2025–26 Jacksonville State Gamecocks men's basketball team

2025–26 Jacksonville State Gamecocks men's basketball
2025–26 Jacksonville State Gamecocks men's basketball
Conference	Conference USA
Record	15–17 (10–10 C-USA)
Head coach	Ray Harper (10th season);
Associate head coach	Dennan Morrow
Assistant coaches	Kevin Jones; Patrick Moynihan; Rusty Elmore;
Home arena	Pete Mathews Coliseum

2025–26 Conference USA men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Liberty	17	–	3	.850	26	–	8	.765
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 Jacksonville State Gamecocks men's basketball team represented Jacksonville State University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gamecocks, led by tenth-year head coach Ray Harper, played their home games at the Pete Mathews Coliseum in Jacksonville, Alabama as third-year members of Conference USA.

Previous season

The Gamecocks finished the 2024–25 season 23–13, 12–6 in C-USA play, to finish in a tie for second place.^[1] They defeated FIU^[2] and Middle Tennessee^[3] before falling to top-seeded Liberty in the C-USA tournament championship game.^[4] They received an at-large bid to the NIT,^[5] where they would defeat Georgia Tech in the first round,^[6] before being defeated by eventual tournament runner-up UC Irvine in the second round.^[7]

Preseason

On October 9, 2025, Conference USA released their preseason poll. Jacksonville State was picked to finish seventh in the conference.^[8]

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:^[8]

Preseason All C-USA Team

Preseason All C-USA Team
Player	Year	Position
Mostapha El Moutaouakkil	Senior	Guard

Source:^[8]

Roster

2025–26 Jacksonville State Gamecocks men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	AC Bryant	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Alabama A&M	Shreveport, Louisiana
G	1	Marcus Fitzgerald Jr.	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	GS	Tennessee State	Nashville, Tennessee
G	2	Jacoby Hill	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Central High School	Phenix City, Alabama
G	3	Jaye Nash	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	So	Tulsa	Memphis, Tennessee
F	4	Aidan Driggers (W)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Sr	Marion Military Institute	Oneonta, Alabama
G/F	5	Bencao Vungo	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jr	East Carolina	Chitato, Angola
G	7	Toby Nnadozie	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	Coppin State	Baltimore, Maryland
G	8	Jordan Vick	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Fr	Word of God Christian Academy	Rocky Mount, North Carolina
G	11	Jamar Franklin	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Georgia Southern	Rockledge, Florida
F	13	Emondrek Erkins-Ford	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jr	Eastern Florida State College	Chicago, Illinois
G	14	Connor Loy	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Adair County High School	Columbia, Kentucky
F	21	Aitor Anabitarte	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	GS	St. Francis (IL)	Lasarte-Oria, Spain
G	23	Mostapha El Moutaouakkil	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Louisiana	Rabat, Morocco
F	42	Thomas Tut	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Sr	Southeastern Louisiana	Juba, South Sudan
F	99	Iaroslav Niagu	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Jr	Charlotte	Krasnodar, Russia

Head coach

Ray Harper (Kentucky Wesleyan)

Assistant coach(es)

Dennan Morrow (Kansas State)
Kevin Jones (Bowie State)
Patrick Moynihan (North Georgia)
Rusty Elmore (Middle Tennessee)

