2025–26 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season

2025–26 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
Teams13
Regular season
ChampionsMiami
  Runners-upAkron
Season MVPPeter Suder
Tournament
VenueRocket Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
ChampionsAkron
  Runners-upToledo
2025–26 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Miami (OH) 18 – 0   1.000 32 – 1   .970
Akron † 17 – 1   .944 29 – 5   .853
Kent State 14 – 4   .778 24 – 10   .706
Toledo 11 – 7   .611 19 – 15   .559
Bowling Green 9 – 9   .500 18 – 14   .563
Ohio 9 – 9   .500 15 – 17   .469
Buffalo 7 – 11   .389 17 – 15   .531
UMass 7 – 11   .389 17 – 16   .515
Ball State 7 – 11   .389 12 – 19   .387
Central Michigan 6 – 12   .333 10 – 21   .323
Western Michigan 4 – 14   .222 10 – 21   .323
Northern Illinois 4 – 14   .222 9 – 21   .300
Eastern Michigan 4 – 14   .222 10 – 21   .323
† 2026 MAC tournament winner
As of March 18, 2026
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2025–26 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2025, followed by the start of the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play will begin in January 2025 and conclude in March 2025. The 2026 MAC tournament will be held at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio for the 27th consecutive season.[1] The conference will see its first change in membership since 2005 with the addition of UMass[2] It will also be the last MAC season for Northern Illinois, which will rejoin the Horizon League in 2026 after a nearly 30-year absence.[3]

Miami won the regular season championship with an 18–0 record. They became the first MAC team to complete a perfect regular season with a 31–0 overall record. Miami's Peter Suder and Travis Steele won Player of the Year and Coach of the Year respectively.[4]

Eighth seed UMass upset 20th ranked Miami in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament.[5][6] Second seeded Akron defeated Buffalo, Kent State, and Toledo to win their third straight MAC tournament title to advance to the 2026 NCAA tournament.[7] Tavari Johnson of Akron was named tournament MVP.[8]

Miami received at at-large bid to the NCAA tournament field and were placed the in First Four with an 11 seed against SMU.[9] Miami joined Akron in the round of 64 with a 89–79 win.[10]

Head coaches

Coaching changes

Central Michigan

After four seasons and a 49–75 overall record, Central Michigan fired Tony Barbee on April 3, 2025.[11] On Monday, April 14, 2025, Central Michigan named Andy Bronkema the new head coach.[12]

Coaches

Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Overall record School record MAC record MAC titles MAC Tournament titles NCAA tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA Championships
Akron John Groce Illinois 9 348–219 (.614) 168–88 (.656) 99–49 (.669) 2 3 3 0 0
Ball State Michael Lewis UCLA (Asst.) 4 49–45 (.521) 49–45 (.521) 25–29 (.463) 0 0 0 0 0
Bowling Green Todd Simon Southern Utah 3 162–149 (.521) 34–32 (.515) 18–18 (.500) 0 0 0 0 0
Buffalo George Halcovage Villanova (Assoc. HC) 3 13–49 (.210) 13–49 (.210) 6–30 (.167) 0 0 0 0 0
Central Michigan Andy Bronkema Ferris State 1 256–93 (.734) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0 0 0 0 0
Eastern Michigan Stan Heath Lakeland Magic 5 255–284 (.473) 47–78 (.376) 25–49 (.338) 0 0 0 0 0
Kent State Rob Senderoff Kent State (Asst.) 15 288–176 (.621) 288–176 (.621) 149–101 (.596) 1 2 2 0 0
Miami Travis Steele Xavier 4 118–96 (.551) 52–46 (.531) 29–25 (.537) 0 0 0 0 0
Northern Illinois Rashon Burno Arizona State (Asst.) 5 39–85 (.315) 39–85 (.315) 22–47 (.319) 0 0 0 0 0
Ohio Jeff Boals Stony Brook 7 169–118 (.589) 114–76 (.600) 64–43 (.598) 0 1 1 0 0
Toledo Tod Kowalczyk Green Bay 16 432–308 (.584) 296–196 (.602) 166–101 (.622) 5 0 0 0 0
UMass Frank Martin South Carolina 4 335–248 (.575) 47–47 (.500) 0–0 (–) 0 0 0 0 0
Western Michigan Dwayne Stephens Michigan State (Assoc. HC) 4 32–63 (.337) 32–63 (.337) 22–32 (.407) 0 0 0 0 0

Notes:

  • Appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
  • Years at school includes 2025–26 season.
  • MAC records are from time at current school only.
  • All records are through the beginning of the season.

