2025–26 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball team

2025–26 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball
2025–26 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball
Conference	American Conference
Record	11–20 (6–12 American)
Head coach	Michael Schwartz (4th season);
Assistant coaches	Riley Davis; Josh Giardina; I.J. Poole; Michael Perry;
Home arena	Williams Arena

2025–26 American Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
South Florida †	15	–	3	.833	25	–	9	.735
Wichita State	13	–	5	.722	24	–	12	.667
Tulsa	13	–	5	.722	29	–	7	.806
UAB	11	–	7	.611	20	–	12	.625
Charlotte	9	–	9	.500	17	–	17	.500
North Texas	9	–	9	.500	19	–	14	.576
Florida Atlantic	9	–	9	.500	18	–	15	.545
Memphis	8	–	10	.444	13	–	19	.406
Tulane	8	–	10	.444	18	–	15	.545
Temple	8	–	10	.444	16	–	16	.500
Rice	7	–	11	.389	13	–	18	.419
East Carolina	6	–	12	.333	11	–	20	.355
UTSA	1	–	17	.056	5	–	25	.167

† 2026 American tournament winner As of March 24, 2026

The 2025–26 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball team represented East Carolina University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Pirates, led by fourth-year head coach Michael Schwartz, played their home games at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, North Carolina as eleventh-year members of the American Conference.

Previous season

The Pirates finished the 2024–25 season 19–14, 10–8 in AAC play to finish in a tie for fifth place. As a No. 6 seed in the AAC tournament they defeated UTSA in the second round before falling to UAB in the quarterfinals.^[1]^[2]

Preseason

On October 9, 2025, the American Conference released their preseason poll. East Carolina was picked to finish tenth in the conference.^[3]

Preseason rankings

American Conference Preseason Poll
Place	Team	Votes
1	Memphis	143 (11)
2	South Florida	128 (2)
3	Tulane	122
4	UAB	98
5	Wichita State	93
6	Florida Atlantic	80
7	North Texas	77
8	Tulsa	74
9	Temple	65
10	East Carolina	53
11	UTSA	32
12	Rice	27
13	Charlotte	22
(#) first-place votes

Source:^[3]

Preseason All-American Conference Teams

Preseason All-American Teams
Team	Player	Year	Position
First	Jordan Riley	Senior	Guard

Source:^[3]

Roster

2025–26 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Jayshayne Woodard	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	Sr	Indian River State College	Harlem, New York
G	1	Jake Baker	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Cannon School	Concord, North Carolina
G	2	Isaiah Mbeng	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	So	William & Mary	Potomac, Maryland
G	3	Daithi Quinn	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	206 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Tabor Academy	Quincy, Massachusetts
G	4	Tybo Bailey	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	So	Winston-Salem Christian School	Winston-Salem, North Carolina
G	5	Corey Caulker	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jr	Eastern Florida State College	Sterling, Virginia
G	6	Ladontae Felton	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	RS Fr	South Aiken High School	Aiken, South Carolina
C	7	Giovanni Emejuru	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	262 lb (119 kg)	Sr	George Mason	Leicester, England
G	10	Paddy D'Arcy	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	189 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Adelaide 36ers	Adelaide, Australia
F/C	11	Vito Perkovic	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Fr	Hamilton Heights Christian Academy	Zadar, Croatia
G	12	Jordan Riley	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sr	Temple	Brentwood, New York
F	23	Reid Cason	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	239 lb (108 kg)	So	Kingston High School	Kingston, Oklahoma
G/F	24	Trevion LaBeaux	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	Sr	Indian Hills Community College	Waterloo, Iowa
F	33	Eli DeLaurier	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	238 lb (108 kg)	RS So	Providence	Shipman, Virginia
F	35	Grant Smith	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	Sr	Quincy College	Richmond, Virginia
F	43	Luke Davis	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	224 lb (102 kg)	GS	New Orleans	Winterville, North Carolina

Head coach

Michael Schwartz (Texas)

Assistant coach(es)

