2025–26 Akron Zips men's basketball team

2025–26 Akron Zips men's basketball
MAC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
ConferenceMid-American Conference
Record29–6 (17–1 MAC)
Head coach
Associate head coachDustin Ford (9th season)
Assistant coaches
  • Robby Pridgen (9th season)
  • Mike Allen (2nd season)
  • Terry Weigand (1st season)
  • Devan Morrow (2nd season)
Home arenaJames A. Rhodes Arena
2025–26 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Miami (OH) 18 – 0   1.000 32 – 2   .941
Akron † 17 – 1   .944 29 – 6   .829
Kent State 14 – 4   .778 24 – 10   .706
Toledo 11 – 7   .611 19 – 15   .559
Bowling Green 9 – 9   .500 18 – 14   .563
Ohio 9 – 9   .500 15 – 17   .469
Buffalo 7 – 11   .389 17 – 15   .531
UMass 7 – 11   .389 17 – 16   .515
Ball State 7 – 11   .389 12 – 19   .387
Central Michigan 6 – 12   .333 10 – 21   .323
Western Michigan 4 – 14   .222 10 – 21   .323
Northern Illinois 4 – 14   .222 9 – 21   .300
Eastern Michigan 4 – 14   .222 10 – 21   .323
† 2026 MAC tournament winner

The 2025–26 Akron Zips men's basketball team represented the University of Akron during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Zips, led by ninth-year head coach John Groce, played their home games at the James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio as members of the Mid-American Conference.

Akron finished the regular season 26–5. Their 17–1 record MAC play was good for second place.[1] Their only conference loss was to Miami who finished the regular season unbeaten and ranked 20th.[2] Their 34–2 conference record over two seasons set set a new mark for best record over a two year span.[3] Eighth seed UMass upset Miami in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament.[4] Akron capitalized and defeated Buffalo, Kent State and Toledo on consecutive nights in Rocket Arena to win the tournament and earn a spot in the 2026 NCAA tournament.[5][6] This was Akron's third straight MAC tournament championship and their 7th overall.[7] They lost to Texas Tech in the first round.[8][9]

The team ended the season with a school record setting 31 consecutive James A. Rhodes Arena home game win streak, surpassing the 30-game streak established by the 2014–15 (2 wins), 2015–16 (15) and 2016–17 teams (13).[10] Conference rival Miami also ended its season with an active 31-game home win streak.[11]

Previous season

The Zips won the MAC with a 17–1 record and the MAC tournament[12][13] As a 13 seed, they lost their first round matchup in the NCAA tournament to Arizona.[14]

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Isaiah Gray 13 G 6'3" 220 Senior Brooklyn, New York Graduated
Seth Wilson 14 G 6'2" 220 Senior Lorain, Ohio Graduated
Evan Wilson 20 G 6'2" 195 Senior Noblesville, Indiana Graduated
Josiah Harris 22 G/F 6'7" 210 Junior Canton, Ohio Transferred to Cleveland State
James Okonkwo 32 F 6'8" 240 Senior Maidenhead, England Transferred to Utah
Nate Johnson 34 G 6'3" 205 Junior Liberty Township, Ohio Transferred to Kansas State

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school
Cody Head 9 SG 6'3" 170 Junior Cleveland, Ohio Arkansas State
Evan Mahaffey 12 SF 6'6" 200 Senior Cincinnati, Ohio Ohio State

Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown School Height Weight Commit date
Josh Henderson
SG 		Westerville, Ohio Westerville Central High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 170 lb (77 kg)  
Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (N/A)
Tai Perkins
PG 		Westerville, Ohio Westerville Central High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 lb (75 kg)  
Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (N/A)
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.

