2025–26 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team

2025–26 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball
2025–26 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball
SoCon regular season champions
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	23–11 (13–5 SoCon)
Head coach	Brooks Savage (3rd season);
Assistant coaches	Kris Arkenberg; Marcus Belcher; Cory Dixon; Miles Lester; Blake Sexton;
Home arena	Freedom Hall Civic Center

2025–26 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
East Tennessee State	13	–	5	.722	23	–	11	.676
Wofford	11	–	7	.611	19	–	13	.594
Samford	11	–	7	.611	18	–	14	.563
Mercer	11	–	7	.611	19	–	13	.594
Western Carolina	10	–	8	.556	15	–	16	.484
Furman †	10	–	8	.556	22	–	13	.629
UNC Greensboro	9	–	9	.500	15	–	19	.441
Chattanooga	7	–	11	.389	13	–	19	.406
The Citadel	7	–	11	.389	11	–	22	.333
VMI	1	–	17	.056	6	–	26	.188

† 2026 SoCon tournament winner

The 2025–26 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team represented East Tennessee State University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Buccaneers, led by third-year head coach Brooks Savage, played their home games at the Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City, Tennessee, as members of the Southern Conference.

Previous season

The Buccaneers finished the 2024–25 season 19–13, 12–6 in SoCon play, to finish in a tie for third place.^[1] They were upset by #6 seed and eventual tournament champions Wofford in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament.^[2]

Preseason

On October 1, 2025, the SoCon released their preseason coaches poll. East Tennessee State was picked to finish fourth in the conference.^[3]

Preseason rankings

SoCon Preseason Poll
Place	Team	Points
1	Chattanooga	77 (5)
2	Furman	73 (5)
3	Samford	62
4	East Tennessee State	61
5	UNC Greensboro	43
6	VMI	41
7	Western Carolina	32
8	Mercer	30
9	Wofford	21
10	The Citadel	10
(#) first-place votes

Source:^[3]

Preseason All-SoCon Team

Preseason All-SoCon Team
Player	Year	Position
Jaylen Smith	Junior	Guard

Source:^[3]

Roster

2025–26 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	2	Maki Johnson	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Huntington Prep	Huntington, West Virginia
G	3	Maddox Huff	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Harlan County High School	Baxter, Kentucky
G	4	Jaylen Smith	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jr	North Florida	Ocoee, Florida
G	5	Allen Strothers	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	RS Sr	Menchville High School	Newport News, Virginia
G	11	Brian Taylor II	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sr	SIU Edwardsville	St. Louis, Missouri
F	13	Blake Barkley	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	RS So	Northwestern	Morgantown, West Virginia
F	14	Brayden Crump	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	RS So	Elon	Morganton, North Carolina
F	15	Cam Morris III	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	GS	UMass Lowell	Alexander City, Alabama
G	21	Gabe Sisk	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	Jr	Ballard High School	Louisville, Kentucky
G	23	Frederico Whitaker Jr.	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	135 lb (61 kg)	Fr	IMG Academy	Pittsboro, North Carolina
F	24	Isaiah Sutherland	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jr	Orlando Christian Prep	Orlando, Florida
G	25	Joseph Carter	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Alcoa High School	Louisville, Tennessee
F	30	Henry Sisemore	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	Lago Vista High School	Lago Vista, Texas
F	35	Jordan McCullum	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	So	Murray State	Harriman, Tennessee
G	55	Milton Matthews III	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Florida A&M	District Heights, Maryland

Head coach

Brooks Savage (Tennessee)

Assistant coach(es)