Riley Davis (Texas)
Josh Giardina (Marymount)
I.J. Poole (Texas)
Michael Perry (Richmond)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: December 7, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Georgia Southern	W 92–89	1–0	22 – Riley	9 – Emejuru	8 – Mbeng	Williams Arena (3,259) Greenville, NC
November 8, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+	at Richmond	L 72–87	1–1	20 – Emejuru	13 – Emejuru	4 – Caulker	Robins Center (4,632) Richmond, VA
November 13, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Elizabeth City State	W 71–70	2–1	23 – Emejuru	11 – DeLaurier	4 – Tied	Williams Arena (4,238) Greenville, NC
November 18, 2025* 7:00 pm, FloCollege	at UNC Wilmington	L 60−85	2−2	19 – Riley	6 – Cason	3 – Mbeng	Trask Coliseum (5,220) Wilmington, NC
November 21, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Charleston Southern	L 65−77	2−3	18 – Emejuru	12 – Emejuru	3 – Tied	Williams Arena (3,327) Greenville, NC
November 25, 2025* 1:00 pm, FS2/BTN	vs. No. 11 Michigan State Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division	L 56–89	2–4	13 – Riley	8 – Emejuru	4 – Caulker	Suncoast Credit Union Arena (3,500) Fort Myers, FL
November 27, 2025* 12:00 pm, FS1	vs. St. Bonaventure Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division	L 58–67	2–5	28 – Riley	11 – Emejuru	2 – Caulker	Suncoast Credit Union Arena (1,342) Fort Myers, FL
December 2, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Maryland Eastern Shore	W 68–56	3–5	18 – Riley	8 – Davis	5 – Riley	Williams Arena (2,883) Greenville, NC
December 6, 2025* 4:00 pm, ESPN+	UNC Greensboro	L 78–82	3–6	25 – Riley	12 – Emejuru	4 – Caulker	Williams Arena (2,973) Greenville, NC
December 11, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Appalachian State	L 54–67	3–7	26 – Riley	8 – Emejuru	3 – Tied	Williams Arena (3,168) Greenville, NC
December 14, 2025* 1:00 pm, ESPN+	Buffalo	W 73–70	4–7	31 – Riley	11 – Davis	4 – Caulker	Williams Arena (2,579) Greenville, NC
December 17, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Presbyterian	W 74–53	5–7	24 – Riley	7 – Emejuru	5 – Caulker	Williams Arena (2,663) Greenville, NC
December 22, 2025* 8:00 pm, ACCN	at No. 12 North Carolina	L 51–99	5–8	21 – Emejuru	14 – Emejuru	6 – Mbeng	Dean Smith Center (20,479) Chapel Hill, NC
American regular season
December 31, 2025 12:00 pm, ESPNU	Tulane	L 70−79	5−9 (0−1)	21 – Riley	9 – Emejuru	4 – Bailey	Williams Arena (2,992) Greenville, NC
January 7, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Temple	L 67–75	5–10 (0–2)	29 – Riley	9 – Emejuru	6 – Mbeng	Liacouras Center (2,128) Philadelphia, PA
January 11, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	UAB	L 85–87 ^OT	5–11 (0–3)	30 – Riley	12 – Emejuru	9 – Mbeng	Williams Arena (3,296) Greenville, NC
January 14, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at South Florida	L 71–82	5–12 (0–4)	25 – Riley	10 – Tied	4 – Caulker	Yuengling Center (3,790) Tampa, FL
January 18, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Charlotte	L 70–73	5–13 (0–5)	23 – Riley	6 – Emejuru	6 – Caulker	Williams Arena (3,574) Greenville, NC
January 21, 2026 7:30 pm, ESPN+	at Wichita State	L 60–77	5–14 (0–6)	15 – Riley	11 – Emejuru	3 – Tied	Charles Koch Arena (5,588) Wichita, KS
January 24, 2026 1:00 pm, ESPN+	at North Texas	W 63–59	6–14 (1–6)	15 – Riley	16 – Emejuru	6 – Caulker	The Super Pit (2,420) Denton, TX
January 28, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPNU	Rice	L 77–83	6–15 (1–7)	37 – Riley	6 – Emejuru	9 – Caulker	Williams Arena (4,107) Greenville, NC
February 1, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	at Florida Atlantic	W 76–75	7–15 (2–7)	35 – Riley	9 – Riley	6 – Caulker	Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161) Boca Raton, FL
February 7, 2026 12:00 pm, ESPNU	Temple	L 73–81	7–16 (2–8)	32 – Riley	14 – Emejuru	3 – Tied	Williams Arena (4,010) Greenville, NC
February 11, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	UTSA	W 88–72	8–16 (3–8)	19 – Riley	12 – Emejuru	6 – Mbeng	Williams Arena (3,008) Greenville, NC
February 14, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	at Rice	W 85–75	9–16 (4–8)	22 – Riley	7 – Emejuru	4 – Tied	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,789) Houston, TX
February 18, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Wichita State	L 89–92 ^2OT	9–17 (4–9)	40 – Riley	14 – DeLaurier	5 – Mbeng	Williams Arena (3,150) Greenville, NC
February 21, 2026 12:00 pm, ESPN2	at Charlotte	L 56–68	9–18 (4–10)	20 – Riley	12 – Emejuru	2 – Tied	Dale F. Halton Arena (3,583) Charlotte, NC
February 25, 2026 8:00 pm, ESPN+	at UTSA	W 82–81	10–18 (5–10)	27 – Riley	6 – Tied	6 – Caulker	Convocation Center (1,037) San Antonio, TX
March 1, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Memphis	W 84–68	11–18 (6–10)	31 – Riley	12 – Riley	11 – Caulker	Williams Arena (4,195) Greenville, NC
March 5, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPNU	Tulsa	L 66–93	11–19 (6–11)	26 – Riley	9 – Davis	6 – Riley	Williams Arena (3,782) Greenville, NC
March 8, 2026 3:00 pm, ESPN+	at UAB	L 83–90	11–20 (6–12)	19 – Gardner	14 – Emejuru	5 – Caulker	Bartow Arena (4,123) Birmingham, AL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:^[4]^[5]

References

^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Schedule". East Carolina University Athletics. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
^ "2024-25 East Carolina Pirates Men's Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Memphis Named 2025-26 American Men's Basketball Favorite". American Conference. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". East Carolina University Athletics. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
^ "East Carolina Pirates 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 7, 2025.

[1] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Schedule". East Carolina University Athletics. Retrieved November 7, 2025.

[2] "2024-25 East Carolina Pirates Men's Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved November 7, 2025.

[poll-3] "Memphis Named 2025-26 American Men's Basketball Favorite". American Conference. Retrieved December 7, 2025.

[4] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". East Carolina University Athletics. Retrieved December 7, 2025.

[5] "East Carolina Pirates 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 7, 2025.

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[4]

[5]

East Carolina Pirates men's basketball
Venues	Christenbury Memorial Gym (1952–1968) Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (1968–present)
Rivalries	NC State
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26