2025–26 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team

2025–26 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball
ConferenceMid-American Conference
Record15–17 (9–9 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Lamar Thornton (7th season)
  • Kyle Barlow (7th season)
  • Lee Martin (6th season)
Home arenaConvocation Center
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 6   .829
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 Ohio University Bobcats men's basketball team represented Ohio University for the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bobcats were led by sixth-year head coach Jeff Boals, who was a 1995 graduate of Ohio University.[1][2] They play their home games at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio, as a member of the Mid-American Conference.[3][4]

They finished the 2025–26 season 15–17, 9–9 in MAC play, to finish tied for 5th place.[5] The Bobcats struggled to a 1–6 record to open the season. They qualified for the MAC tournament as the 6th seed where they lost in the quarterfinals to Kent State[6] This was Ohio's first losing season in Boals' tenure at Ohio and the first since 2018–19 season.

Previous season

The Bobcats were picked to win the conference but finished with a 16–16 record. They posted a disappointing 6–6 record entering 2025 prior to the start of league play. They finished tied for fourth in the MAC with a 10–6 conference record and lost their January matchup in the MAC-SBC challenge.[7] With a first round loss to Toledo, they failed to reach the MAC tournament semifinals for the first time since 2020 when the tournament was cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic.[8][9]

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason
Elmore James[10] 1 G 6'3" 205 Junior Cleveland, Ohio Transferred to Ball State[11]
AJ Brown[12] 3 G 6'4" 210 RS Sophomore Orlando, Florida Transferred to Florida[13]
Shereef Mitchell 4 G 6'1" 175 Grad. Student Omaha, Nebraska Graduated, Exhausted Eligibility
Ben Nicol[14] 7 F 6'7" 208 RS-Freshman Charleston, West Virginia Transferred to Charleston (WV)
Ben Estis* 14 G 6'1" 185 RS Sophomore Southlake, Texas Transferred to Trinity (TX)
AJ Clayton 23 F 6'8" 225 Senior Roseville, Ohio Graduated, Exhausted Eligibility
Vic Searls 35 F 6'9" 240 Grad. Student Hilliard, Ohio Graduated, Exhausted Eligibility

* Walk-on in 2024–25
[15][16][17]

Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason
Javan Simmons 1 F 6'7" 235 Sophomore Gahanna, OH Transferred from Toledo. Will have two years of eligibility remaining.[18]
Dior Conners 3 G 6'3" 183 Junior Columbus, OH Transferred from Appalachian State. Will have one year of eligibility remaining.[19]
Carter Reese 11 G 6'3" 200 Sophomore Westerville, OH Transferred from Ohio Northern. Will have three years of eligibility remaining.
Jalen Breath 22 F 6'8" 225 Junior Oklahoma City, OK Transferred from UNC Greensboro. Will have one year of eligibility remaining.[20]

[15][17]

Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown School Height Weight Commit date
Jordan Fisher
SF
Reynoldsburg, OH Reynoldsburg 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg)  
Recruit ratings: No ratings found
JJ Kelly
ATH
Chambersburg, PA Chambersburg Area 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg)  
Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Zay Mosley
SF
Orlando, FL Oak Ridge 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg)  
Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Overall recruit ranking:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals.

[21][22][23]

Preseason

On October 21, 2025 the MAC released the preseason coaches poll. Ohio was picked to finish fourth in the MAC regular season. Ohio received zero first place votes but did receive one vote to win the MAC Tournament.[24]

Preseason rankings

MAC preseason poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place) 1st place
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[25]

Preseason All-MAC

Preseason All-MAC teams
Team Player Position Year
1st Jackson Paveletzke G Sr.
2nd Javon Simmons G R-Jr.

