2025–26 FIU Panthers men's basketball team

2025–26 FIU Panthers men's basketball
ConferenceConference USA
Record15–17 (8–12 C-USA)
Head coach
Associate head coachJesse Bopp
Assistant coaches
  • Joey Rodriguez
  • Zavier Anderson
Home arenaOcean Bank Convocation Center
2025–26 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Liberty 17 – 3   .850 26 – 7   .788
Sam Houston 13 – 7   .650 22 – 12   .647
Western Kentucky 11 – 9   .550 18 – 14   .563
Louisiana Tech 11 – 9   .550 20 – 14   .588
Middle Tennessee 11 – 9   .550 17 – 15   .531
Kennesaw State † 10 – 10   .500 21 – 14   .600
Jacksonville State 10 – 10   .500 15 – 17   .469
FIU 8 – 12   .400 15 – 17   .469
Missouri State 8 – 12   .400 16 – 18   .471
New Mexico State 8 – 12   .400 16 – 16   .500
UTEP 7 – 13   .350 11 – 20   .355
Delaware 6 – 14   .300 10 – 21   .323
† 2026 CUSA tournament winner

The 2025–26 FIU Panthers men's basketball team represented Florida International University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by eighth-year head coach Jeremy Ballard, played their home games at Ocean Bank Convocation Center in Miami, Florida as members of Conference USA.

Previous season

The Panthers finished the 2024–25 season 10–23, 3–15 in C-USA play, to finish in tenth (last) place.[1] They upset Western Kentucky,[2] before falling to Jacksonville State in the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament.[3]

Preseason

On October 9, 2025, Conference USA released their preseason poll. FIU was picked to finish tenth in the conference.[4]

Preseason rankings

C-USA Preseason Poll
Place Team Votes
1 Liberty 143 (11)
2 Kennesaw State 126 (1)
3 New Mexico State 113
4 Middle Tennessee 103
5 Louisiana Tech 82
6 Western Kentucky 79
7 Jacksonville State 67
8 UTEP 66
9 Sam Houston 56
10 FIU 36
11 Delaware 35
12 Missouri State 30
(#) first-place votes

Source:[4]

Preseason All-Conference USA Team

No players were named to the Preseason All-Conference USA Team.[4]

Roster

2025–26 FIU Panthers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Mikey Kelvin II 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Sr Oklahoma State Ottawa, Ontario
G 1 Brit Harris 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr USC Upstate Gary, Indiana
G 2 Zawdie Jackson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr New Mexico State Stone Mountain, Georgia
G/F 3 Corey Stephenson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Cal State Bakersfield Bessemer, Alabama
G 4 Ashton Williamson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So 21st Century Charter School of Gary Gary, Indiana
F 5 Hamed Olayinka 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Samford Los Angeles, California
G 6 Thiago Sucatzky 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Miami Prep Córdoba, Argentina
F 7 Gvidas Gicevicius 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr BC Žalgiris-2 Kaunas, Lithuania
F 9 Eric Dibami 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Miami Prep Yaoundé, Cameroon
G 10 Julian Mackey 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Sr Houston Christian Grayson, Georgia
G 11 Amarion Nimmers 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Jr Tampa Rock Island, Illinois
G 15 Renato Ruiz (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) GS American Heritage Schools Plantation, Florida
F 22 Jorge Santos 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr G. Holmes Braddock High School Miami, Florida
F 25 Kennedy Brown (5th) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Roosevelt Chicago, Illinois
F 34 Ibrahim Olajuwon 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr Southeastern Community College Lagos, Nigeria
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on
  • (5th) Fifth-year senior
  • Injured
  • Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: December 6, 2025