Preseason

On October 21, 2025, the MAC released the preseason coaches poll. Akron was picked to finish first in the MAC regular season and received 11 of the 13 first place votes.[15]

Preseason rankings

MAC preseason poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Akron 143 (11)
2 Miami (OH) 133 (2)
3 Kent State 122
4 Ohio 108
5 UMass 98
6 Toledo 95
7 Bowling Green 73
8 Ball State 62
9 Eastern Michigan 52
10 Western Michigan 46
11 Buffalo 37
12 Central Michigan 31
13 Northern Illinois 14

MAC Tournament Champions: Akron (8), Miami (OH) (2), Kent State (1), Ohio (1), UMass (1)

Source[15]

Preseason All-MAC

Preseason All-MAC teams
Team Player Position Year
First Tavari Johnson Guard Senior
Second Evan Mahaffey Wing Senior
Second Shammah Scott Guard Graduate Student

Source[15]

Roster

2025–26 Akron Zips men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Amani Lyles 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Beechcroft High School Columbus, Ohio
G 1 Shammah Scott 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) GS Wichita State Cleveland, Ohio
F 2 Rich Brisco 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Fr Hillcrest Prep Brooklyn, New York
G 3 Sharron Young 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So Morgantown High School Morgantown, West Virginia
G 4 Eric Mahaffey 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Fr Archbishop Moeller High School Cincinnati, Ohio
G 5 Tavari Johnson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Lyons High School Chicago, Illinois
G 6 Tai Perkins 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Fr Westerville Central High School Westerville, Ohio
G 7 Josh Henderson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Westerville Central High School Westerville, Ohio
F 8 Chabi Barre 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Jr Duquesne Cotonou, Benin
G 9 Cody Head 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Arkansas State Cleveland, Ohio
G 11 Conner Groce 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) RS Fr Revere High School Richfield, Ohio
G/F 12 Evan Mahaffey 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Ohio State Cincinnati, Ohio
G 15 Bowen Hardman 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Ohio State Cincinnati, Ohio
G/F 16 Ognjen Stankovic 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr KK Igokea Belgrade, Serbia
G/F 21 Zach Halligan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS So Walsh Jesuit High School Uniontown, Ohio
G/F 23 Marvin Musiime-Kamali 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So Cushing Academy Brockton, Massachusetts
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 20, 2025