Source - [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24]

Preseason

The MAC Men’s & Women’s Basketball Tip-Off was held on Tuesday, October 21, 2025. Each team had their head coach and a student athlete from both the men's and women's basketball team for interviews.[25]

MAC Men's Basketball Preview Coaches & Student-Athletes

  • Akron: Head Coach John Groce & Tavari Johnson (Senior, Guard)
  • Ball State: Head Coach Michael Lewis & Juwan Maxey (Senior, Guard)
  • Bowling Green: Head Coach Todd Simon & Javontae Campbell (Senior, Guard)
  • Buffalo: Head Coach George Halcovage III & Angelo Brizzi (Grad., Guard)
  • Central Michigan: Head Coach Andy Bronkema & Phat Phat Brooks (Sophomore, Guard)
  • Eastern Michigan: Head Coach Stan Heath & Mak Manciel (Senior, Guard)
  • Kent State: Head Coach Rob Senderoff & Delrecco Gillespie (Senior, Forward)
  • Miami: Head Coach Travis Steele & Peter Suder (Senior, Guard)
  • Northern Illinois: Head Coach Rashon Burno & Dylan Ducommun (Freshman, Guard)
  • Ohio: Head Coach Jeff Boals & Jackson Paveletzke (Senior, Guard)
  • Toledo: Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk & Sonny Wilson (Junior, Guard)
  • Western Michigan: Head Coach Dwayne Stephens & Max Burton (R-Junior, Forward)

Preseason men's basketball coaches poll

Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
Place Team Points First place votes
1. Akron 143 11
2. Miami 133 2
3. Kent State 122 --
4. Ohio 108 --
5. UMass 98 --
6. Toledo 95 --
7. Bowling Green 73 --
8. Ball State 62 --
9. Eastern Michigan 52 --
10. Western Michigan 46 --
11. Buffalo 37 --
12. Central Michigan 31 --
13. Northern Illinois 14 --

MAC Tournament Champions:Akron (8), Miami (2), Kent State (1), Ohio (1), UMass (1)

Source[26]

MAC Preseason All-Conference

Honor Recipient
Preseason All-MAC First Team Tavari Johnson, Senior, Guard, Akron
Javontae Campbell, Senior, Guard, Bowling Green
Delrecco Gillespie, Senior, Forward, Kent State
Peter Suder, Senior, Guard, Miami
Jackson Paveletzke, Senior, Guard, Ohio
Preseason All-MAC Second Team Evan Mahaffey, Senior, Wing, Akron
Shammah Scott, Graduate Student, Guard, Akron
Daniel Hankins-Sanford, Senior, Forward, UMass
Javan Simmons, Redshirt Junior, Forward, Ohio
Sonny Wilson, Junior, Guard, Toledo

Source[26]

Regular season

Rankings

Main article: 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
  Pre Wk
2		 Wk
3		 Wk
4		 Wk
5		 Wk
6		 Wk
7		 Wk
8		 Wk
9		 Wk
10		 Wk
11		 Wk
12		 Wk
13		 Wk
14		 Wk
15		 Wk
16		 Wk
17		 Wk
18		 Wk
19		 Final
Akron AP
C
Ball State AP
C
Bowling Green AP
C
Buffalo AP RV RV
C
Central Michigan AP
C
Eastern Michigan AP
C
Kent State AP
C
Miami AP RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 24 23 23 22 21 19 RV
C RV RV RV RV 25 24 24 23 25 20 RV
Northern Illinois AP
C
Ohio AP
C
Toledo AP
C
UMass AP
C
Western Michigan AP
C
Legend
    Improvement in ranking
  Drop in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
  No change in ranking from previous week
RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
т Tied with team above or below also with this symbol