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Florida National W 101–49  1–0
  25 – Olayinka   12 – Olayinka   8 – Sucatzky  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,605)
Miami, FL
November 8, 2025*
1:00 pm, B1G+ 		at Nebraska L 66–96  1–1
  12 – Tied   7 – Tied   4 – Jackson  Pinnacle Bank Arena (14,023)
Lincoln, NE
November 13, 2025*
8:00 pm, SECN+ 		at LSU L 81–98  1–2
  25 – Stephenson   10 – Stephenson   6 – Stephenson  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (6,306)
Baton Rouge, LA
November 18, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Fort Lauderdale W 104−80  2−2
  19 – Williamson   11 – Stephenson   9 – Mackey  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (723)
Miami, FL
November 24, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		James Madison
FIU MTE 		L 72−80  2−3
  25 – Stephenson   8 – Tied   5 – Jackson  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (604)
Miami, FL
November 26, 2025*
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Omaha
FIU MTE 		W 74–61  3–3
  24 – Harris   9 – Stephenson   4 – Tied  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (328)
Miami, FL
December 3, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Florida Gulf Coast W 89–83  4–3
  20 – Jackson   8 – Stephenson   4 – Mackey  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (633)
Miami, FL
December 6, 2025*
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Jacksonville W 88–65  5–3
  14 – Tied   6 – Tied   6 – Jackson  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (338)
Miami, FL
December 16, 2025*
7:00 pm, ACCNX 		at Miami (FL) L 81–98  5–4
  23 – Stephenson   5 – Tied   6 – Stephenson  Watsco Center (4,930)
Coral Gables, FL
December 20, 2025*
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		LIU W 86–79  6–4
  22 – Mackey   7 – Dibami   5 – Williamson  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (301)
Miami, FL
December 22, 2025*
12:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Trinity (Jacksonville) W 121–70  7–4
  19 – Stephenson   12 – Dibami   9 – Williamson  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (194)
Miami, FL
Conference USA regular season
December 28, 2025
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Liberty L 94–97 OT 7–5
(0–1) 		 21 – Dibami   11 – Stephenson   4 – Jackson  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (399)
Miami, FL
January 2, 2026
12:00 pm, ESPN+ 		New Mexico State W 89–74  8–5
(1–1) 		 21 – Stephenson   10 – Dibami   4 – Jackson  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (431)
Miami, FL
January 4, 2026
4:00 pm, ESPN+ 		UTEP W 76–64  9–5
(2–1) 		 17 – Stephenson   10 – Tied   3 – Tied  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (323)
Miami, FL
January 7, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Jacksonville State L 64–71  9–6
(2–2) 		 19 – Jackson   7 – Olayinka   4 – Williamson  Pete Mathews Coliseum (823)
Jacksonville, AL
January 10, 2026
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Missouri State L 71–79  9–7
(2–3) 		 18 – Mackey   8 – Dibami   5 – Jackson  Great Southern Bank Arena (2,210)
Springfield, MO
January 14, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Kennesaw State L 86–89  9–8
(2–4) 		 25 – Jackson   12 – Dibami   3 – Tied  VyStar Arena (1,908)
Kennesaw, GA
January 17, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Sam Houston L 63–76  9–9
(2–5) 		 23 – Mackey   10 – Olayinka   3 – Tied  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (432)
Miami, FL
January 22, 2026
9:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at UTEP L 77–83  9–10
(2–6) 		 19 – Olayinka   14 – Olayinka   3 – Tied  Don Haskins Center (3,186)
El Paso, TX
January 24, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at New Mexico State W 81–78  10–10
(3–6) 		 25 – Stephenson   12 – Stephenson   4 – Sucatzky  Pan American Center (5,682)
Las Cruces, NM
January 28, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Jacksonville State L 74–78  10–11
(3–7) 		 20 – Stephenson   10 – Dibami   2 – Mackey  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,124)
Miami, FL
February 4, 2026
7:30 pm, ESPN+ 		at Middle Tennessee W 88–84 OT 11–11
(4–7) 		 34 – Stephenson   10 – Dibami   3 – Dibami  Murphy Center (3,512)
Murfreesboro, TN
February 7, 2026
3:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Western Kentucky L 70–80  11–12
(4–8) 		 17 – Jackson   6 – Tied   5 – Harris  E. A. Diddle Arena (3,145)
Bowling Green, KY
February 12, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Delaware L 66–68  11–13
(4–9) 		 15 – Dibami   13 – Dibami   3 – Tied  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (540)
Miami, FL
February 14, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Louisiana Tech W 77–64  12–13
(5–9) 		 20 – Jackson   17 – Olayinka   4 – Jackson  Ocean Bank Convocation Center 
Miami, FL
February 19, 2026
6:00 pm, CBSSN 		at Liberty L 89–90 OT 12–14
(5–10) 		 23 – Stephenson   10 – Dibami   3 – Jackson  Liberty Arena (3,553)
Lynchburg, VA
February 21, 2026
3:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Missouri State W 70–67  13–14
(6–10) 		 22 – Mackey   8 – Olayinka   3 – Tied  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (647)
Miami, FL
February 26, 2026
9:00 pm, CBSSN 		at Sam Houston L 67–100  13–15
(6–11) 		 18 – Stephenson   8 – Dibami   2 – Tied  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,358)
Huntsville, TX
February 28, 2026
3:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Louisiana Tech W 84–76  14–15
(7–11) 		 21 – Stephenson   10 – Dibami   6 – Dibami  Thomas Assembly Center (2,265)
Ruston, LA
March 5, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Middle Tennessee L 67–73  14–16
(7–12) 		 16 – Mackey   9 – Olayinka   6 – Jackson  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,735)
Miami, FL
March 7, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Western Kentucky W 92–67  15–16
(8–12) 		 18 – Stephenson   10 – Olayinka   4 – Harris  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (804)
Miami, FL
Conference USA tournament
March 10, 2026
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		(8) vs. (9) Missouri State
First round 		L 72–75  15–17
  24 – Stephenson   13 – Dibami   2 – Tied  Propst Arena (2,509)
Huntsville, AL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Sources:[5][6]

References

  1. ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Conference USA. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  2. ^ "FIU upsets Western Kentucky; to face Jacksonville State in CUSA quarterfinals". 256 Today. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  3. ^ "Jacksonville State's men down FIU to advance to Conference USA tournament semifinals". al.com. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "2025-26 CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team and Poll Announced". Conference USA. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  5. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". FIU Athletics. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  6. ^ "Florida International Panthers 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
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