2025–26 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

2025–26 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball
2025–26 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball
Conference	Conference USA
Record	18–14 (11–9 CUSA)
Head coach	Hank Plona (2nd season);
Assistant coaches	Martin Cross; Josh Newman; Eric Murphy; Nate Laing; Darryl Jackson;
Home arena	E. A. Diddle Arena

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 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by second-year head coach Hank Plona, and played their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky as twelfth-year members of Conference USA.

Previous season

The Hilltoppers finished the 2024–25 season 17–15, 8–10 in C-USA play to finish in seventh place. As the No. 7 seed in the C-USA tournament, they were defeated by FIU in the first round.^[1]

Roster

2025–26 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
F	0	Bryant Selebangue	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	GS	Montreal, Quebec
F/C	1	Blaise Keita	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	GS	Bamako, Mali
G	2	LJ Hackman	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Columbus, MS
G	3	Cam Haffner	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	Westfield, IN
G	4	Ryan Myers	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	GS	Brooklyn, NY
G	5	Jack Edelen	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	Jr	Louisville, KY
G	6	Kade Unseld	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	RS Fr	Bowling Green, KY
F/C	7	Noah Boyde	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	RS Sr	Monchy, Saint Lucia
F	8	Grant Newell	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Sr	Chicago, IL
G	10	Cade Stinnett	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	RS Jr	Bowling Green, KY
G	11	Terrion Murdix	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	GS	Springfield, IL
G	12	Armelo Boone	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Lexington, KY
F/C	21	Leeroy Odiahi	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	218 lb (99 kg)	GS	Tralee, Ireland
G	24	Lawson Rice	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	Morgantown, KY
G	30	Teagan Moore	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	RS So	Dry Ridge, KY
F	33	Louie Semona	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jr	Cincinnati, OH

Head coach

Hank Plona (Providence)

Assistant coach(es)

