2025–26 Vermont Catamounts men's basketball team

2025–26 Vermont Catamounts men's basketball
2025–26 Vermont Catamounts men's basketball
Conference	America East Conference
Record	22–12 (12–4 America East)
Head coach	John Becker (15th season);
Associate head coach	Ryan Schneider
Assistant coaches	Nathan Johnson; Derryk O’Grady; Braeden Estes;
Home arena	Patrick Gym

2025–26 America East Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
UMBC †	14	–	2	.875	24	–	9	.727
Vermont	12	–	4	.750	22	–	12	.647
NJIT	10	–	6	.625	16	–	17	.485
UMass Lowell	9	–	7	.563	15	–	18	.455
Albany	7	–	9	.438	11	–	21	.344
Maine	6	–	10	.375	8	–	24	.250
Bryant	5	–	11	.313	9	–	22	.290
New Hampshire	5	–	11	.313	9	–	21	.300
Binghamton	4	–	12	.250	8	–	23	.258

† 2026 AmEast tournament winner

The 2025–26 Vermont Catamounts men's basketball team represented the University of Vermont during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Catamounts, led by fifteenth-year head coach John Becker, played their home games at the Patrick Gym in Burlington, Vermont as members of the America East Conference.

Previous season

The Catamounts finished the 2024–25 season 21–12, 13–3 in America East play, to finish in second place.^[1] They defeated New Hampshire in the quarterfinals of the America East tournament,^[2] before losing to Maine in the semifinals.^[3]

Preseason

On October 20, 2025, the America East Conference released their preseason polls. Vermont was picked to finish first in the conference, while receiving seven first-place votes.^[4]

Preseason rankings

America East Preseason Poll
Place	Team	Votes
1	Vermont	63 (7)
T–2	Maine	47 (1)
T–2	Albany	47
4	UMass Lowell	39 (1)
5	Binghamton	37
6	Bryant	35
7	UMBC	31
8	NJIT	13
9	New Hampshire	12
(#) first-place votes

Source:^[4]

Preseason All-America East Team

Preseason All-America East Team
Player	Year	Position
TJ Hurley	Senior	Guard
TJ Long	Graduate	Guard

Source:^[4]

Roster

2025–26 Vermont Catamounts men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	0	David Simon	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS So	San Diego	Windsor, ON
G	1	Momo Nkugwa	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	Fr	The Governor's Academy	Chelmsford, MA
F	2	Ben Michaels	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	So	Long Island Lutheran HS	Ipswich, England
G	3	TJ Hurley	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	The Rock School	Pelham, ON
F	4	Jackson Skipper	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS Jr	Link Year Prep	Tulsa, OK
G	5	Sean Blake	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	So	Royal Crown Academy	Mississauga, ON
G	12	Ben Wesson	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	RS Fr	Albemarle HS	Charlottesville, VA
G	13	Chris Kuzemka	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	GS	Loyola (MD)	Clifton, VA
F	15	Drew Bessette	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	RS Fr	Rice Memorial HS	Milton, VT
F	19	Gus Yalden	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	258 lb (117 kg)	RS So	Seton Hall	Appleton, WI
G	20	TJ Long	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	GS	Fairfield	Rockville Centre, NY
G	21	Lucas Mari	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	Fr	Valencia Basket	Valencia, Spain
G	24	Ben Johnson	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	GS	Bellarmine	Lexington, KY
G	25	Sincere Clemons	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	RS Fr	Northfield Mount Hermon School	Ithaca, NY
F	32	Trey Woodyard	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	GS	New Hampshire	London, OH
F	34	Noah Barnett	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	RS So	Don Bosco Prep	Poughkeepsie, NY

Head coach

John Becker (Catholic)

Assistant coach(es)

