2025–26 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team

2025–26 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball
ConferenceMid-American Conference
Record– (– MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Lamar Thornton (7th season)
  • Kyle Barlow (7th season)
  • Lee Martin (6th season)
Home arenaConvocation Center
2025–26 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Akron 0 – 0   – 0 – 0   –
Ball State 0 – 0   – 0 – 0   –
Bowling Green 0 – 0   – 0 – 0   –
Buffalo 0 – 0   – 0 – 0   –
Central Michigan 0 – 0   – 0 – 0   –
Eastern Michigan 0 – 0   – 0 – 0   –
Kent State 0 – 0   – 0 – 0   –
Miami (OH) 0 – 0   – 0 – 0   –
Northern Illinois 0 – 0   – 0 – 0   –
0 – 0   – 0 – 0   –
Toledo 0 – 0   – 0 – 0   –
UMass 0 – 0   – 0 – 0   –
Western Michigan 0 – 0   – 0 – 0   –
† 2026 MAC tournament winner

The 2025–26 Ohio University Bobcats men's basketball team will represent Ohio University for the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bobcats will be led by sixth-year head coach Jeff Boals, who was a 1995 graduate of Ohio University.[1][2] They will play their home games at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio, as a member of the Mid-American Conference.[3][4]

Previous season

Main article: 2024–25 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team

The Bobcats were picked to win the conference but finished with a 16–16 record. They posted a disappointing 6–6 record entering 2025 prior to the start of league play. They finished tied for fourth in the MAC with a 10–6 conference record and lost their January matchup in the MAC-SBC challenge.[5] With a first round loss to Toledo, they failed to reach the MAC tournament semifinals for the first time since 2020 when the tournament was cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic.[6][7]

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason
Elmore James[8] 1 G 6'3" 205 Junior Cleveland, Ohio Transferred to Ball State[9]
AJ Brown[10] 3 G 6'4" 210 RS Sophomore Orlando, Florida Transferred to Florida[11]
Shereef Mitchell 4 G 6'1" 175 Grad. Student Omaha, Nebraska Graduated, Exhausted Eligibility
Ben Nicol[12] 7 F 6'7" 208 RS-Freshman Charleston, West Virginia Transferred to Charleston (WV)
Ben Estis* 14 G 6'1" 185 RS Sophomore Southlake, Texas Transferred to Trinity (TX)
AJ Clayton 23 F 6'8" 225 Senior Roseville, Ohio Graduated, Exhausted Eligibility
Vic Searls 35 F 6'9" 240 Grad. Student Hilliard, Ohio Graduated, Exhausted Eligibility

* Walk-on in 2024–25
[13][14][15]

Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason
Jalen Breath F 6'8" 225 Junior Oklahoma City, OK Transferred from UNG Greensboro. Will have one year of eligibility remaining.[16]
Javan Simmons F 6'7" 235 Sophomore Gahanna, OH Transferred from Toledo. Will have two years of eligibility remaining.[17]
Dior Conners G 6'3" 183 Junior Columbus, OH Transferred from Appalachian State. Will have one year of eligibility remaining.[18]
Carter Reese G 6'3" 200 Sophomore Westerville, OH Transferred from Ohio Northern. Will have three years of eligibility remaining.

[13][15]

Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown School Height Weight Commit date
Jordan Fisher
SF 		Reynoldsburg, OH Reynoldsburg 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg)  
Recruit ratings: No ratings found
JJ Kelly
ATH 		Chambersburg, PA Chambersburg Area 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg)  
Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Zay Mosley
SF 		Orlando, FL Oak Ridge 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg)  
Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Overall recruit ranking:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals.

[19][20][21]

Roster

2025–26 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Ajay Sheldon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Dublin Coffman Dublin, OH  
F 1 Javon Simmons 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Jr Gahanna Lincoln
Toledo 		Gahanna, OH  
G 3 Dior Connors 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Sr Pickerington North
Appalachian State 		Columbus, OH  
G 4 JJ Kelly 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Chambersburg Area Chambersburg, PA  
F 5 Ayden Evans 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Elizabethtown Radcliff, KY  
G 6 Elijah Elliot 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Oak Ridge Orlando, FL  
F 8 Zay Mosley 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Oak Ridge Pemberton, NJ  
F 10 Aidan Hadaway 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Lafayette Lafayette, GA  
G 11 Carter Reese 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Westerville North
Ohio Northern 		Westerville, OH  
G 13 Jackson Paveletzke 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Kimberly
Iowa State 		Kimberly, WI  
F 15 Chase Boals (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 253 lb (115 kg) RS Fr New Albany New Albany, OH  
F 17 Kiir Kuany 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Fr Huntington Prep Melbourne, Australia  
G 21 Jessie Burris 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Fr Delaware Hayes Delaware, OH  
F 22 Jalen Breath 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Sr Booker T. Washington
UNC Greensboro 		Oklahoma City, OK  
F 24 Jordan Fisher 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Reynoldsburg Pickerington, OH  
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: May 11, 2025