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 3, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		James Madison
MAC-SBC Challenge 		W 85–71  1–0
  22 – Lyles   9 – Lyles   7 – Ev. Mahaffey  James A. Rhodes Arena (2,461)
Akron, OH
November 8, 2025*
12:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Princeton W 104–69  2–0
  21 – Johnson   9 – Er. Mahaffey   6 – Johnson  James A. Rhodes Arena (1,502)
Akron, OH
November 12, 2025*
7:00 p.m. 		Penn State Shenango W 109–51  3–0
  18 – Scott   9 – Lyles   8 – Scott  James A. Rhodes Arena (1,108)
Akron, OH
November 16, 2025*
7:30 p.m., BTN 		at No. 2 Purdue L 79–97  3–1
  20 – Johnson   5 – Ev. Mahaffey   5 – Scott  Mackey Arena (14,876)
West Lafayette, IN
November 21, 2025*
5:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		vs. Iona
Paradise Jam quarterfinals 		W 96–75  4–1
  20 – Er. Mahaffey   8 – Er. Mahaffey   5 – Tied  UVI Sports and Fitness Center 
St. Thomas, USVI
November 23, 2025*
8:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		vs. Evansville
Paradise Jam semifinals 		W 97–59  5–1
  19 – Tied   5 – Tied   7 – Ev. Mahaffey  UVI Sports and Fitness Center (1,924)
St. Thomas, USVI
November 24, 2025*
8:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		vs. Yale
Paradise Jam championship game 		L 94–97  5–2
  35 – Johnson   7 – Er. Mahaffey   8 – Johnson  UVI Sports and Fitness Center (2,186)
St. Thomas, USVI
November 29, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Milwaukee W 105–81  6–2
  25 – Lyles   9 – Lyles   11 – Johnson  James A. Rhodes Arena (1,697)
Akron, OH
December 3, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Bucknell W 97–77  7−2
  24 – Lyles   5 – Tied   6 – Young  James A. Rhodes Arena (1,508)
Akron, OH
December 6, 2025*
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Tulane W 88–71  8−2
  20 – Scott   11 – Er. Mahaffey   5 – Johnson  Devlin Fieldhouse (902)
New Orleans, LA
December 13, 2025*
4:00 p.m., BallerTV 		vs. Murray State
Jack Jones Classic 		L 100–115  8–3
  28 – Johnson   6 – Tied   6 – Ev. Mahaffey  Lee's Family Forum 
Henderson, NV
December 19, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Eastern Michigan W 93–72  9–3
(1–0) 		 25 – Johnson   12 – Lyles   5 – Tied  James A. Rhodes Arena (1,843)
Akron, OH
December 29, 2025*
7:00 p.m. 		Concord W 115–64  10–3
  28 – Johnson   7 – Lyles   6 – Johnson  James A. Rhodes Arena (1,981)
Akron, OH
January 3, 2026
3:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Miami (OH) L 73–76  10–4
(1–1) 		 22 – Johnson   13 – Er. Mahaffey   4 – Johnson  Millett Hall (4,111)
Oxford, OH
January 6, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Central Michigan W 82–69  11–4
(2–1) 		 22 – Johnson   7 – Lyles   10 – Johnson  James A. Rhodes Arena (1,623)
Akron, OH
January 9, 2026
8:00 p.m., CBSSN 		at Bowling Green W 77–67  12–4
(3–1) 		 18 – Lyles   10 – Lyles   7 – Johnson  Stroh Center (2,272)
Bowling Green, OH
January 13, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Ball State W 87–77  13–4
(4–1) 		 22 – Johnson   12 – Lyles   7 – Johnson  James A. Rhodes Arena (1,934)
Akron, OH
January 17, 2026
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Western Michigan W 104–89  14–4
(5–1) 		 32 – Johnson   6 – Tied   8 – Johnson  James A. Rhodes Arena (2,396)
Akron, OH
January 20, 2026
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Buffalo W 82–63  15–4
(6–1) 		 18 – Lyles   15 – Lyles   6 – Johnson  Alumni Arena (1,203)
Amherst, NY
January 23, 2026
8:00 p.m., ESPNU 		at Ohio W 86–65  16–4
(7–1) 		 24 – Johnson   11 – Lyles   5 – Ev. Mahaffey  Convocation Center (4,422)
Athens, OH
January 27, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Toledo W 91–81  17–4
(8–1) 		 25 – Johnson   9 – Ev. Mahaffey   7 – Johnson  James A. Rhodes Arena (2,100)
Akron, OH
January 30, 2026
6:00 p.m., CBSSN 		Kent State W 69–52  18–4
(9–1) 		 16 – Johnson   9 – Johnson   4 – Johnson  James A. Rhodes Arena (4,847)
Akron, OH
February 3, 2026
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Eastern Michigan W 66–64  19–4
(10–1) 		 17 – Johnson   8 – Lyles   4 – Lyles  George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,452)
Ypsilanti, MI
February 7, 2026*
6:00 p.m., ESPN2 		at Troy
MAC-SBC Challenge 		L 69–79  19–5
  26 – Johnson   7 – Tied   5 – Tied  Trojan Arena (3,712)
Troy, AL
February 13, 2026
9:00 p.m., CBSSN 		UMass W 99–92  20–5
(11–1) 		 23 – Johnson   11 – Er. Mahaffey   4 – Johnson  James A. Rhodes Arena (2,125)
Akron, OH
February 17, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Western Michigan W 90–73  21–5
(12–1) 		 17 – Johnson   9 – Lyles   6 – Johnson  University Arena (1,239)
Kalamazoo, MI
February 20, 2026
6:30 p.m., CBSSN 		at Ball State W 78–65  22–5
(13–1) 		 26 – Lyles   8 – Lyles   6 – Johnson  Worthen Arena (2,680)
Muncie, IN
February 24, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Buffalo W 99–85  23–5
(14–1) 		 23 – Johnson   10 – Lyles   5 – Tied  James A. Rhodes Arena (2,323)
Akron, OH
February 27, 2026
8:00 p.m., ESPNU 		at Kent State W 92–70  24–5
(15–1) 		 23 – Scott   8 – Lyles   7 – Johnson  MAC Center (6,327)
Kent, OH
March 3, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Central Michigan W 77–64  25–5
(16–1) 		 17 – Johnson   16 – Ev. Mahaffey   4 – Tied  McGuirk Arena (1,901)
Mount Pleasant, MI
March 6, 2026
6:00 p.m., CBSSN 		Northern Illinois W 94–55  26–5
(17–1) 		 20 – Hardman   6 – Tied   7 – Scott  James A. Rhodes Arena (2,768)
Akron, OH
MAC Tournament
March 12, 2026
4:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		(2) vs. (7) Buffalo
Quarterfinals 		W 73–70  27–5
  25 – Johnson   16 – Lyles   3 – Tied  Rocket Arena 
Cleveland, OH
March 13, 2026
7:30 p.m., CBSSN 		(2) vs. (3) Kent State
Semifinals 		W 75–68  28–5
  18 – Tied   8 – Lyles   3 – Johnson  Rocket Arena (10,936)
Cleveland, OH
March 14, 2026
8:00 p.m., ESPN2 		(2) vs. (4) Toledo
Championship 		W 79–76  29–5
  15 – Tied   16 – Lyles   5 – Johnson  Rocket Arena (11,072)
Cleveland, OH
NCAA Tournament
March 20, 2026
12:40 p.m., truTV 		(12 MW) vs. (5 MW) No. 20 Texas Tech
First round 		L 71–91  29–6
  26 – Lyles   6 – Mahaffey   6 – Johnson  Benchmark International Arena (17,769)
Tampa, FL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.
All times are in Eastern.

