2025–26 Jackson State Tigers basketball team

2025–26 Jackson State Tigers basketball
ConferenceSouthwestern Athletic Conference
Record12–21 (10–8 SWAC)
Head coach
Associate head coachTrey Johnson
Assistant coaches
  • Tyler Adams
  • Keith Williams
  • Khalill Spencer
  • Kydarrius Williams
Home arenaWilliams Assembly Center
2025–26 SWAC men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Bethune–Cookman 14 4   .778 17 15   .531
Florida A&M 11 7   .611 15 16   .484
Southern 11 7   .611 17 17   .500
Texas Southern 10 8   .556 12 18   .400
Alabama A&M 10 8   .556 18 15   .545
Arkansas–Pine Bluff 10 8   .556 13 19   .406
Jackson State 10 8   .556 12 21   .364
Prairie View A&M 9 9   .500 19 17   .528
Grambling State 7 11   .389 14 19   .424
Alabama State 7 11   .389 10 22   .313
Alcorn State 7 11   .389 9 23   .281
Mississippi Valley State 2 16   .111 3 30   .091
2026 SWAC tournament winner
As of March 18, 2026

The 2025–26 Jackson State Tigers basketball team represented Jackson State University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers, led by fourth-year head coach Mo Williams, played their home games at the Williams Assembly Center in Jackson, Mississippi, as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2024–25 season 16–18, 14–4 in SWAC play, to finish in second place.[1] They defeated Florida A&M,[2] and Bethune–Cookman,[3] before falling to Alabama State in the SWAC tournament championship game.[4]

Preseason

On October 8, 2025, the SWAC released their preseason polls. Jackson State was picked to finish third in the conference, while receiving one first-place vote.[5]

Preseason rankings

SWAC Preseason Poll
Place Team Votes
1 Bethune–Cookman 232 (12)
2 Southern 214 (5)
3 Jackson State 208 (1)
4 Alabama State 183 (3)
5 Texas Southern 182
6 Alabama A&M 163
7 Grambling State 151
8 Florida A&M 115
9 Prairie View A&M 99
10 Alcorn State 74
11 Arkansas–Pine Bluff 70 (1)
12 Mississippi Valley State 25
(#) first-place votes

Source:[5]

Preseason Player of the Year

Preseason Player of the Year
Player Year Position
Daeshun Ruffin Senior Guard

Source:[5]

Preseason All-SWAC Teams

Preseason All-SWAC Teams
Team Player Year Position
First Daeshun Ruffin Senior Guard
Second Dorian McMillian Sophomore

Source:[5]

Roster

2025–26 Jackson State Tigers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G/F 0 Tamarion Hoover 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So Yazoo City High School Yazoo City, Mississippi
G 1 Dorian McMillian 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 169 lb (77 kg) So Pascagoula High School Pascagoula, Mississippi
G 2 Jalen Tatum 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 187 lb (85 kg) RS Jr Holmes Community College Pine Bluff, Arkansas
G/F 3 Jayme Mitchell Jr. 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr Alabama State Jackson, Mississippi
F 4 Devin Ree 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 177 lb (80 kg) Sr Louisiana Tech Jackson, Mississippi
G 5 Keiveon Hunt 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Sr Callaway High School Jackson, Mississippi
F 7 Kedrick Simmons 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 174 lb (79 kg) Fr Booneville High School Booneville, Mississippi
F 8 Dionjahe Thomas 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 236 lb (107 kg) RS Jr Southern Houma, Louisiana
F 9 Deyan Kolev 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Pierre de Coubertin Sports School Yambol, Bulgaria
C 10 Ebo Wilson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 284 lb (129 kg) So Ridgeland High School Accra, Ghana
G 11 Mike Williams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 176 lb (80 kg) Fr Germantown High School Gluckstadt, Mississippi
G 12 Delyle Williams 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 191 lb (87 kg) Jr St. John Bosco High School Compton, California
G 13 Cael Jones 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 149 lb (68 kg) Fr Southaven High School Southaven, Mississippi
F 20 Raevon Thomas 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 217 lb (98 kg) Sr Central State Detroit, Michigan
F 21 Kobe Butler 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 201 lb (91 kg) Fr Archbishop Shaw High School Marrero, Louisiana
G 24 Daeshun Ruffin 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 157 lb (71 kg) Sr Ole Miss Jackson, Mississippi
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: December 17, 2025

