2025–26 Bradley Braves men's basketball team

2025–26 Bradley Braves men's basketball
2025–26 Bradley Braves men's basketball
NIT, First round
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	21–13 (13–7 MVC)
Head coach	Brian Wardle (10th season);
Assistant coaches	Mike Black; Brian Jones; Bobby Suarez; Allan Hanson;
Home arena	Carver Arena

2025–26 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Belmont	16	–	4	.800	26	–	6	.813
Bradley	13	–	7	.650	21	–	13	.618
Illinois State	12	–	8	.600	21	–	12	.636
Murray State	12	–	8	.600	20	–	13	.606
UIC	12	–	8	.600	19	–	16	.543
Northern Iowa †	11	–	9	.550	23	–	12	.657
Valparaiso	11	–	9	.550	18	–	15	.545
Southern Illinois	10	–	10	.500	16	–	16	.500
Drake	6	–	14	.300	14	–	19	.424
Indiana State	4	–	16	.200	11	–	21	.344
Evansville	3	–	17	.150	7	–	25	.219

† 2026 MVC tournament winner As of March 18, 2026

The 2025–26 Bradley Braves men's basketball team represented Bradley University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Braves, led by tenth-year head coach Brian Wardle, played their home games at the Carver Arena in Peoria, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Previous season

The Braves finished the 2024–25 season 28–9, 15–5 in MVC play to finish in second place.^[1] In the MVC tournament, they defeated Murray State & Valparaiso, before falling to Drake in the championship game.^[2] They received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament as a No. 3 seed.^[3] They defeated North Alabama & George Washington, before losing to eventual champions Chattanooga.^[4]

Roster

2025–26 Bradley Braves men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Demarion Burch	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Milwaukee-Hamilton HS	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
G/F	1	Dietrich Richardson	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Peoria Manual HS	Peoria, Illinois
G	3	Alex Huibregtse	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	GS	Wright State	Grafton, Wisconsin
F	4	Corey Thomas	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sr	Cowley CC	Buford, Georgia
G	5	Matthew Zobrist	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Metamora Township HS	Metamora, Illinois
G	7	Montana Wheeler	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Fr	Xavier Academy	Houston, Texas
G	9	Jackson Seastrunk	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Xavier Academy	Fannett, Texas
G/F	10	Timoty van der Knaap	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	So	Orange1 Bassano	Bassano del Grappa, Italy
C	12	Kai Yu	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	RS So	Liberty	Zhuhai, China
F	13	Handy Toussaint III	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Jr	Weatherford	Port-au-Prince, Haiti
C	14	Ahmet Jonovic	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Sr	OKK Beograd	Prijepolje, Serbia
C	17	Gustavo Guimarães	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Fr	Riviera Prep	São Paulo, Brazil
F	21	AJ Smith	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Sr	James Madison	Edwardsville, Illinois
G	22	Jaquan Johnson	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	So	Pius XI HS	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
G	23	Gus Rugaard	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	So	Morton HS	Morton, Illinois

Head coach

Brian Wardle (Marquette)

Assistant coach(es)