Source[25]

Roster

2025–26 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Ajay Sheldon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Dublin Coffman Dublin, OH  
F 1 Javon Simmons 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Jr Gahanna Lincoln
Toledo
Gahanna, OH  
G 3 Dior Conners 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Sr Pickerington North
Appalachian State
Columbus, OH  
G 4 JJ Kelly 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Chambersburg Area Chambersburg, PA  
F 5 Ayden Evans 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Elizabethtown Radcliff, KY  
G 6 Elijah Elliot 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Oak Ridge Orlando, FL  
F 8 Zay Mosley 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Oak Ridge Pemberton, NJ  
F 10 Aidan Hadaway 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Lafayette Lafayette, GA  
G 11 Carter Reese (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Westerville North
Ohio Northern
Westerville, OH  
G 13 Jackson Paveletzke 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Kimberly
Iowa State
Kimberly, WI  
F 15 Chase Boals (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 253 lb (115 kg) RS Fr New Albany New Albany, OH  
F 17 Kiir Kuany 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Fr Huntington Prep Melbourne, Australia  
G 21 Jessie Burris 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Fr Delaware Hayes Delaware, OH  
F 22 Jalen Breath 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Sr Booker T. Washington
UNC Greensboro
Oklahoma City, OK  
F 24 Jordan Fisher 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Reynoldsburg Pickerington, OH  
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: October 28, 2025

Support staff

2025-26 Ohio Bobcats support staff
  • Jake Ness – Director of Basketball Operations
  • Keith Williams - Graduate Assistant
  • Sara Legarsky – Senior Director of Athletics Communications
  • Derek Lutz – Staff Athletic Trainer
  • Jessica Arquette – Ohio Athletics Sports Dietitian

Source:[26]