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 27, 2025*
8:00 pm
Southern Miss L 71–81 
Williams Assembly Center 
Jackson, MS
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025*
7:30 pm, BTN
at No. 17 Illinois L 55–113  0–1
State Farm Center (14,511)
Champaign, IL
November 6, 2025*
6:00 pm, ACCNX
at No. 11 Louisville L 70–106  0–2
KFC Yum! Center (14,412)
Louisville, KY
November 15, 2025*
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Louisiana Tech L 51–68  0–3
Thomas Assembly Center (2,106)
Ruston, LA
November 19, 2025*
8:00 pm, SECN
at No. 22 Auburn L 66–112  0–4
Neville Arena (9,121)
Auburn, AL
November 21, 2025*
7:00 pm, SECN+
at No. 21 Arkansas L 61–115  0–5
Bud Walton Arena (19,200)
Fayetteville, AR
November 23, 2025*
7:00 pm, SWAC TV
Winthrop L 62–80  0–6
Williams Assembly Center (506)
Jackson, MS
November 28, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Louisiana W 51–45  1–6
Cajundome (2,704)
Lafayette, LA
December 2, 2025*
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Kennesaw State L 73–88  1–7
VyStar Arena (1,378)
Kennesaw, GA
December 10, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at No. 7 Houston L 38–80  1–8
Fertitta Center (7,035)
Houston, TX
December 13, 2025*
1:00 pm, BTN
at Northwestern L 53–93  1–9
Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,007)
Evanston, IL
December 18, 2025*
4:00 pm, ESPNU
vs. Hampton
Chris Paul HBCU Classic
L 77–84  1–10
Gateway Center Arena (425)
College Park, GA
December 19, 2025*
6:30 pm, ESPNU
vs. Norfolk State
Chris Paul HBCU Classic
L 72–82  1–11
Gateway Center Arena (375)
College Park, GA
December 29, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at TCU L 64–115  1–12
Schollmaier Arena (4,857)
Fort Worth, TX
SWAC regular season
January 3, 2026
3:00 pm, SWAC TV
Alcorn State W 89–86  2–12
(1–0)
Williams Assembly Center (2,220)
Jackson, MS
January 10, 2026
3:00 pm, ESPNU
at Alabama State W 75–64  3–12
(2–0)
Dunn–Oliver Acadome (895)
Montgomery, AL
January 12, 2026
7:00 pm, SWAC TV
at Alabama A&M L 91–100  3–13
(2–1)
AAMU Event Center (2,823)
Huntsville, AL
January 17, 2026
3:00 pm, SWAC TV
Prairie View A&M W 82-78  4–13
(3–1)
Williams Assembly Center (1,152)
Jackson, MS
January 19, 2026
7:00 pm, SWAC TV
Texas Southern W 94–89  5–13
(4–1)
Williams Assembly Center (654)
Jackson, MS
January 24, 2026
3:00 pm, ESPNU
at Bethune–Cookman L 48–85  5–14
(4–2)
Moore Gymnasium (824)
Daytona Beach, FL
January 26, 2026
6:00 p.m., SWAC TV
at Florida A&M W 66–65  6–14
(5–2)
Al Lawson Center (1,005)
Tallahassee, FL
January 31, 2026
3:00 pm, SWAC TV
Grambling State L 66–69  6–15
(5–3)
Williams Assembly Center (1,136)
Jackson, MS
February 2, 2026
7:00 pm, SWAC TV
Southern L 91–96 OT 6–16
(5–4)
Williams Assembly Center (1,055)
Jackson, MS
February 7, 2026
5:00 pm, SWAC TV
at Mississippi Valley State W 97–81  7–16
(6–4)
Harrison HPER Complex (573)
Itta Bena, MS
February 9, 2026
5:30 pm, SWAC TV
at Arkansas–Pine Bluff L 63–84  7–17
(6–5)
H.O. Clemmons Arena (2,046)
Pine Bluff, AR
February 14, 2026
2:30 pm, HBCU GO
Florida A&M W 80–60  8–17
(7–5)
Williams Assembly Center (945)
Jackson, MS
February 16, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPNU
Bethune–Cookman W 91–86  9–17
(8–5)
Williams Assembly Center (1,056)
Jackson, MS
February 21, 2026
3:00 pm, SWAC TV
at Alcorn State L 65–83  9–18
(8–6)
Davey Whitney Complex (1,201)
Lorman, MS
February 26, 2026
8:30 pm, SWAC TV
at Prairie View A&M L 76–85 OT 9–19
(8–7)
William Nicks Building (1,526)
Prairie View, TX
February 28, 2026
4:00 pm, SWAC TV
at Texas Southern L 57–82  9–20
(8–8)
H&PE Arena (1,567)
Houston, TX
March 3, 2026
8:00 pm, SWAC TV
Arkansas–Pine Bluff W 81–78  10–20
(9–8)
Williams Assembly Center (768)
Jackson, MS
March 5, 2026
8:00 pm, SWAC TV
Mississippi Valley State W 85–77  11–20
(10–8)
Williams Assembly Center (1,196)
Jackson, MS
SWAC tournament
March 10, 2026
7:30 p.m., ESPN+
(7) vs. (9) Grambling State
Second round
W 68–65  12–20
Gateway Center Arena (1,024)
College Park, GA
March 11, 2026
7:30 p.m., ESPN+
(7) vs. (2) Florida A&M
Quarterfinals
L 60–70  12–21
Gateway Center Arena (1,274)
College Park, GA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Sources:[6][7]

References

  1. ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Southwestern Athletic Conference. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  2. ^ "Jackson State has the appearance of NCAA Tournament team in dominant win over FAMU". HBCU Sports. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  3. ^ "Jackson State men's basketball drops Bethune-Cookman, advances to SWAC tournament final". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  4. ^ "Alabama State basketball punches NCAA Tournament ticket with SWAC conference title". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d "SWAC Announces 2025 Men's Basketball Preseason Selections". Southwestern Athletic Conference. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  6. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Jackson State University. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  7. ^ "Jackson State Tigers 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 17, 2025.