Conference matrix

  Akron Ball State Bowling Green Buffalo Central Michigan Eastern Michigan Kent State Miami (OH) Northern Illinois Ohio Toledo UMass Western Michigan
vs. Akron — 0–2 0–1 0–2 0–2 0–2 0–2 1–0 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–2
vs. Ball State 2–0 — 1–0 2–0 0–2 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–2 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–1
vs. Bowling Green 1–0 0–1 — 1–0 1–0 0–2 2–0 2–0 0–1 0–1 1–1 0–2 1–1
vs. Buffalo 2–0 0–2 0–1 — 1–0 0–1 1–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 0–1
vs. Central Michigan 2–0 2–0 0–1 0–1 — 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–1
vs. Eastern Michigan 2–0 0–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 — 2–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 2–0
vs. Kent State 2–0 0–1 0–2 0–1 1–1 0–2 — 1–0 0–2 0–1 0–2 0–1 0–1
vs. Miami (OH) 0–1 0–1 0–2 0–2 0–1 0–1 0–1 — 0–1 0–2 0–2 0–2 0–2
vs. Northern Illinois 1–0 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 2–0 1–0 — 2–0 2–0 0–1 0–1
vs. Ohio 1–0 1–1 1–0 0–2 0–1 0–1 1–0 2–0 0–2 — 2–0 1–1 0–1
vs. Toledo 1–0 0–1 1–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 2–0 2–0 0–2 0–2 — 1–0 0–2
vs. UMass 1–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 2–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 — 0–1
vs. Western Michigan 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–2 1–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 —
Total 17–1 7–11 9–9 7–11 6–12 4–14 14–4 18–0 4–14 9–9 11–7 7–11 4–14

MAC–SBC Challenge

The third installment of the MAC–SBC Challenge scheduling alliance was announced on July 1, 2025.[27] All 13 men's and women's Mid-American Conference teams will play 13 men's and women's teams in the Sun Belt Conference.

MAC–SBC Challenge men's basketball
First round
November 3, 2025
MAC (home) Score Score SBC (away)
Akron 85 71 James Madison
Ball State 75 64 Louisiana
Bowling Green 83 48 Texas State
Buffalo 85 79 Southern Miss
Central Michigan 82 66 Appalachian State
Eastern Michigan 71 49 Georgia State
Kent State 97 103 Troy
Miami (OH) 87 72 Old Dominion
Northern Illinois 102 82 Louisiana Monroe
Ohio 85 89 Arkansas State
Toledo 74 76 South Alabama
UMass 72 78 Marshall
Western Michigan 76 71 Coastal Carolina
First round 9 4 Source[28]
Second round
February 7, 2026
MAC (away) Score Score SBC (home)
Akron 69 79 Troy
Ball State 73 68 Louisiana-Monroe
Bowling Green 74 91 Arkansas State
Buffalo 69 81 South Alabama
Central Michigan 80 85 Louisiana
Eastern Michigan 60 65 Appalachian State
Kent State 65 66 Southern Mississippi
Miami (OH) 90 74 Marshall
Northern Illinois 75 74 Georgia State
Ohio 72 78 Old Dominion
Toledo 71 73 James Madison
UMass 91 94 Coastal Carolina
Western Michigan 61 77 Texas State
Second round 3 10 Source[29]
Total wins 12 14

Postseason

Mid–American Tournament

Main article: 2025 MAC men's basketball tournament

Eighth seed UMass upset 20th ranked Miami in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament. Second seeded Akron defeated Buffalo, Kent State, and Toledo to win their third straight MAC tournament title to advance to the 2026 NCAA tournament.