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 20, 2025*
8:10 p.m.
vs. Wright State
CareSource Invitational-Dayton
L 57–63 
 14  Paveletzke   11  Hadaway   3  Hadaway  UD Arena 
Dayton, OH
October 26, 2025*
2:00 p.m., B1G+
at Ohio State L 74–103 
 14  Tied   7  Breath   7  Paveletzke  Value City Arena (8,909)
Columbus, OH
Regular season
November 3, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Arkansas State
MAC-SBC Challenge
L 85–89  0–1
 28  Hadaway   6  Hadaway   3  Hadaway  Convocation Center (5,545)
Athens, OH
November 6, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Illinois State W 72–68  1–1
 19  Paveletzke   8  Hadaway   6  Paveletzke  Convocation Center (3,831)
Athens, OH
November 11, 2025*
10:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Saint Mary's L 60–90  1–2
 19  Paveletzke   6  Tied   6  Sheldon  University Credit Union Pavilion (3,012)
Moraga, CA
November 15, 2025*
12:00 p.m, The CW
at No. 12 Louisville L 81–106  1–3
 28  Paveletzke   9  Simmons   4  Paveletzke  KFC Yum! Center (14,899)
Louisville, KY
November 19, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Bethune–Cookman
Sunshine Slam campus game
L 73–76  1–4
 28  Paveletzke   11  Hadaway   5  Paveletzke  Convocation Center (3,664)
Athens, OH
November 24, 2025*
6:00 p.m., CBSSN
vs. George Mason
Sunshine Slam Beach Bracket semifinals
L 69–92  1–5
 16  Hadaway   6  Breath   5  Paveletzke  Ocean Center 
Daytona Beach, FL
November 25, 2025*
5:00 p.m., CBSSN
vs. Loyola Marymount
Sunshine Slam Beach Bracket consolation game
L 58–70  1–6
 12  Hadaway   8  Elliott   2  Tied  Ocean Center 
Daytona Beach, FL
December 3, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Maine W 79–57  2–6
 17  Simmons   11  Hadaway   4  Breath  Convocation Center (3,553)
Athens, OH
December 6, 2025*
4:00 p.m., ESPN+
Marshall W 88–81  3–6
 22  Paveletzke   11  Hadaway   5  Simmons  Convocation Center (3,723)
Athens, OH
December 13, 2025*
5:00 p.m., PTB Live
vs. St. Bonaventure
Cleveland Hoops Showdown
W 88–83 OT 4–6
 25  Paveletzke   7  Hadaway   3  Tied  Rocket Arena (6,165)
Cleveland, OH
December 16, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Ohio Wesleyan W 89–56  5–6
 19  Hadaway   8  Elliot   9  Paveletzke  Convocation Center (2,664)
Athens, OH
December 20, 2025
4:00 p.m., ESPN+
Bowling Green L 58–68  5–7
(0–1)
 19  Paveletzke   10  Hadaway   1  Tied  Convocation Center (3,035)
Athens, OH
December 22, 2025*
12:00 p.m., ESPN+
Miami-Hamilton W 102–59  6–7
 17  Fisher   6  Elliott   7  Elliott  Convocation Center (2,402)
Athens, OH
December 30, 2025
3:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Central Michigan W 80–64  7–7
(1–1)
 23  Paveletzke   11  Hadaway   0  Paveletzke  McGuirk Arena (1,358)
Mount Pleasant, MI
January 3, 2026
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Eastern Michigan W 68–67  8–7
(2–1)
 15  Simmons   8  Hadaway   3  Hadaway  George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,622)
Ypsilanti, MI
January 6, 2026
6:00 p.m., CBSSN
UMass W 86–83  9–7
(3–1)
 20  Simmons   6  Hadaway   10  Paveletzke  Convocation Center (2,699)
Athens, OH
January 10, 2026
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
Buffalo W 91–80  10–7
(4–1)
 27  Hadaway   10  Hadaway   8  Paveletzke  Convocation Center (3,872)
Athens, OH
January 13, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Toledo L 85–101  10–8
(4–2)
 21  Simmons   6  Simmons   6  Paveletzke  Savage Arena (4,552)
Toledo, OH
January 16, 2026
8:30 p.m., CBSSN
at Ball State L 71–76  10–9
(4–3)
 22  Tied   7  Hadaway   4  Paveletzke  Worthen Arena (2,505)
Muncie, IN
January 20, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Northern Illinois W 80–77  11–9
(5–3)
 23  Paveletzke   9  Kelly   6  Hadaway  Convocation Center (2,867)
Athens, OH
January 23, 2026
8:00 p.m., ESPNU
Akron L 65–86  11–10
(5–4)
 16  Tied   5  Tied   4  Paveletzke  Convocation Center (4,422)
Athens, OH
January 27, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Kent State L 57–72  11–11
(5–5)
 13  Hadaway   8  Paveletzke   3  Paveletzke  MAC Center (1,571)
Kent, OH
January 31, 2026
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Buffalo W 95–83  12–11
(6–5)
 24  Simmons   13  Simmons   11  Paveletzke  Alumni Arena (2,005)
Amherst, NY
February 3, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Western Michigan W 91–71  13–11
(7–5)
 17  Tied   8  Hadaway   8  Paveletzke  Convocation Center (3,113)
Athens, OH
February 7, 2026*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Old Dominion
MAC-SBC Challenge
L 72–78  13–12
 19  Sheldon   13  Hadaway   11  Paveletzke  Chartway Arena (6,657)
Norfolk, VA
February 13, 2026
9:00 p.m., ESPN
at No. 23 Miami (OH) L 74–90  13–13
(7–6)
 22  Paveletzke   4  Tied   3  Tied  Millett Hall (10,640)
Oxford, OH
February 17, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Ball State W 69–57  14–13
(8–6)
 18  Tied   8  Hadaway   6  Paveletzke  Convocation Center (4,164)
Athens, OH
February 21, 2026
3:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Northern Illinois W 74–66  15–13
(9–6)
 23  Simmons   11  Hadaway   6  Paveletzke  Convocation Center (1,245)
DeKalb, IL
February 28, 2026
4:00 p.m., ESPN+
Toledo L 67–79  15–14
(9–7)
 20  Simmons   12  Tied   5  Simmons  Convocation Center (6,404)
Athens, OH
March 3, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at UMass L 82–94  15–15
(9–8)
 24  Paveletzke   7  Hadaway   7  Paveletzke  Mullins Center (2,115)
Amherst, MA
March 6, 2026
9:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 19 Miami (OH) L 108–110 OT 15–16
(9–9)
 37  Paveletzke   9  Simmons   6  Paveletzke  Convocation Center (10,740)
Athens, OH
MAC Tournament
March 12, 2026
6:30 p.m., ESPN+
(6) vs. (3) Kent State
Quarterfinals
L 75–86  15–17
 24  Hadaway   7  Tied   7  Paveletzke  Rocket Arena (9,123)
Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[27][28]

