starts during his rookie campaign. Fox knows how to finish around the basket, as evidenced by his eye-popping 71.4% field goal clip he turned in during his freshman campaign, connecting on 101-of-141 shots for the season. The 6-foot-8 power forward is an above the rim type player and is a quick leaper. He could also prove effective on the defensive end as a rim protector. Fox will have three years of eligibility remaining entering the 2026-27 campaign.
Arnold, who is a 6-foot-5 small forward from Division-II University of Indianapolis, will have one year of eligibility remaining. He figures to be a player in line to see rotational minutes as well for the Golden Eagles, as he averaged an impressive 11.3 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 2.9 APG, and 2.9 SPG at Indy. He showed the well-roundedness of his game on both ends of the floor with those statistical outputs in 2025-26.
He logged starts in 21 of the 22 games he saw action in last season, posting 16 double-figure scoring games, including four games with 20 or more points. Like Hackett at Stonehill in 2025-26, Arnold was particularly impressive down the stretch for UIndy last season, scoring 12, 22 and 21 points, respectively, in his final three games of the season. The rising senior spent his first two seasons as a college basketball player at Thomas Aquinas, ranking second on the team in scoring and third in rebounding in helping his previous school to the East Regional Championship.
Christensen was a teammate of Hollenbeck’s during his time at Gillette, as the two now re-unite a second time in their careers in Cookeville. Christensen followed a similar tract to that of Hollenbeck, spending the 2025-26 season at the NCAA Division-I level, as he suited up for the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, averaging 3.7 PPG and 2.5 RPG, as he saw action in 24 games, which included making three starts as a sophomore last season.
The Orem, Utah, native enjoyed his best outing of the season against Southwestern Adventist, scoring 17 points in a UTRGV win. In his freshman campaign at Gillette in 2024-25, Christiansen averaged 16.9 PPG and 7.3 RPG, connecting on 49.6% from the field and 40.7% from 3-point land.
The freshman newcomer you should be aware of coming into the season is 6-foot-2 guard Kamai Samuels, who was Anderson’s first signed recruit upon arrival in Cookeville. Samuels is one of the most impressive freshman signees in the SoCon coming into the 2026-27 season, choosing Tennessee Tech among offers from Mississippi State, Penn State, Arizona State and California as a sophomore in high school. He also held offers from Sacred Heart, Fordham, UTEP and Iona before ultimately deciding upon Tech.
The other two additions to the team who have the potential to be real impact players as freshmen in 2026-27 are 5-foot-9 point guard Jake Pampolina out of Suffern, N.Y., by way of Suffern High School, as well as 6-foot-2 guard Harrison Stewart out of Spain Park High School in Birmingham, Ala.
Final Verdict for the Golden Eagles: Having Tobin Anderson in the SoCon is the blessing the league didn’t know it needed, and his addition as the new head coach at Tennessee Tech last spring furthers the narrative of the SoCon as being its own cradle of coaches of sorts, as yet another coach with great energy, personality and a unique style and ability is introduced into a league already chocked full of coaching talent. Anderson has already provided the Golden Eagles with what they will need to more than hold their own in the always tough SoCon.
Listen to the SoCon men’s preview podcast episode
Listen to the SoCon women’s preview podcast episode
The Citadel (11-22,7-11 SoCon/ninth)
It’s how you finish, and now how you start. That statement is true of any endeavor that anyone sets out to challenge themselves against in life. Any journey that features a competitive goal at the end of said challenge has an ultimate end that measures your job at achieving whatever goal or standard is to be met.
During the 2025-26 basketball season, that journey must have seemed like a lost cause at points along the way for The Citadel head coach Ed Conroy and his Bulldogs basketball team, but if it did, he never wore a look of concern or self-doubt. That belief and positivity, despite the rough first couple of months, eventually paid off over the better part of the last month of the 2025-26 season and extended even into Asheville and the Southern Conference Tournament.
Just how far did The Citadel’s basketball program come over the course of the season? It went from losing a Southern Conference home opener by 26 points to eventual regular-season champion East Tennessee State to putting up a valiant effort in the Southern Conference quarterfinals before losing to that same Bucs team, only this time by just seven (83-76) in a gutsy performance.