NCAA tournament

Main article: 2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

Miami received an at-large bid to the NCAA field and earned a spot in the round of 64 with a preliminary round win over SMU.[30]

Seed Region School First Four First round Second round Sweet 16 Elite Eight Final Four Championship
11 Midwest Miami (OH) W 89–79 vs. (11) SMU vs. (6) Tennessee
12 Midwest Akron Bye vs. (5) Texas Tech
W–L (%): 1–0 (1.000) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–)
Total: 1–0 (1.000)

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 2026 National Invitation Tournament

Kent State accepted an NIT bid and lost to Illinois State in the first round.[31][32]

School First round Second Round Quarterfinal Semifinal Championship
Kent State L 58–79 vs. (4) Illinois State DNP
W–L (%): 0–1 (.000) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) Total: 0–1 (.000)

All-MAC awards

Mid-American men's basketball weekly awards

[33]

Week Player(s) of the Week School
Nov 10[34] Javontae Campbell
Morgan Safford 		Bowling Green
Kent State
Nov 17[35] Delrecco Gillespie Kent State
Nov 24[36] Daniel Freitag
Mohammad Habhab 		Buffalo
Eastern Michigan
Dec 1[37] Daniel Freitag (2) Buffalo
Dec 8[38] Tavari Johnson
Javontae Campbell (2) 		Akron
Bowling Green
Dec 15[39] Marcus Banks Jr. UMass
Dec 22[40] Brant Byers Miami
Dec 29[41] Ryan Sabol Buffalo
Jan 5[42] Javontae Campbell (3) Bowling Green
Jan 12[43] Jackson Paveletzke Ohio
Jan 19[44] Delrecco Gillespie (2) Kent State
Jan 26[45] Amani Lyles Akron
Feb 2[46] Tavari Johnson (2) Akron
Feb 9[47] Marcus Banks Jr. (2) UMass
Feb 16[48] Delrecco Gillespie (3) Kent State
Feb 23 Tavari Johnson (3)
Luke Skaljac[49] 		Akron
Miami
Mar 2[50] Shammah Scott Akron
Mar 9

Postseason awards

2026 Mid-American Men's Basketball Individual Awards[51]
Award Recipient(s)
Player of the Year Peter Suder, Miami
Coach of the Year Travis Steele, Miami
Defensive Player of the Year Javontae Campbell, Bowling Green
Freshman of the Year Leroy Blyden Jr., Toledo
Sixth Man Award Shammah Scott, Akron

All-MAC Honors

2026 Mid-American Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams[51]
First Team Second Team Third Team Honorable Mention All-Defensive Freshman Team
Tavari Johnson, Akron
Amani Lyles, Akron
Javontae Campbell, Bowling Green
Delrecco Gillespie, Kent State
Peter Suder, Miami
 Leonardo Bettiol, UMass
Brant Byers, Miami
Eian Elmer, Miami
Jackson Paveletzke, Ohio
Sonny Wilson, Toledo
 Shammah Scott, Akron
Ryan Sabol, Buffalo
Marcus Banks Jr., UMass
Luke Skaljac, Miami
Leroy Blyden Jr., Toledo
 Evan Mahaffey, Akron
Daniel Freitag, Buffalo
Morgan Safford, Kent State
Antwone Woolfolk, Miami
Javan Simmons, Toledo
 Amani Lyles, Akron
Evan Mahaffey, Akron
Javontae Campbell, Bowling Green
Nathan Claerbaut, Central Michigan
Delrecco Gillespie, Kent State
 Eric Mahaffey, Akron
Mohammad Habhab, Eastern Michigan
Quinn Woidke, Kent State
Danny Carbuccia, UMass
Leroy Blyden Jr., Toledo

See also

2025–26 Mid-American Conference women's basketball season

References

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  2. ^ Withers, Tom (February 27, 2024). "UMass will join Mid-American Conference as a full sports member in 2025, MAC commissioner says". APNews. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  3. ^ "Horizon League Welcomes NIU" (Press release). Horizon League. February 27, 2025. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
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  5. ^ "Massachusetts 87, Miami (OH) 83". ESPN. March 12, 2026. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  6. ^ "AP Top 25 Poll, Week 18". Associated Press. March 9, 2026. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
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  9. ^ "Double The MACtion With Two NCAA Tournament Bids For The Mid-American Conference". BCSNN. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
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  14. ^ "Michael Lewis". Sports Reference.
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  24. ^ "Dwayne Stephens". Sports Reference.
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