Support staff

2025-26 Ohio Bobcats support staff
  • Jake Ness – Director of Basketball Operations
  • Mike Cifliku – Video Coordinator
  • Keith Williams - Graduate Assistant
  • Sara Legarsky – Senior Director of Athletics Communications
  • Derek Lutz – Staff Athletic Trainer
  • Jessica Arquette – Ohio Athletics Sports Dietitian

Source:[22]

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
TBA*
TBA, TBA 		TBA       Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025
TBA, TBA 		Arkansas State
MAC–SBC Challenge 		      Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
November 15, 2025
TBA, TBA 		Louisville       KFC Yum! Center 
Louisville, KY
November 19, 2025
TBA, TBA 		Bethune–Cookman
Sunshine Slam Campus games 		      Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
November 24, 2025
TBA, TBA 		vs. TBA
Sunshine Slam Semi-Final 		      Ocean Center 
Daytona Beach, FL
November 25, 2025
TBA, TBA 		vs. TBA
Sunshine Slam 		      Ocean Center 
Daytona Beach, FL
TBA
TBA, TBA 		Marshall       Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
TBA
TBA, TBA 		Illinois State       Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
TBA
TBA, TBA 		at TBA
MAC–SBC Challenge 		      TBA 
TBA
MAC regular season
MAC Tournament
TBA†
TBA, TBA 		vs. TBA
Quarterfinals 		      Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 
Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

† If a top eight finisher in MAC

Source[23][24]

References

  1. ^ "Jeff Boals". Ohio University Athletics. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  2. ^ "Jeff Boals". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  3. ^ "Convocation Center". Ohio University. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  4. ^ "MAC Men's College Basketball Standings – 2025–26". ESPN. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  5. ^ "MAC Men's College Basketball Standings - 2025-25". ESPN. Retrieved 2025-03-15.
  6. ^ Wright, Branson (March 12, 2020). "Mid-American Conference cancels basketball tournament in Cleveland because of coronavirus concerns". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  7. ^ "Ohio 85, Toledo 90". ESPN. Retrieved 2025-03-15.
  8. ^ Adams, Logan (April 8, 2025). "Men's Basketball: Elmore James to enter NCAA transfer portal". Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  9. ^ Brockway, Kevin (May 8, 2025). "Men's Basketball Signs Ohio Transfer Elmore James". Ball State Athletics. Retrieved May 11, 2025.
  10. ^ Adams, Logan (April 9, 2025). "Men's Basketball: Star guard AJ Brown enters transfer portal". Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  11. ^ Brockway, Kevin (April 24, 2025). "Florida basketball lands Ohio guard AJ Brown from transfer portal". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  12. ^ Adams, Logan (April 8, 2025). "Men's Basketball: MAC is unique in transfer portal era". Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  13. ^ a b "2025-26 Men's Basketball Roster". Ohio Athletics. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  14. ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Roster". Ohio Athletics. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  15. ^ a b "TRANSFER PORTAL". Verbal Commits. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  16. ^ "Ohio Men's Basketball Adds UNCG Transfer Jalen Breath". Ohio Athletics. April 9, 2025. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  17. ^ "Ohio Men's Basketball Adds Toledo Transfer Javan Simmons". Ohio Athletics. April 9, 2025. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  18. ^ "Ohio men's basketball adds App State transfer Dior Conners". Athens Messenger. April 23, 2025. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  19. ^ "Reynoldsburg's Jordan Fisher, Toby Nwokolo look to go out as OHSAA basketball champions". Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  20. ^ "Chambersburg's JJ Kelly makes his college basketball pick". Penn Live Patriot News. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  21. ^ Beach, Ashley (November 12, 2024). "Ohio Men's Basketball Adds Three During Early Signing Period". Ohio Athletics. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  22. ^ "Men's Basketball Coaching Staff". ohiobobcats.com. Ohio University Athletics. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
  23. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Ohio University Athletics.
  24. ^ "Ohio Bobcats Schedule 2025–26". ESPN.
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