There was a lot going on between Dec. 30 and March 7, and what was happening was a team that bonded and improved right before our eyes, and the man at the center of all of it was Conroy. He had to have the belief and buy in before any of the players did, seeing the finishing product from a disassembled mess of random parts at the beginning.
With the end of the season, it also meant the end of some careers in Charleston with Sola Adebisi, Christian Moore and Braxton Williams having all moved on. Also having moved on are other veterans like Dante Kearse and point guard Eze Wali, and like most, the Bulldogs are now forced to try to recapture that momentum and synergy that it had over the final month of the season.
While many moved on for The Citadel basketball moving into the 2026-27 season, there are still some old heads around for Conroy’s Bulldogs moving into the 2026-27 season. So, not all is lost from last season.
One of the key returnees to the fold this fall will be Keynan Davis, who will be one of the veterans called upon to lead a very different group of players heading into the 2026-27 season. Davis ended up being a key part of the puzzle for the Bulldogs last season, especially when it came to getting results in Asheville.
The 6-foot-5 wing can play multiple positions, and when he gets on a role shooting the basketball, watch out. It was very much what we witnessed him do in the Bulldogs’ opening round win over Chattanooga last March.
Davis ended the season by logging minutes in all 32 games for The Citadel, which included making eight starts. He ended the season by connecting on 36.4% of his shots from the field, while connecting on 26.5% from 3-point range. He will be one of the unquestioned leaders for the Bulldogs, but one of the things he has lacked so far in his career with the Bulldogs is consistency.
Davis captured lightning in a bottle with his couple of performances in Asheville last March, posting games of 20 points and 11 points in the SoCon Tournament against both Chattanooga and East Tennessee State, respectively. He went 8-for-13 from 3-point range over those two games in Asheville in the SoCon Tournament.
Prior to the tournament, Williams had only three double-figure scoring games the entire season, posting 11 points in the season opener against Erskine, while adding 17 against West Georgia and 13 in a win over North Greenville.
Another key cog returning for the Bulldogs in the 2026-27 season will be Marcos Gonzales, who mostly played in a backup role at the point guard spot for the Bulldogs last season. He appeared in 29 games off the bench for the Bulldogs, finishing the campaign averaging 4.4 PPG and 1.6 RPG. He shot 43.6% from the field and 61.9% from the charity stripe last season.
Gonzales posted a season-high 20 points off the bench in a win over North Greenville, while also making a key impact off the bench for the Bulldogs off the bench in a win over VMI as he contributed 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in what was an 82-68 win. He was also especially solid in the win vs. Furman, contributing nine points off the bench in a gutsy 77-75 win over the Paladins just four days after his big performance in the win over VMI.
Gonzales wouldn’t end up being much of a threat shooting the ball from the perimeter, as he went just 6-for-21 (28.6%) from long range during his freshman campaign for the Bulldogs. He finished the season with 44 assists and 18 steals, showing he has the potential to be a complete player for the Bulldogs, as his minutes increase, which should begin this season.
It will be interesting to see what Conroy does with Furman transfer Eddrin Bronson, who played both off the ball and some point guard for the Paladins over two seasons. During his time with the Paladins, Bronson saw action in 69 games, including 10 starts over three seasons. He shot 35% from the field, which included a 31% clip from 3-point range.
As a junior during the 2025-26 season, he started seven times and made 34 appearances for the Southern Conference champion Paladins, averaging 5.4 PPG. Bronson enjoyed his best performance of the season in Furman’s regular-season finale loss at Western Carolina, as he posted 16 points, which matched his career-high.
During his sophomore season, Bronson posted outstanding performances against Mercer, Kansas and North Texas. He posted a his then career-high 16 points off the bench in what was an impressive 79-74 road win at Mercer.
Bronson also proved to be one of Furman’s best on-ball defensive performers over the past couple of seasons and will look to continue thar in the coming campaign. He added 15 steals and 12 blocks in the 2025-26 season and 32 steals and 15 blocks over the course of his playing career in Greenville.
Joining forces with Bronson from a fellow Palmetto State rival of the The Citadel’s is Chase Cormier, who spent a couple of seasons at Wofford (2023-25) before playing at Iona last season.
Cormier spent his freshman season at Northeastern before making his way to Spartanburg. The well-traveled guard most recently saw action in 32 games last season with the Gaels, averaging 2.0 PPG and 0.7 RPG, posting 11 assists and 11 steals on the season.
