Well, it’s back to the drawing board.
Between the HoriZone Roundtable and official Horizon League post-season accolades, only one player from any All-League team returns for consideration in the preseason teams this season, and while Detroit Mercy’s Orlando Lovejoy was highly considered for our preseason Player of the Year, it was another returnee, Oakland’s Buru Naivalurua, who was selected by the staff as our top player in one of the closest votes in HoriZone Roundtable history.
Naivalurua and Lovejoy are joined on our first team by a newcomer to the league, Amar Augillard from Milwaukee, along with holdovers from last season Cris Carroll from Youngstown State and Green Bay’s Marcus Hall.
The second team is a mix of old and new faces as Cleveland State’s Dayan Nessah, Milwaukee’s Faizon Fields, Youngstown State’s Bryson Dawkins, Detroit Mercy’s Nate Johnson and Purdue Fort Wayne’s DeAndre Craig were picked.
Rounding out our third team is Desean Goode, who’s moved from IU Indy to Robert Morris this year, along with Purdue Fort Wayne’s Corey Hadnot, Vlad Salaridze from Youngstown State, Nikos Chitikoudis from Robert Morris and Darius Duffy, who find himself with a new Horizon League address, heading to Purdue Fort Wayne from Milwaukee.
First Team
| Player | Pos. | School |
|---|---|---|
| Buru Naivalurua* | F | Oakland |
| Orlando Lovejoy | G | Detroit Mercy |
| Amar Augillard | G | Milwaukee |
| Marcus Hall | F | Green Bay |
| Cris Carroll | F | Youngstown State |
| *Player of the Year |
An argument could have (and probably was) made for Buru Naivalurua to be named to a postseason All-Horizon League team last season, as his numbers (13.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg) nearly matched his teammate in the frontcourt and All-League second teamer Allen Mukeba. This season, though, with another year under his belt, the expectation is that Naivalurua will make a major impact with Oakland.
When the transfer portal opened, Orlando Lovejoy initially opted in and was widely expected to get looks from teams around the country. But the Detroit native, in the end, decided that home is where the heart is, and with that, he’s poised to provide Detroit Mercy with as much firepower as he did last season. He’ll look to improve on his 16.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, and he’ll ultimately be seen as a leader on what Titan fans hope will be a Detroit Renaissance.
The expectations for Amar Augillard stem from the success he’s had at previous stops, which includes stints at Triton College, where he was named NJCAA Division I Player of the Year, and Fresno State, where he chipped in 13.3 points and 2.5 boards per contest. He will be a part of a Milwaukee backcourt that’s designed to shoulder the offensive load, something that Augillard should be well-accustomed to.
One of the lone bright spots in Green Bay’s dismal season was Marcus Hall, who came out of that experience unscathed, playing in nearly every game and starting in all of them. He became the go-to scorer after Anthony Roy went down, dropping 13.9 points per page. With some additional help surrounding him, Hall will have the opportunity to turn the Phoenix’s fortunes around and, in turn, become one of the team’s focal points.
As one of the two holdovers from last season, Cris Carroll’s return to Youngstown State cannot be understated. While he only averaged 9.5 points a game last season, his ability to score in bunches was significant, as evidenced by his one-man 13-point run against Cleveland State in January. With almost an entirely new crew around him, Carroll will have a chance to lead the Penguins to even more success, possibility their first NCAA Tournament ever.
Second Team
| Player | Pos. | School |
|---|---|---|
| Dayan Nessah | F | Cleveland State |
| Faizon Fields | F | Milwaukee |
| Bryson Dawkins | G | Youngstown State |
| Nate Johnson | G | Detroit Mercy |
| DeAndre Craig | G | Purdue Fort Wayne |
What put Dayan Nessah on everyone’s radar was not necessarily his freshman year at George Washington, where he played sparingly, but his appearance representing his home country Switzerland in the FIBA U19s. Nessah’s performance in the tourney was outstanding and included a 22-point, 12-rebound and five-assist showing in the Swiss team’s upset of France. As part of a new-look Cleveland State team under first-year head coach Rob Summers, Nessah’s skills should fit well in the Vikings’ offensive scheme.