Kris Arkenberg (IUPUI)
Marcus Belcher (Southern Illinois)
Cory Dixon (New Orleans)
Miles Lester (Wake Forest)
Blake Sexton (Tennessee)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 23, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 29, 2025* 7:00 pm		Wake Forest Charity Exhibition	L 70–89		Freedom Hall Civic Center (6,392) Johnson City, TN
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Converse	W 102–50	1–0	Freedom Hall Civic Center (1,378) Johnson City, TN
November 8, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Presbyterian	L 64–68	1–1	Templeton Center (279) Clinton, SC
November 12, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Northern Kentucky	W 75–63	2–1	Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,307) Johnson City, TN
November 15, 2025* 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at North Alabama SoCon/ASUN Challenge	W 78–74	3–1	CB&S Bank Arena (2,256) Florence, AL
November 21, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Morehead State ETSU MTE	W 77–62	4–1	Freedom Hall Civic Center Johnson City, TN
November 23, 2025* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Louisiana–Monroe ETSU MTE	W 97–55	5–1	Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,267) Johnson City, TN
November 29, 2025* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Central Arkansas SoCon/ASUN Challenge	W 80–57	6–1	Freedom Hall Civic Center Johnson City, TN
December 2, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Dayton	L 71–88	6–2	UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH
December 5, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		South Alabama	W 91–65	7–2	Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,473) Johnson City, TN
December 7, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Tusculum	W 78–62	8–2	Freedom Hall Civic Center (1,991) Johnson City, TN
December 12, 2025* 8:00 pm, ESPN+		at Austin Peay	L 75–76	8–3	F&M Bank Arena (2,101) Clarksville, TN
December 16, 2025* 8:00 pm, ACCN		at No. 12 North Carolina	L 58–77	8–4	Dean Smith Center (16,548) Chapel Hill, NC
December 20, 2025* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Jacksonville State	L 75–81	8–5	Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,270) Johnson City, TN
SoCon regular season
December 30, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at The Citadel	W 74–49	9–5 (1–0)	McAlister Field House (1,109) Charleston, SC
January 3, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Mercer	W 77–71	10–5 (2–0)	Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,122) Johnson City, TN
January 7, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		VMI	W 81–67	11–5 (3–0)	Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,074) Johnson City, TN
January 10, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+		UNC Greensboro	W 86–60	12–5 (4–0)	Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,984) Johnson City, TN
January 14, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Western Carolina	L 68–72	12–6 (4–1)	Ramsey Center (1,498) Cullowhee, NC
January 17, 2026 2:00 pm, CBSSN		at Samford	W 76–75	13–6 (5–1)	Pete Hanna Center (2,103) Homewood, AL
January 21, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPNU		at Chattanooga	W 67–66	14–6 (6–1)	McKenzie Arena (4,611) Chattanooga, TN
January 24, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+		The Citadel	W 84–55	15–6 (7–1)	Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,765) Johnson City, TN
January 29, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Western Carolina	L 88–90	15–7 (7–2)	Freedom Hall Civic Center Johnson City, TN
February 1, 2026 7:00 pm, CBSSN		at Wofford	W 86–72	16–7 (8–2)	Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium Spartanburg, SC
February 4, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Furman	W 75–71 ^OT	17–7 (9–2)	Freedom Hall Civic Center (4,072) Johnson City, TN
February 7, 2026 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at VMI	W 87–70	18–7 (10–2)	Cameron Hall (1,433) Lexington, VA
February 11, 2026 7:00 pm, CBSSN		Chattanooga	W 73–61	19–7 (11–2)	Freedom Hall Civic Center (4,854) Johnson City, TN
February 14, 2026 12:00 pm, ESPNU		Samford	L 72–82 ^OT	19–8 (11–3)	Freedom Hall Civic Center (5,138) Johnson City, TN
February 18, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Furman	W 78–69	20–8 (12–3)	Timmons Arena (2,500) Greenville, SC
February 21, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at UNC Greensboro	W 87–75	21–8 (13–3)	Bodford Arena (1,498) Greensboro, NC
February 25, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Wofford	L 69–72	21–9 (13–4)	Freedom Hall Civic Center (5,306) Johnson City, TN
February 28, 2026 4:30 pm, ESPN+		at Mercer	L 76–82	21–10 (13–5)	Hawkins Arena (2,317) Macon, GA
SoCon tournament
March 7, 2026 12:00 pm, ESPN+	(1)	vs. (9) The Citadel Quarterfinals	W 83–76	22–10	Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, NC
March 8, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPNU	(1)	vs. (5) Western Carolina Semifinals	W 69–67	23–10	Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, NC
March 9, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN	(1)	vs. (6) Furman Championship	L 61–76	23–11	Harrah's Cherokee Center (6,111) Asheville, NC
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:^[4]^[5]

References

^ "2024-25 Standings". SoCon. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
^ "Men's Basketball Season Ends in loss against Wofford". The East Tennessean. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c "SoCon men's hoops preseason all-conference team, poll announced". SoCon. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". East Tennessee State University. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
^ "East Tennessee State Buccaneers 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 23, 2025.

[1] "2024-25 Standings". SoCon. Retrieved October 23, 2025.

[2] "Men's Basketball Season Ends in loss against Wofford". The East Tennessean. Retrieved October 23, 2025.

[poll-3] "SoCon men's hoops preseason all-conference team, poll announced". SoCon. Retrieved October 23, 2025.

[4] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". East Tennessee State University. Retrieved October 23, 2025.

[5] "East Tennessee State Buccaneers 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 23, 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball
Venues	ETSU/Mountain States Health Alliance Athletic Center (1977–2014) Freedom Hall Civic Center (2014–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 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