Legend

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

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* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Oakwood	W 117–63	1–0	27 – El Moutaouakkil	10 – Tied	4 – Tied	Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,985) Jacksonville, AL
November 10, 2025* 11:00 am, ESPN+		Reinhardt	W 114–39	2–0	20 – El Moutaouakkil	16 – Vungo	4 – Nash	Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,927) Jacksonville, AL
November 14, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Coastal Carolina	W 74–67	3–0	33 – El Moutaouakkil	6 – Tied	5 – Nash	Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,023) Jacksonville, AL
November 19, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		South Alabama	L 65−71	3−1	24 – Bryant	8 – Bryant	12 – Nash	Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,366) Jacksonville, AL
November 24, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Arkansas State Arkansas State Thanksgiving MTE	L 63−74	3−2	16 – El Moutaouakkil	6 – Tied	2 – Tied	First National Bank Arena (3,071) Jonesboro, AR
November 26, 2025* 2:00 pm		vs. North Dakota State Arkansas State Thanksgiving MTE	L 43–56	3–3	9 – Tied	8 – El Moutaouakkil	2 – Tied	First National Bank Arena (203) Jonesboro, AR
December 1, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		North Alabama	L 66–73	3–4	19 – El Moutaouakkil	8 – Bryant	8 – Nash	Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,634) Jacksonville, AL
December 7, 2025* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Auburn Montgomery	W 66–39	4–4	19 – El Moutaouakkil	10 – El Moutaouakkil	3 – Tied	Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,124) Jacksonville, AL
December 13, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Georgia State	L 73–77	4–5	18 – El Moutaouakkil	8 – Tied	6 – Nash	GSU Convocation Center (1,698) Atlanta, GA
December 17, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Eastern Kentucky	L 59–62	4–6	16 – El Moutaouakkil	7 – El Moutaouakkil	4 – Niagu	Pete Mathews Coliseum Jacksonville, AL
December 20, 2025* 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at East Tennessee State	W 81–75	5–6	29 – Bryant	8 – Erkins-Ford	3 – Tied	Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,270) Johnson City, TN
Conference USA regular season
December 29, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Western Kentucky	W 78–67	6–6 (1–0)	23 – Bryant	8 – El Moutaouakkil	3 – Erkins-Ford	Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,755) Jacksonville, AL
January 2, 2026 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Delaware	W 67–64	7–6 (2–0)	22 – El Moutaouakkil	6 – Bryant	3 – Nash	Bob Carpenter Center (1,686) Newark, DE
January 4, 2026 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Liberty	L 69–78	7–7 (2–1)	24 – Erkins-Ford	8 – EL Moutaouakkil	4 – Nash	Liberty Arena (3,087) Lynchburg, VA
January 7, 2026 6:00 pm, ESPN+		FIU	W 71–64	8–7 (3–1)	19 – Hill	6 – Tied	7 – Nash	Pete Mathews Coliseum (823) Jacksonville, AL
January 10, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at Kennesaw State	L 82–88	8–8 (3–2)	23 – El Moutaouakkil	10 – El Moutaouakkil	6 – Nash	VyStar Arena (2,141) Kennesaw, GA
January 14, 2026 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Sam Houston	L 62–77	8–9 (3–3)	17 – El Moutaouakkil	10 – El Moutaouakkil	2 – El Moutaouakkil	Pete Mathews Coliseum (773) Jacksonville, AL
January 17, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Louisiana Tech	W 64–60	9–9 (4–3)	18 – El Moutaouakkil	6 – El Moutaouakkil	4 – Hill	Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,137) Jacksonville, AL
January 23, 2026 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Middle Tennessee	W 75–58	10–9 (5–3)	22 – Bryant	7 – Tied	5 – Nash	Pete Mathews Coliseum Jacksonville, AL
January 28, 2026 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at FIU	W 78–74	11–9 (6–3)	31 – El Moutaouakkil	7 – Niagu	4 – Tied	Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,124) Miami, FL
January 31, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Missouri State	L 67–74	11–10 (6–4)	16 – Hill	9 – El Moutaouakkil	2 – Tied	Great Southern Bank Arena (2,634) Springfield, MO
February 5, 2026 8:00 pm, CBSSN		at Western Kentucky	W 71–66	12–10 (7–4)	19 – Niagu	12 – Niagu	2 – Tied	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,247) Bowling Green, KY
February 7, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Kennesaw State	W 77–58	13–10 (8–4)	12 – Tied	6 – Simpson	3 – Washington III	Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,867) Jacksonville, AL
February 11, 2026 6:00 pm, ESPN+		UTEP	L 64–69	13–11 (8–5)	17 – Bryant	7 – Niagu	5 – Nash	Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,263) Jacksonville, AL
February 14, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+		New Mexico State	L 70–79	13–12 (8–6)	21 – Hill	6 – El Moutaouakkil	3 – Nash	Pete Mathews Coliseum (894) Jacksonville, AL
February 18, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Louisiana Tech	L 71–77	13–13 (8–7)	27 – El Moutaouakkil	6 – Niagu	5 – Nash	Thomas Assembly Center (1,959) Ruston, LA
February 21, 2026 2:30 pm, ESPN+		at Sam Houston	L 78–82	13–14 (8–8)	38 – El Moutaouakkil	6 – Bryant	5 – Nash	Bernard Johnson Coliseum (852) Huntsville, TX
February 26, 2026 6:00 pm, CBSSN		Delaware	W 80–70 ^OT	14–14 (9–8)	24 – Franklin	10 – El Moutaouakkil	6 – Nash	Pete Mathews Coliseum (873) Jacksonville, AL
February 28, 2026 5:00 pm, ESPNU		Liberty	L 78–81	14–15 (9–9)	21 – El Moutaouakkil	6 – El Moutaouakkil	5 – Nash	Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,573) Jacksonville, AL
March 5, 2026 8:00 pm, ESPN+		at New Mexico State	L 75–77	14–16 (9–10)	25 – Hill	15 – Hill	3 – Nash	Pan American Center (6,648) Las Cruces, NM
March 7, 2026 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at UTEP	W 64–61	15–16 (10–10)	23 – El Moutaouakkil	7 – El Moutaouakkil	3 – Hill	Don Haskins Center (4,115) El Paso, TX
Conference USA tournament
March 10, 2026 8:00 pm, ESPN+	(7)	vs. (10) New Mexico State First Round	L 63–68	15–17	23 – El Moutaouakkil	11 – El Moutaouakkil	4 – Tied	Propst Arena (3,207) Huntsville, AL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[9]^[10]