He is another player who, like Bronson, will enhance the Bulldogs defensively on the perimeter, with that being a strength of his game at all three places he has been. Also like Bronson, Cormier was a bit inconsistent as a scorer, but in a more trusted role to be an offensive threat rather than a role player, Cormier might thrive in such a structure. The same can also be said of Bronson. Both Cormier and Bronson will have much confidence placed on them by the Bulldogs coaching staff to produce consistently on the offensive end of the floor.
Cormier’s best season offensively came during the 2023-24 campaign at Wofford as he scored 212 points and averaged 7.1 PPG. He ranked third on the team in made 3-pointers, connecting on 52 triples for the season.
Additionally, the 6-foot-2 Cormier added 54 rebounds, 31 assists and 16 steals to finish off a solid sophomore season. However, with his minutes going to be affected due to some offseason additions, Cormier requested a redshirt just prior to the 2024-25 season in order to transfer.
The Terriers ended up winning the SoCon as the No. 6 seed, and while Cormier was still on the roster, he never played a minute the entire season for Wofford. Cormier will be hoping to regain that 2023-24 production and then some in his final season with the Bulldogs.
Combo guard Colin McKenzie also joined The Citadel from another Palmetto State program, as he comes just an hour down the road from Orangeburg and South Carolina State to play for a different type of Bulldog.
McKenzie logged action in only six games with one start for South Carolina State last season, averaging 2.7 PPG and 1.8 RPG. His only performance of note came against North Carolina A&T as he posted nine points on a 4-of-7 shooting performance against the Aggies.
McKenzie, like Bronson, has a chance to make an immediate impact this coming season and will be given the “green light” so to speak when it comes to shooting the 3-ball, which is his specialty. The 6-foot-6 McKenzie is a native of Charleston and will be looking to finish out his career on a high note playing for the Bulldogs.
Another player who has a chance to be a solid addition off the ball is 6-foot-2 guard Marcus Banks, who comes to the Bulldogs’ program out of Division-II Shepherd University, where he spent the first three seasons of his collegiate career.
During his time with the Rams, Banks saw time in 90 games, including having made 65 starts over the course of three seasons. He garnered All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference honors and averaged 13.8 PPG and 5.5 RPG. In his three seasons at Shepherd, Banks posted 1,241 points, 342 assists, 122 steals, and 16 blocks. Banks will have a chance to compete for a starting job at off-guard.
Jameson Heck, who saw action in only four games last season, rounds out the backcourt options for the Bulldogs.
The frontcourt has also seen a major overhaul with the departures of Adebisi and Simeon German underneath. One of the more intriguing additions is fifth-year, 6-foot-11 center Joe Hurlburt, who spent his first three seasons at Colorado and Davidson. Hurlburt was at Davidson in each of the previous two seasons, seeing action in 36 games, which included making one start. He averaged 1.3 points and two rebounds. He saw action in 28 games with the Wildcats in his first season in 2024-25 but saw only eight games last season after he started his career at Colorado.
Hurlburt will give the Bulldogs some size and is decently skilled underneath, and he could potentially the same type size and player underneath that Quentin Millora-Brown gave the Bulldogs a couple of years back after he transferred in from Vanderbilt.
Ramel Bethea is a 6-foot-9 forward who could be another player to figure into the plans this season in the paint for Conroy’s Bulldogs. Bethea comes to Charleston from Green Bay and will have two years of eligibility remaining. He saw action in 30 games for the Phoenix last season, making five starts. He is athletic and will be the most comparable player on the roster to Adebisi.
Bethea shot a blistering 74.6% in limited action with the Phoenix, recording 15 points and eight rebounds in a win over Haskell last season. Bethea’s athleticism will allow him to be a rim protector, having swatted away 38 shots and posting 10 steals in that limited action. He finished off the 2025-26 season by averaging 3.6 PPG and 2.6 RPG.
He stared his career at MiraCosta College where he averaged an impressive 12.7 PPG and 9.7 RPG in his freshman season back in 2024-25. He enjoyed his best career performance against Palomar, as he connected on 11-of-11 from the field, finishing up with 27 points. In my estimation, Bethea looks like a player who could end up starting before it’s all said and done.
Cassius Bonjasky was on the roster last season for the Bulldogs as an option in the paint. The 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward will most likely be an option at power forward this coming season.
