In nearly every respect, the 2025-26 season was one that the Milwaukee Panthers would like to forget. Losing John Lovelace, Jr. before the campaign was bad enough, but subsequent losses due to injury stacked up as the year went on, leaving a team that was poised to compete for the top spot in the Horizon League mired near the bottom of the standings.
That’s not to say that there weren’t any bright spots at all for Milwaukee. Sweeping Youngstown State and a critical late-season win over in-state rival Green Bay helped the Panthers stay out of the conference cellar. An eighth-place finish is probably not anything that fans would cheer about, but given how things went for Milwaukee, things could have gone much worse.
“There’s a lot of positives, and last year was so challenging,” Panthers head coach Bart Lundy said. “It wasn’t what we wanted, but I enjoy the challenge.”
While Milwaukee received good news in having Lovelace and Danilo Jovanovich return, the bad news is that two of the freshman who assisted in lifting the team up, Stevie Elam and Josh Dixon, transferred elsewhere. But in true Milwaukee form, that didn’t stop Lundy from once again looking through the high school and transfer ranks to identify the caliber of players that would mesh well with the holdovers looking to realize the potential of a healthy Panthers squad and would make last year seem like just a hiccup in Lundy’s overall-impressive tenure.
“I think there’s definitely a hunger in the program,” said Lundy. “We were sitting at 3-0 after Seth (Hubbard) hit the winner, and we kept losing guys. We think the disappointment has fueled the hunger.”
Returning Players
John Lovelace, Jr., Redshirt Senior, 6-8, F, Milwaukee, WI, Brown Deer HS/Youngstown State
This is, of course, going to be a do-over season for the Milwaukee native and YSU transfer. Many of the same expectations will be on him, as they were prior to suffering an injury that put him out for the year before it even started. That’s not to say that the breakout performance that Panther fans had hoped for prior to last season will be nearly the same hope they have this time around. However, expectations should be tempered early on, as Lovelace is still making the transition back into game shape.
Danilo Jovanovich, Redshirt Senior, 6-9, G, Milwaukee, WI, Whitnall HS/Louisville
When the 2025-26 season ended, Jovanovich, another hometown kid, decided to see what the transfer portal had to offer him. In the end, though, Jovanovich opted to return to the Panthers for his final campaign. His impact, particularly in the frontcourt, will be needed with the departure of Faizon Fields. He served as his teammate’s complement before the injury bug erased the rest of his season, averaging 6.1 boards per game, which was second on the team.
This time around, though, Jovanovich will be called upon to shoulder the load in the frontcourt, especially with a swath of new faces entering the mix. As the senior leader, he’ll certainly be the anchor of the rotation, especially with a clean bill of health throughout the season.
Isaiah Dorceus, 6-0, Senior, G, Orlando, FL, West Oaks Academy/Daytona State
As last season wore on, it was clear that Dorceus, the juco transfer, would be Milwaukee’s primary ball-handler, leading the team with 3.1 assists per game and finishing seventh in the conference with an impressive assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.2. Starting 16 games in 2025-26, it is expected that Dorceus will take on the starting role full-time, and with a host of incoming and returning players recognized for their offensive strength, he’ll have no problem being the primary point of distribution.
Chandler Jackson, 6-7, RS Senior, F, Indianapolis, IN, Warren Central HS/Illinois-Springfield/Parkland College
At the start of the season, Jackson’s role was relatively muted. That changed as injuries mounted, and he was called upon to step up his contributions. And when the calendar flipped to February, the former juco All-American was hard to miss for opponents, as he led Milwaukee in scoring down the stretch, averaging 16.1 points per contest. In 2026-27, he won’t be sneaking up on anyone, although given his credentials, there shouldn’t have been anyone thinking that anyway. If the close of 2025-26 is any indication, Jackson has a shot at being one of the highest impact players in the conference.
“He can have an all-conference season, and I don’t think that’s possible if he didn’t get a chance last year,” Lundy said. “He’s had a great summer, and he’s poised to have a great senior season.”
Incoming Players
Tre Norman, 6-2, Senior, G, Dorchester, MA, Worcester Academy/Marquette
Norman’s career has centered primarily on the school down the street from Milwaukee, Marquette, where he’s spent the past three years as a rotational piece in the backcourt. As a senior with the Panthers, this will be time for Norman to shine, or, at the very least, allow him to get more than the 8.9 minutes of playing time per game he got with the Golden Eagles. His veteran leadership should provide a boost to the lineup, and certainly give Lundy another offensive option.
“He’s played 90+ games on a Big East team,” Lundy said. “For three years, he was their best leader. And we’re getting the best version for his senior year. He brings a lot of maturity and he has a Big East body. He’s won everywhere he’s been. He’s the kind of player that comes to the Horizon League and has a lot of success.”
Al Amadou, 6-9, Redshirt Junior, F, Philadelphia, PA, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy/St. Joseph’s
Amadou’s collegiate career began at Marquette, joining Norman on the roster for a season before redshirting, then ultimately transferring to St. Joseph’s. When the coaching picture shifted at St. Joe’s upon the resignation of Billy Lange, Amadou was likely on the losing end of that transition, as his playing time was limited during the 2025-26 campaign. He’s back in Milwaukee, this time joining the Panthers and reuniting with his old teammate, and he has an opportunity to get more time on the floor and remind fans why he was the all-time leading shot blocker in Springside Chestnut Hill’s history.
“He’ll fight for those minutes at the 4-5 spot,” Lundy said. “I think in the Horizon League, you have a 6-9 guy who can physically be a good player.”
Amere Hereford, 6-1, Freshman, G, Beloit, WI, Beloit Memorial HS
The performances of Elam and Dixon last season gave Milwaukee fans a glimpse of what’s possible through the high school ranks. Though both of them have transferred, Lundy remains steadfast in keeping the high school pipeline open. The best example of this strategy is Hereford, who not only brings the high school credentials that any college coach seeks, including a finalist spot for Wisconsin’s Mr. Basketball award, his local ties as a standout at Beloit Memorial, a school down I-43 from Milwaukee, bolsters Lundy’s other strategy of bringing in solid recruits from in-state.
“He’s really good. He scores on three levels” Lundy said. “He’s mature beyond his years. He’s really fast, really quick. Our staff was talking about that – he has that hunger. I’ve had a lot of special players. He’s one of the special ones.”
Aaron Womack III, 6-5, Redshirt Freshman, G, Milwaukee, WI, Dominican HS/Syracuse
Speaking of recruiting in-state talent, Lundy has also built a reputation for bringing home local players who started their careers elsewhere. Lovelace and Jovanovich are the most current examples, but Womack, who red-shirted his freshman year at Syracuse, can also fall into this category. He’ll have a chance to flourish in front of the hometown crowd this season, much like he did at Dominican, where he was also a Mr. Basketball finalist in 2025.
Nate Malosa, 6-10, Sophomore, F, Raleigh, NC, Quality Education Academy/Columbia State CC
With Fields gone, Lundy was in need of a player who could be just as good, if not better, in the paint defensively. So, why not pick up the leading shot blocker in NJCAA last season? His 3.1 blocks per contest topped all of the juco ranks in 2025-26, plus he notched 8.5 boards per game. His arrival should fill the gap left by Fields’ departure and should serve as yet another piece in what should be a strong frontcourt rotation for the Panthers.
Projected Starting Roster
Guard – Isaiah Dorceus, 6-0, SR
Guard – Tre Norman, 6-3, SR
Guard – Amare Hereford, 6-1, FR
Forward – Chandler Jackson, 6-7, RS SR
Forward – Danilo Jovanovich, 6-9, RS SR
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