Sources:[16][17]

References

  1. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Standings". ESPN. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  2. ^ "AP Top 25 Poll, Week 18". Associated Press. March 9, 2026. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
  3. ^ Beaven, Michael (March 7, 2026). "Akron men's basketball extends home win streak in Senior Night blowout". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  4. ^ "Massachusetts 87, Miami (OH) 83". ESPN. March 12, 2026. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  5. ^ "Akron 73, Buffalo 70". ESPN. March 12, 2026. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  6. ^ "Akron 75, Kent State 68". ESPN. March 14, 2026. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  7. ^ "Akron Completes MAC Tournament Three-Peat Behind Clutch Three from Scott". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  8. ^ Giese, Nathan (March 15, 2026). "Texas Tech basketball's March Madness opponent is Akron to open 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  9. ^ "Jaylen Petty scores 24 as Texas Tech beats Akron 91-71 in NCAA Tournament first round". ESPN. March 20, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  10. ^ "No. 19 RedHawks Close Out Perfect Regular Season with Overtime Rivalry Win". Mid-American Conference. March 6, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  11. ^ "RedHawks Improve to 30-0, Clinch Share or Better of Regular Season Title". Mid-American Conference. March 3, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  12. ^ Clark, Dave (February 28, 2025). "Zips Claim Regular Season Title After 77-72 victory Against Kent State". Akron Athletics. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  13. ^ Beaven, Michael (March 15, 2025). "LeBron James, Donovan Mitchell congratulate Akron Zips on MAC basketball title, NCAA bid". Akron Beacon Jornal. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  14. ^ Ulrich, Nate (March 22, 2025). "-Akron Zips basketball hurt by historic season ending with bruising loss in NCAA Tournament". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
  15. ^ a b c "MAC Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, All-MAC Teams". getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference. October 21, 2025. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  16. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Akron Athletics. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  17. ^ "Akron Zips 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
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