The native of Almere, Netherlands, logged action in 19 games in his first full season with the Bulldogs last season, shooting 57.1% from the field and 70.0% from the charity stripe in limited action. His best offensive performance of the 2025-26 season came in the road loss to West Georgia as he posted eight point in the road loss to the Wolves.
Bonjasky started his career at Garrett College before playing a season at New Mexico Military Institute. He made his way to The Citadel in the spring of 2024, sitting out his first season before logging his first action as a Bulldog last season. Bonjasky isn’t a big-time scoring option and will likely be used more for his ability defensively as well as his rebounding ability.
Another player to watch who comes to Charleston via the transfer portal is 6-foot-7 Tyler Mrus, who comes to the Bulldogs program from BYU. The Citadel will mark Mrus’ fourth school in five years. The native of Bothwell, Wash,, started his career at Alaska-Fairbanks before spending the next couple of seasons at Idaho.
During his time with the Vandals, Mrus played in 33 games over two seasons, which included making 31 starts. He ended up averaging just below double figures, finishing out the 2024-25 season posting 9.7 PPG in 29.4 MPG.
While shooting only 38.2% from the field, Mrus ended up being a strong threat from 3-point range, as he finished the season shooting a solid 38% from deep. He finished the season connecting on 73-of-192 3-pointers for the Vandals. He also finished the 2024-25 season as a 76.6% shooter from the charity stripe.
In his one season at BYU, he logged action in 27 games and averaged 9.6 MPG, posting a season-high 15 points in a win over Pacific. He finished that evening perfect from the field by going 4-of-4 from the field and 3-of-3 from 3-point range.
Logan Menefee and Aidan Alexander return in the paint and both logged limited action last season for the Bulldogs and will both look to garner more significant roles underneath for The Citadel this coming season.
The Bulldogs’ coaching staff recruited four newcomers expected to play impactful roles for Conroy’s team: two guards and two big men.
Ja’Yon Alexander is a 6-foot-2 guard who comes to Charleston and The Citadel by way of the SPIRE Academy in Rochester, N.Y., where he was noted for both his athleticism and shooting ability. Alexander will fit nicely as a wing guard and finished out his prep career by scoring 1,000 points and shooting close to 40% from 3-point range during his time at SPIRE. He is also a noted defender, earning first-team all-defense honors as a prep.
The Bulldogs also welcomed in 6-foot-6 wing Aaron Ekwere from Finland during the offseason, and coaches believe he is a player who can help out the Bulldogs’ depth on the wing right away.
Much like the 6-7 Tyler Mrus, Ekwere brings a highly-skilled game into the fold for the Bulldogs. He can also step out and is an effective outside shooter. During his time in Finland as a prep, Ekwere helped Drive Academy win three-straight national titles.
He also represented the Finnish National Team at the U18 and U20 levels, competing with the U20 Finnish National Team at the 2025 FIBA Eurobasket, averaging 16.9 PPG and 5.7 RPG. He also is an exceptional passer as a wing as evidenced by his 2.1 assists-per-game.
Following that competition, he continued his development with Pantterit Helsinki, which included dropping 50 points in the Finnish playoffs.
The coaches feel like that they have found a diamond in the rough, in Ekwere, who can play multiple positions, including small forward, but will most likely play as a wing guard with his skill and shooting ability.
Jack Seiders is a 6-foot7, 190-pound forward from Austin Westlake High School in Austin, Texas. Seiders was named the District 26-6A Offensive MVP, was selected to the 6A All-State team, and he was rated as one of the top 10 small forwards. Seiders also spent a season at the Darrow School in New York before deciding on committing to The Citadel.
During his final season at Austin Westlake, he averaged 18.8 PPG and 7.8 RPG, as he helped Westlake High School to a 10th straight district title, shooting 53% from the field over his four-year prep career.
Seiders will add some immediate frontcourt scoring ability and depth, as he will play small forward for the Bulldogs in 2026-27. His scoring ability will allow him to compete for major minutes right away.
Finally, the most intriguing addition to the fold as a freshman might be 7-footer Yaw Ansong out of the African nation of Ghana. The 7-foot, 220-pound big played his prep basketball at Union Catholic in Virginia, and he will give the Bulldogs size, skill and some rim protection in the paint. He projects as adding depth at center behind 6-foot-11 Hurlburt.