Ryan Schneider (Marist)
Nathan Johnson (St. Francis Xavier)
Derryk O'Grady (Vermont)
Braeden Estes (New Hampshire)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 6, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 25, 2025* 7:00 p.m.		Saint Michael's	L 74–79	–	Patrick Gym Burlington, VT
October 29, 2025* 7:00 p.m.		Saint Anselm	W 80–78	–	Patrick Gym Burlington, VT
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Western New England	W 75–68	1–0	Patrick Gym (1,723) Burlington, VT
November 5, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Plattsburgh State	W 113–62	2–0	Patrick Gym (1,732) Burlington, VT
November 9, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Brown	W 89–84 ^2OT	3–0	Pizzitola Sports Center (764) Providence, RI
November 15, 2025* 1:00 p.m., NESN+/FloCollege		at Northeastern	W 85–74	4–0	Matthews Arena (3,335) Boston, MA
November 18, 2025* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Buffalo	L 90–94	4–1	Alumni Arena (1,466) Amherst, NY
November 24, 2025* 1:30 p.m., ESPNU		vs. Liberty ESPN Events Invitational Adventure Bracket quarterfinals	L 73–79	4–2	State Farm Field House (1,315) Kissimmee, FL
November 25, 2025* 2:30 p.m., ESPNU		vs. Rhode Island ESPN Events Invitational Adventure Bracket consolation semifinals	L 65–80	4–3	State Farm Field House (957) Kissimmee, FL
November 26, 2025* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		vs. Princeton ESPN Events Invitational Adventure Bracket 7th place game	W 79–74	5–3	State Farm Field House Kissimmee, FL
November 30, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Yale	L 74−77	5−4	Patrick Gym (2,057) Burlington, VT
December 3, 2025* 9:30 pm, ESPN+		at Oregon State	L 58−80	5−5	Gill Coliseum (2,361) Corvallis, OR
December 6, 2025* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Pepperdine	W 65−56	6−5	Firestone Fieldhouse (566) Malibu, CA
December 14, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Merrimack	W 66–59	7–5	Patrick Gym (2,013) Burlington, VT
December 17, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Siena	W 83–69	8–5	Patrick Gym (1,767) Burlington, VT
December 20, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Iona	L 78−83	8−6	Patrick Gym (2,180) Burlington, VT
December 30, 2025* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Princeton	L 69–75 ^OT	8–7	Jadwin Gymnasium (2,816) Princeton, NJ
America East regular season
January 3, 2026 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at New Hampshire	W 80–61	9–7 (1–0)	Lundholm Gym (813) Durham, NH
January 8, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Binghamton	W 60–59	10–7 (2–0)	Patrick Gym (1,874) Burlington, VT
January 15, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Maine	W 67–62	11–7 (3–0)	Patrick Gym (2,202) Burlington, VT
January 19, 2026 1:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Albany	L 68–75	11–8 (3–1)	Broadview Center (3,008) Albany, NY
January 22, 2026 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UMass Lowell	W 77–68	12–8 (4–1)	Kennedy Family Athletic Complex (714) Lowell, MA
January 24, 2026 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Bryant	W 62–52	13–8 (5–1)	Chace Athletic Center (844) Smithfield, RI
January 29, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		UMBC	W 64–55	14–8 (6–1)	Patrick Gym (2,260) Burlington, VT
January 31, 2026 4:30 p.m., ESPN+		NJIT	L 77–79	14–9 (6–2)	Patrick Gym (2,383) Burlington, VT
February 5, 2026 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Maine	L 70–76	14–10 (6–3)	Memorial Gymnasium (1,140) Orono, ME
February 7, 2026 1:30 p.m., ESPN+		New Hampshire	W 80–57	15–10 (7–3)	Patrick Gym (2,522) Burlington, VT
February 12, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Binghamton	W 73–65	16–10 (8–3)	Dr. Bai Lee Court (1,641) Vestal, NY
February 14, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Bryant	W 90–63	17–10 (9–3)	Patrick Gym (2,327) Burlington, VT
February 19, 2026 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UMBC	L 62–75	17–11 (9–4)	Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena (1,805) Catonsville, MD
February 21, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at NJIT	W 70–64	18–11 (10–4)	Wellness and Events Center Newark, NJ
February 26, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		UMass Lowell	W 66–64	19–11 (11–4)	Patrick Gym (2,496) Burlington, VT
March 3, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Albany	W 69–56	20–11 (12–4)	Patrick Gym (2,309) Burlington, VT
America East tournament
March 7, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	(2)	(7) Bryant Quarterfinals	W 77–57	21–11	Patrick Gym (1,936) Burlington, VT
March 10, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	(2)	(3) NJIT Semifinals	W 63–54	22–11	Patrick Gym (2,048) Burlington, VT
March 14, 2026 11:00 a.m., ESPN2	(2)	at (1) UMBC Championship	L 59–74	22–12	Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena (4,753) Catonsville, MD
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:^[5]^[6]

References

^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". America East Conference. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
^ "Second Half Surge Pushes Vermont in a Quarterfinal Win Over New Hampshire". University of Vermont Athletics. March 8, 2025. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
^ "Men's Basketball Takes Down Vermont in the America East Semifinals on Tuesday Night". University of Maine Athletics. March 11, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c "America East Releases Men's #AEHoops 2025-26 Preseason Poll and Preseason All-Conference Team". americaeast.com. America East Conference. October 20, 2025. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Vermont Athletics. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
^ "Vermont Catamounts Schedule 2025-26". ESPN. Retrieved November 6, 2025.

[1] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". America East Conference. Retrieved October 31, 2025.

[2] "Second Half Surge Pushes Vermont in a Quarterfinal Win Over New Hampshire". University of Vermont Athletics. March 8, 2025. Retrieved November 5, 2025.

[3] "Men's Basketball Takes Down Vermont in the America East Semifinals on Tuesday Night". University of Maine Athletics. March 11, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.

[poll-4] "America East Releases Men's #AEHoops 2025-26 Preseason Poll and Preseason All-Conference Team". americaeast.com. America East Conference. October 20, 2025. Retrieved December 16, 2025.

[5] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Vermont Athletics. Retrieved November 6, 2025.

[6] "Vermont Catamounts Schedule 2025-26". ESPN. Retrieved November 6, 2025.

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[6]

Vermont Catamounts men's basketball
Venues	Patrick Gym (1963–present) Tarrant Event Center (planned)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 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 1941–42 1942–43 1943–45 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