Statistics

Team Statistics

Through March 12, 2026
Record Ohio OPP
Scoring 2492 2515
Scoring Average 77.88 78.59
Field goals – Att 884–1916 879–1905
3-pt. Field goals – Att 224–728 238–656
Free throws – Att 500–708 519–713
Rebounds 1076 1156
Assists 432 427
Turnovers 348 378
Steals 196 192
Blocked Shots 114 86

Source[29]

Player statistics

Minutes Scoring Total FGs 3-point FGs Free-Throws Rebounds
Player GP GS Tot Avg Pts Avg FG FGA Pct 3FG 3FA Pct FT FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg A PF TO Stl Blk
Jackson Paveletzke 31 31 1137 36.7 536 17.3 172 367 0.469 31 98 0.316 161 200 0.805 15 79 94 3.0 163 46 70 27 0
Javan Simmons 31 31 840 27.1 469 15.1 163 304 0.536 6 30 0.200 137 200 0.685 81 95 176 5.7 50 89 52 19 24
Aidan Hadaway 32 32 1019 31.8 460 14.4 185 381 0.486 44 146 0.301 46 66 0.697 60 178 238 7.4 68 91 61 25 23
JJ Kelly 31 26 826 26.6 266 8.6 104 200 0.520 24 73 0.329 34 44 0.773 35 83 118 3.8 18 76 28 27 26
Ajay Sheldon 32 30 989 30.9 241 7.5 77 216 0.356 66 178 0.371 21 30 0.700 13 65 78 2.4 61 75 37 48 3
Dior Conners 31 3 358 11.5 129 4.2 39 122 0.320 25 91 0.275 26 33 0.788 9 29 38 1.2 22 41 18 16 1
Kiir Kuany 31 1 276 8.9 109 3.5 44 83 0.530 7 29 0.241 14 19 0.737 10 32 42 1.4 5 37 9 9 12
Jalen Breath 28 1 374 13.4 104 3.7 37 70 0.529 0 1 0.000 30 72 0.417 32 51 83 3.0 10 56 21 6 13
Jesse Burris 24 0 239 10.0 81 3.4 29 80 0.363 14 49 0.286 9 10 0.900 9 20 29 1.2 5 23 12 5 4
Elijah Elliott 13 5 280 21.5 53 4.1 17 57 0.298 5 22 0.227 14 22 0.636 4 41 45 3.5 26 24 15 9 3
Ayden Evans 11 0 91 8.3 25 2.3 10 22 0.455 1 6 0.167 4 6 0.667 4 8 12 1.1 3 11 3 3 5
Jordan Fisher 5 0 22 4.4 19 3.8 7 14 0.500 1 5 0.200 4 6 0.667 0 2 2 0.4 1 3 1 2 0
Total 32 - 6451 - 2492 77.9 884 1916 0.461 224 728 0.308 500 708 0.706 272 683 955 29.8 432 572 348 196 114
Opponents 32 - 6451 - 2515 78.6 879 1905 0.461 238 656 0.363 519 713 0.728 357 799 1156 36.1 427 616 378 192 86
Legend
  GP  Games played   GS  Games started  Avg  Average per game
  FG  Field-goals made  FGA  Field-goal attempts  Off  Offensive rebounds
 Def  Defensive rebounds   A  Assists   TO Turnovers
 Blk  Blocks  Stl  Steals  High  Team high