Martin Cross (Western Kentucky)
Josh Newman (Arizona State)
Eric Murphy (Slippery Rock)
Nate Laing (UCF)
Darryl Jackson (Valparaiso)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: December 5, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 22, 2025* 6:30 p.m.		Kentucky Wesleyan	W 82–43	–	11 – Moore	8 – Boone	3 – Tied	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,171) Bowling Green, KY
October 29, 2025* 6:30 p.m.		at UAB	W 78–76	–	26 – Moore	9 – Selebangue	2 – Moore	Bartow Arena (2,012) Birmingham, AL
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Tennessee Tech	W 82–70	1–0	16 – Tied	10 – Selebangue	2 – Tied	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,247) Bowling Green, KY
November 10, 2025* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Eastern Kentucky	W 87–79	2–0	22 – Moore	6 – Tied	5 – Boone	Baptist Health Arena (4,021) Richmond, KY
November 16, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Tennessee State	W 95–82	3–0	20 – Moore	7 – Newell	7 – Murdix	E. A. Diddle Arena (2,845) Bowling Green, KY
November 18, 2025* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Bethel	W 97–67	4–0	16 – Newell	8 – Murdix	5 – Moore	E. A. Diddle Arena (2,523) Bowling Green, KY
November 26, 2025* 11:00 a.m., ESPN		vs. No. 24 Vanderbilt Battle 4 Atlantis Quarterfinals	L 78–83	4–1	24 – Moore	9 – Selebangue	5 – Moore	Imperial Arena (437) Nassau, Bahamas
November 27, 2025* 4:30 p.m., ESPN2		vs. South Florida Battle 4 Atlantis Consolation Semifinals	L 91–97 ^OT	4–2	27 – Moore	12 – Selebangue	5 – Moore	Imperial Arena (393) Nassau, Bahamas
November 28, 2025* 6:00 p.m., ESPNU		vs. Wichita State Battle 4 Atlantis 7th Place Game	W 75–70	5–2	22 – Boone	6 – Moore	3 – Boone	Imperial Arena (1,061) Nassau, Bahamas
December 6, 2025* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Evansville	W 80–79	6–2	27 – Myers	12 – Selebangue	4 – Tied	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,247) Bowling Green, KY
December 10, 2025* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Marshall	L 61–77	6–3	11 – Myers	6 – Boone	4 – Edelen	Cam Henderson Center (4,420) Huntington, WV
December 15, 2025* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Campbellsville	W 102–59	7–3	19 – Myers	8 – Tied	6 – Hackman	E. A. Diddle Arena (2,545) Bowling Green, KY
December 19, 2025* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Tulsa	L 81–82	7–4	28 – Newell	12 – Boone	6 – Moore	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,547) Bowling Green, KY
Conference regular season
December 29, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Jacksonville State	L 67–78	7–5 (0–1)	18 – Boone	6 – Tied	4 – Newell	Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,755) Jacksonville, AL
January 2, 2026 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		Sam Houston	W 102–91	8–5 (1–1)	28 – Moore	13 – Boone	3 – Tied	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,645) Bowling Green, KY
January 4, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Louisiana Tech	W 66–61	9–5 (2–1)	19 – Moore	9 – Moore	4 – Moore	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,523) Bowling Green, KY
January 8, 2026 8:00 p.m., ESPN+		at New Mexico State	L 64–80	9–6 (2–2)	13 – Boone	9 – Boone	4 – Murdix	Pan American Center (2,612) Las Cruces, NM
January 10, 2026 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UTEP	W 68–56	10–6 (3–2)	19 – Moore	14 – Boone	2 – Tied	Don Haskins Center (4,392) El Paso, TX
January 14, 2026 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Missouri State	W 87–72	11–6 (4–2)	20 – Moore	7 – Newell	6 – Murdix	E. A. Diddle Arena (2,745) Bowling Green, KY
January 17, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Kennesaw State	L 65–81	11–7 (4–3)	16 – Myers	8 – Moore	3 – Myers	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,823) Bowling Green, KY
January 21, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Liberty	L 69–76	11–8 (4–4)	19 – Moore	13 – Boone	4 – Murdix	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,512) Bowling Green, KY
January 24, 2026 2:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Sam Houston	L 58–73	11–9 (4–5)	14 – Hackman	6 – Newell	4 – Edelen	Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,026) Huntsville, TX
January 28, 2026 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Kennesaw State	L 69–72	11–10 (4–6)	15 – Newell	8 – Keita	4 – Murdix	Convocation Center (1,636) Kennesaw, GA
January 31, 2026 3:00 p.m., CBSSN		at Middle Tennessee	W 65–60	12–10 (5–6)	17 – Unseld	14 – Keita	7 – Murdix	Murphy Center (4,127) Murfreesboro, TN
February 5, 2026 8:00 p.m., CBSSN		Jacksonville State	L 66–71	12–11 (5–7)	20 – Myers	7 – Keita	3 – Boone	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,247) Bowling Green, KY
February 7, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		FIU	W 80–70	13–11 (6–7)	23 – Newell	10 – Keita	6 – Murdix	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,145) Bowling Green, KY
February 14, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Middle Tennessee	W 82–80	14–11 (7–7)	28 – Moore	7 – Newell	7 – Murdix	E. A. Diddle Arena (4,023) Bowling Green, KY
February 18, 2026 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Delaware	W 88–87 ^OT	15–11 (8–7)	27 – Moore	8 – Keita	8 – Murdix	Bob Carpenter Center (2,250) Newark, DE
February 21, 2026 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Liberty	W 94–73	16–11 (9–7)	21 – Tied	8 – Newell	5 – Murdix	Liberty Arena (3,922) Lynchburg, VA
February 26, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		New Mexico State	W 93–70	17–11 (10–7)	23 – Moore	10 – Hackman	7 – Murdix	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,847) Bowling Green, KY
February 28, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		UTEP	W 97–65	18–11 (11–7)	25 – Newell	7 – Newell	9 – Murdix	E. A. Diddle Arena (4,547) Bowling Green, KY
March 5, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Missouri State	L 74–87	18–12 (11–8)	23 – Moore	6 – Hackman	2 – Murdix	Great Southern Bank Arena (2,159) Springfield, MO
March 7, 2026 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at FIU	L 67–92	18–13 (11–9)	17 – Newell	8 – Boone	5 – Murdix	Ocean Bank Convocation Center (804) Miami, FL
Conference USA Tournament
March 12, 2026 8:00 p.m., ESPN+	(3)	vs. (6) Kennesaw State Quarterfinal	L 87–96	18–14	27 – Moore	7 – Tied	2 – Tied	Propst Arena (3,029) Huntsville, AL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[2]^[3]

References

^ Floyd, Lauren (March 12, 2025). "Hilltoppers suffer first round loss to FIU in CUSA Championships". WBKO. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Western Kentucky University Athletics. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
^ "Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 5, 2025.

[1] Floyd, Lauren (March 12, 2025). "Hilltoppers suffer first round loss to FIU in CUSA Championships". WBKO. Retrieved December 5, 2025.

[2] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Western Kentucky University Athletics. Retrieved December 5, 2025.

[3] "Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 5, 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball
Venues	Red Barn (1920–1931) Health & Physical Education Building (1931–1963) E. A. Diddle Arena (1963–present)
Culture & lore	Big Red
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1914–15 1915–16 1916–21 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 1943–44 1944–45 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 Final Four appearance in italics