He is also part of the Ghanaian youth national team and played in his country before opting to move to the United States to continue his development.
Final Verdict for the Bulldogs: For Ed Conroy and The Citadel, it’s all about building excitement and momentum coming off last season’s strong finish, which saw the Bulldogs win their most conference games (seven) since going 15-5 during Conroy’s first tenure as the head coach in Charleston in one of their greatest seasons in their 114 seasons as a program.
The watchword this season will be “elevation” for a program that is routinely picked towards the lower third of the league and has never made an NCAA Tournament appearance.
There is a quiet confidence throughout the Lowcountry about this team and what they could do in 2026-27.
The question is what elevation will look like. Most would likely agree that would involve avoiding the play-in round of the Southern Conference Tournament. One of the notable “elevations” has already taken place, and that is off the floor, where the Bulldogs have seen an uptick in both their portal recruiting, as well as when it comes to procuring talent from the high school ranks.
Players like Furman’s Eddrin Bronson and former Wofford guard Chase Cormier are a testament to that.
A lot of that improvement is a direct result of Conroy’s hiring of assistants Brady Schuck and Andrew Glover, who helped upgrade the team’s overall talent, which was easily noticeable last season. Now, it’s about building almost a brand new team for a brand new season and what that will look like.
That is the challenge every mid-major program faces now, but it obviously looks much different at places like VMI and The Citadel, as building their roster requires a little creativity and some luck. What that looks like long-term is still hard to know, but what I do know is that in the immediate, this is a Bulldogs basketball team that won’t be finishing last in a new expanded 11-team league. The Bulldogs have enough shooting quality and scoring talent at guard to ensure that won’t happen in 2026-27.
In fact, I would be shocked if the Bulldogs don’t compete for a top 5-7 spot in the league and an opening round bye in the SoCon Tournament. While I don’t expect that considering the strength of the league, the Bulldogs will be an even better basketball team than the one that made a run last March. This is also revealing about how the overall strength of the league has improved over last season.
UNC Greensboro (15-19, 9-9 SoCon/seventh)
UNC Greensboro has won more SoCon game over the past decade than any other program in the SoCon, yet it’s one that finds itself at a major crossroads at this point in time, with a new era slated to begin in 2026-27, as Jerod Haase takes over the program after its worst season in a decade, as the Spartans finished out the 2025-26 campaign with a 15-19 overall mark and a 9-9 mark in league play, which was good enough for a seventh-place finish overall in the SoCon standings.
Despite a dismal regular season in 2025-26, the Spartans managed to make things interesting in Asheville last March as UNCG made it to the semifinals of the Southern Conference Tournament before losing to the eventual tournament champion Furman Paladins 81-75 in a valiant effort in Asheville.
A lot has changed since the final buzzer sounded at Harrah’s Cherokee Center on the night of March 8, 2026.
Mike Jones was fired after five years of service to the program, which included three 20-plus win campaigns and a trio of top-three finishes in five campaigns.
But Jones had simply failed to get the job done in Asheville, exiting the SoCon Tournament after only one game in four straight seasons. That was one several things that likely prompted Director of Athletics Brian Mackin to make the change almost immediately following the season. Mackin’s hiring of Haase isn’t an accident either, as the two were already familiar with one another. Mackin had hired Haase with he was the Director of Athletics at UAB.
The failures of the 2025-26 UNCG Spartans were on the defensive end of the floor, which was an area that the Spartans had been so watertight under Jones in previous seasons. That dogged mentality was notably missing last season, leaving the Spartans playing in the SoCon Tournament play-in round for the first time since 2015.
A lot has changed with the program, as the Spartans also made the move to play on-campus games last season, moving home games except for a specific few back to the much-cozier and much smaller Bodford Arena, which sports the smallest seating capacity with just 1,800.
Prior to last season, the Spartans had spent the past decade-plus playing its home games inside the one of the most storied arenas in college basketball and the historic home of the ACC Tournament: the massive 22,000-seat First Horizon Coliseum (aka the Greensboro Coliseum). For UNCG home games, the seating capacity was much smaller, as about 7,000 seats were draped over with black curtains, leaving only about 14,000 or so lower bowl seats available for purchase.