References

^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Conference USA. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
^ "Jacksonville State's men down FIU to advance to Conference USA tournament semifinals". al.com. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
^ "MTSU's tournament run ends in Conference USA men's basketball semifinals". MTSU Sidelines. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
^ "Liberty prevails to punch March Madness ticket". Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
^ "What to know about the 2025 NIT: Bracket, schedule and how to watch the games". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
^ "Six Big Takeaways From Georgia Tech's Disappointing NIT Tournament Loss to Jacksonville State". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
^ "Hohn puts up 22 in UC Irvine's 66-61 win over Jacksonville State in NIT". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c "2025-26 CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team and Poll Announced". Conference USA. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
^ "2025–26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Jacksonville State University Athletics. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
^ "Jacksonville State Gamecocks 2025–26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 6, 2025.

[1] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Conference USA. Retrieved December 6, 2025.

[2] "Jacksonville State's men down FIU to advance to Conference USA tournament semifinals". al.com. Retrieved December 6, 2025.

[3] "MTSU's tournament run ends in Conference USA men's basketball semifinals". MTSU Sidelines. Retrieved December 6, 2025.

[4] "Liberty prevails to punch March Madness ticket". Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved December 5, 2025.

[5] "What to know about the 2025 NIT: Bracket, schedule and how to watch the games". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved December 6, 2025.

[6] "Six Big Takeaways From Georgia Tech's Disappointing NIT Tournament Loss to Jacksonville State". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 6, 2025.

[7] "Hohn puts up 22 in UC Irvine's 66-61 win over Jacksonville State in NIT". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 6, 2025.

[poll-8] "2025-26 CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team and Poll Announced". Conference USA. Retrieved December 6, 2025.

[9] "2025–26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Jacksonville State University Athletics. Retrieved December 6, 2025.

[10] "Jacksonville State Gamecocks 2025–26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 6, 2025.

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Jacksonville State Gamecocks men's basketball
Venues	Stephenson Hall (1939–1974) Pete Mathews Coliseum (1974–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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 1941–45 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
NCAA national championship in bold