Source[29]

Awards and honors

Weekly Awards

Weekly Award Honors
Honors Player Position Date Awarded Source
MAC player of the week Jackson Paveletzke G January 12 [30]

All-MAC Awards

Postseason All-MAC teams
Team Player Position Year
All-MAC 2nd Team Jackson Paveletzke G Sr.
All-MAC Honorable Mention Javan Simmons F R-Jr.

Source[31]

References

  1. ^ "Jeff Boals". Ohio University Athletics. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  2. ^ "Jeff Boals". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  3. ^ "Convocation Center". Ohio University. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  4. ^ "MAC Men's College Basketball Standings – 2025–26". ESPN. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  5. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Standings". ESPN. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  6. ^ "Kent State 86, Ohio 75". ESPN. March 12, 2026. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  7. ^ "MAC Men's College Basketball Standings - 2025-25". ESPN. Retrieved 2025-03-15.
  8. ^ Wright, Branson (March 12, 2020). "Mid-American Conference cancels basketball tournament in Cleveland because of coronavirus concerns". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  9. ^ "Ohio 85, Toledo 90". ESPN. Retrieved 2025-03-15.
  10. ^ Adams, Logan (April 8, 2025). "Men's Basketball: Elmore James to enter NCAA transfer portal". Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  11. ^ Brockway, Kevin (May 8, 2025). "Men's Basketball Signs Ohio Transfer Elmore James". Ball State Athletics. Retrieved May 11, 2025.
  12. ^ Adams, Logan (April 9, 2025). "Men's Basketball: Star guard AJ Brown enters transfer portal". Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  13. ^ Brockway, Kevin (April 24, 2025). "Florida basketball lands Ohio guard AJ Brown from transfer portal". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  14. ^ Adams, Logan (April 8, 2025). "Men's Basketball: MAC is unique in transfer portal era". Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  15. ^ a b "2025-26 Men's Basketball Roster". Ohio Athletics. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  16. ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Roster". Ohio Athletics. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  17. ^ a b "TRANSFER PORTAL". Verbal Commits. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  18. ^ "Ohio Men's Basketball Adds Toledo Transfer Javan Simmons". Ohio Athletics. April 9, 2025. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  19. ^ "Ohio men's basketball adds App State transfer Dior Conners". Athens Messenger. April 23, 2025. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  20. ^ "Ohio Men's Basketball Adds UNCG Transfer Jalen Breath". Ohio Athletics. April 9, 2025. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  21. ^ "Reynoldsburg's Jordan Fisher, Toby Nwokolo look to go out as OHSAA basketball champions". Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  22. ^ "Chambersburg's JJ Kelly makes his college basketball pick". Penn Live Patriot News. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  23. ^ Beach, Ashley (November 12, 2024). "Ohio Men's Basketball Adds Three During Early Signing Period". Ohio Athletics. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  24. ^ "MAC Basketball x Field of 68 Tip-Off Show Live TODAY!". getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference. October 20, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  25. ^ a b "MAC Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, All-MAC Teams". getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference. October 21, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  26. ^ "Men's Basketball Coaching Staff". ohiobobcats.com. Ohio University Athletics. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
  27. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Ohio University Athletics.
  28. ^ "Ohio Bobcats Schedule 2025–26". ESPN.
  29. ^ a b "2025-26 Ohio Bobcats Roster and Stats". Sports Reference.
  30. ^ "Paveletzke Earns Week 10 Men's Basketball Award". getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference. January 12, 2026.
  31. ^ "MAC Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball All-MAC Teams, Specialty Award Winners". March 11, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2025.