I certainly understand the move, as it could feel like the Spartans were playing in a funeral home at times in that big arena. However, Bodford Arena lacked some atmosphere last season, but that is mostly because the Spartans weren’t having the best of seasons is my guess.
It’s also always been hard to get students to attend games at UNCG, regardless of whether the home arena was on campus or off campus. It’s probably the right decision in regard to trying to create some kind of excitement and noise level, but Bodford Arena is a clear step down from other home venues in the league. That goes without saying.
So much was lost from a year ago that it’s tough to know exactly where to start, but it probably without question has to be with 6-6 power forward Justin Neely.
You could have made a strong argument that Neely might have been the best player in the Southern Conference last season, and he would have likely won the league’s Player of the Year award had it not been for the remarkable season turned in by Samford’s Jadin Booth.
Neely was a record-setting player for the Spartans last season, and his loss is the most significant of all. He was a one-of-a-kind player, who spent just one season in the Gate City. He looked and played a lot like former Spartan legend Kyle Hines (2004-08), yet he was two inches shorter than arguably the greatest UNCG player of the modern era.
He wasn’t necessarily a shot blocker like Hines and wasn’t quite in the same mold as an overall athlete, but he certainly made up for what he lacked in overall athleticism in comparison to Hines, he more than made up for it in overall effort.
This is the primary reason that Neely is taking his talents to Colorado for the 2026-27 season; the 6-foot-6, 220-pound power forward joined the Buffaloes to help improve one of the five worst rebounding teams in the country.
Neely finished off his only season as a player in Gate City, averaging 17.9 PPG and 11.5 RPG last season. His 17.9 PPG ended up ranking him fifth in the SoCon in scoring, and his 11.5 RPG ended up ranking second nationally in rebounding average, which was behind only Washington’s Hannes Steinbach, who averaged 11.8 RPG.
Neely also ranked fourth in the nation in total double-doubles (20), and he was also extremely efficient around the basket as Neely shot an impressive 54.2% from the field, posted 31 steals and blocked seven shots for the season to show how well-rounded he was on both ends of the floor.
For a while, Neely was the only consistent player Jones could rely on night-in and night-out last season through the early portions of non-conference play until the rest of the roster started to mature and understand what their roles were within the team.
While Neely is without question the most significant departure for the Spartans, he’s certainly not the only one worthy of mention.
Another one of those players who moved on was also one of the top freshman players in the league last season: KJ Younger, a 6-4 combo guard who averaged 15.1 PPG and 4.7 RPG last season. He finished in double figures on 26 occasions last season, which included the final nine games of the season as he was playing some of his best basketball down the stretch last season. Younger was a decent 3-point threat, finishing at 34.1% (62-of-182) from deep and posting a 44.7% field goal percentage (170-of-380). Younger has moved on to play for Texas State in the new Pac-12 this season.
Guards Lilian Marville (9.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG), Noah Norgaard (7.7 PPG, 4.9 RGP), and Donald Whitehead Jr. (10.1 PPG, 1.6 RPG), as well as Valentino Pinedo (7.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG), Clinton Efinda (4.5 PPG, 1.5 RPG) and Domas Kauzonas (2.9 PPG, 1.6 RPG) all having moved on from the frontcourt.
Like several programs in the league, it was a near complete overhaul for Haase upon taking the new job. Only guard Clyde Bailey II and forward Chane Bynum are holdovers from that squad a year ago that finished seventh in the final league standings.
Bynum is a 6-foot-9 forward who saw only very limited action in 15 games for the Spartans. He scored a total of just seven points the entire season. It’s unclear to know how much his role will increase or stay the same this season under a new staff.
Bailey II has been at UNCG the past two seasons, having seen action in a total of 20 games in two seasons, including 13 last season, as he averaged 1.8 PPG and averaged just 6.6 MPG year ago in those 20 appearances. Bailey is a 6-foot-1, 180-pound grad student who will most likely serve as a backup at point guard.
Sometimes navigating the portal can be tough, especially for a new coach entering a new situation after having the past couple of years off to consider what they might do if they picked up the whistle again and got the opportunity to become a head coach.
But it’s not even about building around a few returnees from the previous head coach’s era; for Haase, it’s almost like the first year of taking over at an entirely new basketball program.
Shooting guard RJ Greer was added from former SoCon program Davidson, while big man Vernon Collins was added from current SoCon program Western Carolina.