Faizon Fields was named to our preseason All-League third team last year, but injuries hampered what was expected to be a breakout season for him. Returning for his final campaign, he’ll look to have the year he’s been waiting for as potentially one of the best frontcourt players in the league. That means he’ll look to significantly improve on the 6.7 points and 4.9 rebounds he amassed in his injury-abbreviated performance from a season ago.
Youngstown State has developed a reputation for building a roster full of talent from the transfer portal. And one of the more prominent new faces is Bryson Dawkins, who spent last season at Houston Christian. As part of the Huskies, he averaged 14.7 points per game, but no contest was bigger than in March against Stephen F. Austin, when he torched the Lumberjacks with 41 points. With the Penguins seeking to keep their carry their offensive prowess forward into this season, Dawkins should be a perfect fit.
During his freshman year, Nate Johnson showed that he’d be a major factor in the Detroit Mercy rotation, starting in all but one game and making key contributions that were only magnified as the Titans dealt with injuries throughout the season. His 8.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game were good enough to land him on the Horizon League’s All-Freshman team, and this upcoming season looks like a chance to improve even more.
When Jon Coffman looked to replenish a backcourt that was thinned out by graduation and transfers, he looked into the transfer portal himself and found potential in DeAndre Craig. The Denver transfer had a huge sophomore year, scoring 13.5 points per contest while grabbing 3.7 boards and dishing out 2.7 assists per game. His 38.8% shooting percentage from beyond the arc should also match up extremely well with the Mastodons’ penchance for three-point shooting.
Third Team
| Player | Pos. | School |
|---|---|---|
| Desean Goode | F | Robert Morris |
| Corey Hadnot | G | Purdue Fort Wayne |
| Vlad Salaridze | F | Youngstown State |
| Nikos Chitikoudis | F | Robert Morris |
| Darius Duffy | F | Purdue Fort Wayne |
Another Horizon League All-Freshman team member, Desean Goode, is back this season, except he’ll be playing for Robert Morris after transferring from IU Indy. Goode first year with the Jags was a great one, averaging 7.8 points and six rebounds per game. Now with the Colonials, he’ll be expected to provide them with a big presence in the frontcourt and fill the gap left with their recent departures.
Spending his previous years as Purdue Fort Wayne’s top man off the bench, this season will be Corey Hadnot’s time to shine. Even with a backcourt that included Jalen Jackson, Rasheed Bello and Quention Morton-Robertson, Hadnot still saw the floor for over 22 minutes per contest and chipped in nine points a game, along with 1.6 assists. His goal this season will be to be a force on offense and capitalize on the 39.3 percent he shot from three-point range last year.
With Vlad Salaridze, Youngstown State has another multi-level scoring threat, as well as someone who can clean up the offensive glass. While at UT Martin last season, he led the Ohio Valley Conference in offensive boards, averaging 2.9 a game and a total of five per contest overall. He also averaged 10.8 points per game and shot three-pointers at a 36.1% clip, which gives the Penguins a player who can stretch the floor, similar Carroll, among others.
Robert Morris got a major boost up front when the Colonials signed Nikos Chitikoudis. The native of Greece was one of the best rebounders in the CAA, averaging 9.3 boards a game. He also chipped in 10.8 points per contest, and it’s expected that RMU will rely on Chitikoudis to produce the same numbers in the interior that he did last year at North Carolina A&T.
Darius Duffy opted for a change of scenery, though not a change of conference. The former Milwaukee player has made the switch the Purdue Fort Wayne, and with Eric Mulder transferring, he’ll should the load for the Mastodons in the frontcourt. He’ll also have an opportunity to play significantly more minutes, which, in turn, should also improved his scoring average (which was three points per game last season) and rebounding (which he averaged 2.9 per game).
Preview Week 2025-26
MBB: Preseason Poll | Preseason All-League | Preseason Awards
WBB: Preseason Poll | Preseason All-League | Preseason Awards
Cleveland State (MBB | WBB) | Detroit Mercy (MBB | WBB) | Green Bay (MBB | WBB) | IU Indy (MBB | WBB)
Milwaukee (MBB | WBB) | Northern Kentucky (MBB | WBB) | Oakland (MBB | WBB) | Purdue Fort Wayne (MBB | WBB)
Robert Morris (MBB | WBB) | Wright State (MBB | WBB) | Youngstown State (MBB | WBB)
