Some of you clamored for this list back before some teams had half of their respective rosters filled. But now that it’s July and we’re at a point where summer workouts are in full swing, I’m in a better place to make some way-too-early predictions about how the 2025-26 season will go.
When perusing this list, keep in mind two things. First, this is only what I’m seeing right now and not the entire HoriZone Roundtable staff. You’ll see those picks the same time you always do, which is the first day of Preview Week, which will be either Saturday for our Patrons (which, of course, you can sign up for as little as $1 at patreon.com/horizoneroundtable) or Monday for everyone. Secondly, I do reserve the right to change my mind on these picks between now and before Preview Week. In fact, I’m looking at this right now and probably thinking how I may reshuffled this list before October.
So, let’s get started!
1. Milwaukee
Is this the year that the Panthers finally get over the hump and stand on top of the hill? Possibly, with Bart Lundy, in his fourth year at the helm at UWM, having key pieces in place to make that run. Getting Faizon Fields back was huge, but the big key for the Panthers will be John Lovelace, Jr. and whether he can have the breakout year Milwaukee fans want. Toledo transfer Seth Hubbard will be an essential piece in the backcourt, and the Panthers will expect adding top juco players such as Isaiah Dorceus, Chandler Jackson and Tate Mackenzie will pay big dividends.
2. Detroit Mercy
Mark Montgomery’s team-building strategy hit a few snags last year due to injuries. But adjusting to those issues, specifically giving the freshmen more playing time than expected, could be a major asset in 2025-26. It also helps that Orlando Lovejoy, the Titans’ leading scorer, is returning. Legend Geeter and Ryan Kalambay, coupled with juco transfer London Maiden, should provide UDM with a solid frontcourt. And Jared Lary, hurt for a good part of last season, returns, along with TJ Nadeau and Nate Johnson, for an extra spark in the backcourt. Just like last season, expect Coach Monty to mix in the incoming freshmen class as well, which includes point guard Lance Stone, who is assistant coach Lamonta’s son, and Tyler Spratt, who redshirted last year at Cleveland State.
3. Youngstown State
Ethan Faulkner’s “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” approach to the Penguin’s roster-building resulted in a team that made it to the finals of the Horizon League tournament. So, it stands to reason that next year’s roster will also be in the hunt for the crown. And YSU will rely on three returnees, Jason Nelson, Cris Carroll and Immanuel Zorgvol, who redshirted last season, as the foundation for next year’s campaign to stand upon. And as with previous seasons, Youngstown State brings in a mix of D1 transfers (Bryson Dawkins, Rich Rolf, Vlad Salaridze, Andrew King), non-D1 transfers (Cam Polak, Tyler Robinett, Derrick Anderson), and a juco transfer, Rontavious Blackshear. Shaheed Solebo, who sat out last season, will lead the freshman class that includes Jaiden Haynes and Connor Swider. Penguin fans have come to expect success, so it’s only natural that prediction reflects that expectation.
4. Green Bay
Okay, so non-Phoenix fans are probably reading this thinking that I’ve completely lost my marbles but indulge me with my explanation. The first thing is that Green Bay has more to work with coming back than many of the other teams in the conference. The core Marcus Hall, Preston Ruedinger, Mac Wrecke and CJ O’Hara returning was critical for coach Doug Gottlieb. And he added three juco transfers, Lebron Thomas, Joshuah Hines and Ramel Bethea, to shore up areas that proved to be serious issues last season. And like last season, you can expect freshmen to be a part of the rotation, most likely the seven-footer Maruan Čičić.
5. Oakland
The Golden Grizzlies have never finished worse than sixth since joining the league in 2013. So, who am I to predict otherwise? Buru Naivalurua, Cooper Craggs and Nassim Mashhour are the main returnees for Oakland, with redshirt Warren Marshall IV also poised to make his freshman debut. The Grizz also snapped up Brody Robinson, a point guard they sought out during his juco days at Garden City Community College and finally got after he spent a year at UT Arlington. Oakland also beefed up its frontcourt depth as well, adding Michael Houge, Nate Deer and Isaac Garrett. While the non-conference schedule for the Golden Grizzlies is expected to be brutal, as always, the battles should give them in a spot where they’ll be competitive in the conference slate.
6. Robert Morris
After watching the Colonials make their run that concluded with a near first-round upset in the NCAA Tournament, coach Andy Toole found himself in familiar territory: Rebuilding his roster, with only Ryan Prather and a handful of walk-ons returning. So, Toole got to work, seeking out talent all over the place, from the D1 ranks, where he found Kaleb Brown, Nikolaos Chitikoudis, Josh Hill and Ta’Zir Smith, to the non-D1 ranks, with Albert Vargas and Cam Wilds. As an added bonus, Toole brought in Desean Goode, the All-Freshman forward from IU Indy. RMU’s success, as has been the case since joining the Horizon League in 2020, will depend on how fast his nearly-new roster comes together.