During his only season with the Wildcats, Greer saw action in only 17 games, averaging 3.4 PPG and 0.5 RPG, and he could end up being a role player for Haase this season. Greer is a solid outside threat, having shot 42.9% (12-of-28) from downtown last season.
Greer hails from Centerville, Ohio, where he played for Archbishop Alter High School. Centerville is the same town that produced Furman guard Tom House, who torched the Spartans for 25 points in an 89-66 win by the Paladins at Bodford Arena last season.
Collins battled injuries this past season in Cullowhee, missing all but four games for the Catamounts. He started his career at Princeton and could be an impact player for the Spartans if fully healthy. Collins will take the spot likely vacated underneath the basket by Valentino Pinedo.
In the only season in which he logged significant action for the Catamounts, Collins was a solid contributor. During the 2024-25 season, Collins saw action in all 30 games, starting 24 of those contests and starting all but two Southern Conference games over the course of the season.
Set to help supplement Collins underneath for the Spartans this season will be 6-foot-10, 240-pound Ante Beljan, who comes from Trogir, Croatia, by way of UIC. During the 2025-26 season, Beljan was featured in a total of 25 games, making five starts for UIC.
He was an efficient scorer around the basket in limited action, connecting on 62.9% from the field and serving as a reliable option in small segments off the bench for the Flames last season.
In those 25 appearances last season, Beljan averaged about seven minutes per game and averaged 3.5 PPG and 1.0 RPG and finished the season with four blocks.
He turned in a pair of strong performances against St. Francis and Illinois Tech last season as he finished with a season-high 22 points in a 98-55 home win over St. Francis and scored 16 points in 15 minutes in a win over Illinois Tech.
Prior to his time at UIC, Beljan spent three seasons with the Little Rock Trojans, as he saw action in a total of 52 games, making 41 starts and averaged just over seven PPG.
Beljan will be a big part of what UNCG does this coming season. He’s a skilled five man, and that will include scoring around the basket, as well as playing some on the perimeter because of his ability as a passer and his proficiency as an outside shooter.
During the Field of 68 media day interview, Haase laid out the important role that Beljan will play for UNCG this season in many different areas on both ends of the floor. The Spartans really haven’t had a lot of rim protection since Wes Miller last coached this team back in 2021.
While Beljan and Collins will be the major inside pieces, joining Greer as a major piece on the perimeter is diminutive 5-foot-8 freshman point guard Dionte Neal. Neal is a legitimate four-star recruit out of Reidsville, N.C., and might be the best high school athlete in the state of North Carolina, as he was also the state’s “Mr. Football.” He had to be convinced to return to his original commitment to UNCG after he initially went into the transfer portal following the dismissal of Jones at season’s end.
In addition to UNCG, Neal held offers from Appalachian State, Boston College, Wake Forest, College of Charleston, Hampton, High Point, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central and Western Carolina before deciding to return to UNCG. To give you an idea of how good Neal is, he has Alex Wilkins-type vibes, although a much different type of player.
He comes to UNCG off a senior season at Reidsville which saw him average over 35 PPG, 8.6 APG, 6.4 SPG and 4.6 RPG—just ridiculous numbers! In my opinion, Neal is the best incoming freshman recruit among a good list of freshmen signees.
He is the type of guard that this league has been known to produce throughout its history, with guys like Tyson Patterson (App State/1996-2000) and Keith “Mister” Jennings (East Tennessee St/1987-91). Neal has a chance to have that type of impact at UNCG, however, the big question these days is how long he will stay in the Gate City if he excels in his first season playing in the SoCon.
The Spartans will also have the luxury of experience alongside Neal on the perimeter, with the additions of Brock Mishak, Cameron Grant and Martin Giant. Mishak joins the UNCG program from West Texas A&M, where he started 31 games for the Buffs and was a significant contributor last season, averaging 14.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 3.4 APG and 1.5 SPG.
Mishak will benefit the Spartans on both ends and connected at a solid 47% clip from the field and an impressive 38.1% from 3-point range. His best performance of the 2025-26 season came against Texas A&M Kingsville as he posted 31 points, which included knocking down seven threes in the game. Against St. Mary’s last season, he nearly put together a triple-double performance, finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. He is versatile, in that he can play the point guard spot or off the ball.
Giant joins UNCG as a freshman out of Greensboro Day School. The 6-foot-3 combo guard has a high basketball IQ and could find himself in the mix to get some major minutes on the floor for Haase’s Spartans in his rookie season. He will also give UNCG another athletic defender on the perimeter, which is something he excelled at during his prep career.
Grant is a 6-foot-7 guard from Stanford and will have one year of eligibility remaining. The transfer logged action in 20 games last season for the Cardinal, averaging 2.2 PPG and 1.3 RPG and figures to be a real threat from the perimeter in the upcoming season. He hit five threes and scored 15 points in a 93-66 win over Louisiana. Grant was added to the roster to do one thing, and that is to be a 3-point threat.
Grant is another versatile player who is a long, athletic defender and could see some minutes off the bench in his rookie season with the program. His defensive ability will give him a chance to find his way into the rotation early.
Joining Giant as a true freshman combo guard is 6-foot-5 Charles Barnes, who hails from Chicago, where he played for Marist HS.
Rounding out the significant additions in the backcourt will be two more big guards: Colorado transfer Jon Mani and Braxton Stacker.
Mani is a 6-foot-7 junior guard, who didn’t see action for the Buffs last season, but he did at his previous school, Denver, back in the 2024-25 season. As a true freshman, he saw action in 30 of 32 games, averaging 2.9 PPG and 1.6 RPG while playing just over 14 minutes-per-game. He will give UNCG another good shooter from the perimeter.
Stacker is a 6-foot-5 guard who comes off a solid career at SEMO, which included averaging in double figures last season. He posted 11.8 PPG to finish the season as the second-leading scorer for the Redhawks. He started all 33 games and shot 41.1% from the field (125-of-304) and 31.9% (46-of-144) from 3-point range and added 3.4 RPG while dishing out 46 assists and tying for the team lead with 34 steals. He started his career at Murray State before transferring to SEMO, where he has been the past three seasons.
Rounding out the additions who have a chance work their way into Haase’s rotation this season should be junior Zavier Fitch, who joins from Wagner, and Cael LaFrentz, a 6-foot-11 true freshman from Decorah HS in Decorah, Iowa.
Fitch saw action in 18 games with 10 starts last season for the Seahawks, averaging 6.8 PPG, while also leading the team with 6.2 RPG. Fitch registered a pair of double-doubles last season, including the first of his career in an early-season 103-101 overtime win over Manhattan.
LaFrentz could add some depth behind Beljan in the paint this season. The 6-foot-11, 215-pound true freshman is the son of Kansas Jayhawks basketball royalty. His father, Raef LaFrentz, was a teammate of Haase’s in college at Kansas, as both were members of the 1996-97 Jayhawks team that finished 34-2 overall, but was knocked out of the 1997 NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16 by eventual national title winner Arizona, dropping an 85-82 heartbreaker.
Raef LaFrentz was a two-time All-American during his standout career in Lawrence and went on to enjoy an 11-year NBA career. Haase’s connection to Raef helped the Spartans get a steal as a big man, in Cael LaFrentz. The 6-foot-11 center is also an example of one of those players who has really been affected by the portal, which without such a craze among bigger programs, might not have ever fallen to a good mid-major program like UNCG.
However, the portal squeeze coupled with Haase’s connection to Raef LaFrentz, helped the Spartans land a big man with big-time potential. During his prep career at 3A Decorah, he averaged 28 PPG, 15.4 RPG and 4.9 BPG in 2025-26 and committed to UNCG in early May.
For his first three prep years, LaFrentz was primarily a back-to-the-basket player, but during his senior season, he added the perimeter aspect to his game, making him a much more versatile big man.
Final Verdict for the Spartans: UNCG has been a program that has been among the SoCon’s elite over the past 11 seasons but had a bit of a fall from grace last season, finishing with a losing record (15-19) for the first time in a decade. The Spartans have more SoCon wins (137) and second-most overall wins (233) over the past 11 seasons entering the 2026-27 campaign. With that said, for one to expect that same kind of standard with so much turnover and fallout after the Mike Jones five-year stint as the head coach would be an incredible ask.
That said, UNCG has some pieces that will make them competitive within the league, but I’d be shocked if this team isn’t playing in an opening round game for the second-straight season in Asheville in early March.