7. Cleveland State
Like the Colonials, the Vikings found themselves in rebuilding mode after Daniyal Robinson took the North Texas job. Unlike RMU, CSU had no returning players to greet incoming coach Rob Summers. Within a month of taking the job, though, Summers took care of that issue, starting with Western Carolina’s Kamari Jones and working his way through. Jones’ teammate, Ice Emery, will also be a Viking, as will Green Bay transfer Foster Wonders. Juco transfers Waqo Tessema, David Giddens and Preist Ryan, are also on board, as are non-D1 transfers Tre Beard and Lucas Burton. Josiah Harris, who was at Akron last season and was limited by injury, also should be looked at as a major asset for Cleveland State as well. As an assistant last year at Missouri, Summers championed a fast-paced offensive tempo. How that will translate into wins is yet to be seen, but it certainly won’t be boring.
8. IU Indy
Ben Howlett is not a fan of losing, as evidenced by doing it very rarely while at West Liberty. So, while the Jaguars are situated in this spot, whether or not they end up in the same spot at the end of the season will depend on how well Howlett’s system translates to the D1 game. To help with that, he’s brought in four former Hilltoppers, Kyle D’Augustino, JP Dragas, Finley Woodward and Kameron Tinsley, who were with him last year. He’ll also have a pair of transfers who committed to IU Indy before his hire, Jaxon Edwards and Micah Davis, to help move things along as well. Howlett solidified a good part of his roster in about two weeks, so if the speed of doing that is any indication of the pace he plans to play, none of us should be surprised if the Jags overperform.
9. Purdue Fort Wayne
Okay, so we have been historically terrible at figuring out where the Mastodons should land in our preseason predictions, as we’ve consistently picked them too high or too low. So, why mess with tradition? Losing Eric Mulder and Jalen Jackson to the transfer portal was absolutely killer for Purdue Fort Wayne, a team that has been, up to this point, impervious to outgoing transfers. Now, head coach Jon Coffman will need to rely on holdovers Maximus Nelson, Chris Morgan and Corey Hadnot to pick up the slack. He’ll also need Darius Duffy, the Milwaukee transfer, and Yuval Levin from Israel to stem the loss of Mulder, and Denver transfer DeAndre Craig and non-D1 transfer Ja’Corey Lipkins to compensate for losing Jackson, as well as Rasheed Bello and Quentin Morton-Robertson, who graduated.
10. Northern Kentucky
Graduation and the transfer portal hit the Norse especially hard, with Trey Robinson and Sam Vinson, Keeyan Itejere, Josh Dilling, Jeremiah Israel and Randy Pettus all departing. Head coach Darrin Horn did get some good news, though, as Dan Gherezgher, who initially hit the portal, changed his mind and decided to return to NKU for next season, joining LJ Wells and redshirt sophomore Bryce Darbyshire as the lone Norse vets. To shore up the roster, Horn looked to the non-D1 ranks, where he’s found previous success, and snapped up a trio of players: Kael Robinson, Shawn Nelson and Tae Dozier. They will join juco transfer Addison Archer, redshirt freshman Donovan Rakotonanahary, Cal State Fullerton transfer Donovan Oday, and incoming freshmen Ryan Tolliver, Ethan Elliott and J.J. Apathjang. NKU, since joining the HL, has relied on a swath of veteran leadership as a key to its success. This time, though, with so many new faces, will be Horn’s biggest challenge yet.
11. Wright State
As we’ve said at least more than one time on the podcast, somebody has to finish last. And for next season, I think it’s going to be the Raiders. The veteran leadership that guided Scott Nagy through the success that inevitably landed him the Southern Illinois gig is gone, and Clint Sargent’s squad going into 2025-26 is incredibly young, especially when you look at where most teams in the conference are situated, age-wise. That’s not to say the presence of the older players is completely lacking, as Michael Imariagbe and Logan Woods return, and transfers Sama Alamutu and Bryan Etumnu have signed on. Solomon Callaghan and Andrea Holden have a year under their belts, as do transfer TJ Burch and Dominic Pagonis, but the rest of the roster either redshirted last season or are fresh out of high school. Compared to the rest of the league, Wright State are at a disadvantage, and it will be up to Sargent and his squad to dismiss the notion that the Raiders will be at the bottom of the standings.
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