Mike Black (Albany)
Brian Jones (Northern Iowa)
Bobby Suarez (Florida Gulf Coast)
Allan Hanson (Milwaukee)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 10, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition season
October 11, 2025* 6:00 p.m.		at Green Bay	W 83–78		Kress Events Center Green Bay, WI
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025* 10:00 a.m., YouTube		vs. St. Bonaventure Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon	L 63–69	0–1	Rock Hill Sports & Event Center (749) Rock Hill, SC
November 8, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Central Michigan	W 85–54	1–1	Carver Arena (5,814) Peoria, IL
November 12, 2025* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		UT Martin	L 67–78	1–2	Carver Arena (5,096) Peoria, IL
November 15, 2025* 9:00 p.m., ESPN+		at San Francisco	L 64–75	1–3	War Memorial Gymnaisum (2,182) San Francisco, CA
November 19, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		UMass Lowell	W 87–77	2–3	Carver Arena (4,932) Peoria, IL
November 24, 2025* 6:00 p.m., ESPNU		vs. Princeton Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational (Adventure Bracket) quarterfinal	W 88–64	3–3	State Farm Field House (1,076) Kissimmee, FL
November 25, 2025* 4:00 p.m., ESPN2		vs. UC San Diego Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational (Adventure Bracket) semifinal	L 77–87	3–4	State Farm Field House (710) Kissimmee, FL
November 26, 2025* 1:30 p.m., ESPNU		vs. Liberty Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational (Adventure Bracket) third place	W 74–64	4–4	State Farm Field House (547) Kissimmee, FL
December 2, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Washington State	W 64–60	5–4	Carver Arena (4,919) Peoria, IL
December 6, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Northern Illinois	W 84–55	6–4	Carver Arena (5,750) Peoria, IL
December 14, 2025* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		North Central	W 86–53	7–4	Renaissance Coliseum (2,585) Peoria, IL
Conference regular season
December 18, 2025 6:00 p.m., Gray Media		at Indiana State	W 108–99 ^3OT	8–4 (1–0)	Hulman Center (4,719) Terre Haute, IN
December 21, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Southern Illinois	W 73–69	9–4 (2–0)	Carver Arena (5,922) Peoria, IL
December 29, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Evansville	W 76–68	10–4 (3–0)	Carver Arena (5,917) Peoria, IL
January 1, 2026 6:00 p.m., Gray Media		at Belmont	L 78–88	10–5 (3–1)	Curb Event Center (1,447) Nashville, TN
January 4, 2026 4:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Murray State	L 66–86	10–6 (3–2)	CFSB Center (5,165) Murray, KY
January 7, 2026 8:00 p.m., Gray Media		Drake	W 93–66	11–6 (4–2)	Carver Arena (5,187) Peoria, IL
January 10, 2026 5:00 p.m., ESPNU		Northern Iowa	W 75–69	12–6 (5–2)	Carver Arena (6,004) Peoria, IL
January 13, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Evansville	W 94–90 ^OT	13–6 (6–2)	Ford Center (4,089) Evansville, IN
January 17, 2026 1:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Illinois State Battle for 74	L 62–88	13–7 (6–3)	CEFCU Arena (7,549) Normal, IL
January 21, 2026 6:00 p.m., Gray Media		Indiana State	W 75–68	14–7 (7–3)	Carver Arena (5,327) Peoria, IL
January 24, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		UIC	L 70–85	14–8 (7–4)	Carver Arena (6,209) Peoria, IL
January 31, 2026 5:00 p.m., CBSSN		at Drake	W 87–73	15–8 (8–4)	The Knapp Center (4,342) Des Moines, IA
February 3, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Valparaiso	W 72–65	16–8 (9–4)	Carver Arena (5,397) Peoria, IL
February 6, 2026 7:00 p.m., CBSSN		at Northern Iowa	L 49–61	16–9 (9–5)	McLeod Center (4,186) Cedar Falls, IA
February 9, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Belmont	W 95–84 ^OT	17–9 (10–5)	Carver Arena (5,727) Peoria, IL
February 15, 2026 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Southern Illinois	W 70–60	18–9 (11–5)	Banterra Center (3,804) Carbondale, IL
February 18, 2026 6:00 p.m., Gray Media		at Valparaiso	L 72–79	18–10 (11–6)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,636) Valparaiso, IN
February 21, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		Illinois State Battle for 74	W 74–60	19–10 (12–6)	Carver Arena (10,542) Peoria, IL
February 24, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UIC	L 86–93 ^2OT	19–11 (12–7)	Credit Union 1 Arena (1,847) Chicago, IL
March 1, 2026 1:00 p.m., ESPN2		Murray State Senior Day	W 87–78	20–11 (13–7)	Carver Arena (7,525) Peoria, IL
Conference tournament
March 6, 2026* 6:00 p.m., Gray Media	(2)	vs. (7) Valparaiso Arch Madness Quarterfinal	W 90–84 ^2OT	21–11	Enterprise Center (8,897) St. Louis, MO
March 7, 2026* 5:00 p.m., CBSSN	(2)	vs. (6) Northern Iowa Arch Madness Semifinal	L 69–73	21–12	Enterprise Center (7,444) St. Louis, MO
NIT
March 18, 2026* 8:00 p.m., ESPNU		(2 WS) Dayton First round	L 66–80	21–13	Carver Arena ^[a] (2,436) Peoria, IL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. WS=Winston-Salem. All times are in Central Time Zone.

Sources:^[5]^[6]

^ Dayton traveled to Peoria, Illinois to play an away game due to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament First Four taking place at UD Arena.

References

^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". mvc-sports.com. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
^ "Bradley's Arch Madness run ends in Championship". Bradley Braves Athletics. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
^ "Chattanooga Mocs win 2025 NIT | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
^ Eminian, Dave. "'Regret this one': Bradley Braves NIT run ends with quarterfinals loss to Chattanooga". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Bradley University. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
^ "Bradley Braves 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 10, 2025.

[5] Dayton traveled to Peoria, Illinois to play an away game due to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament First Four taking place at UD Arena.

[1] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". mvc-sports.com. Retrieved December 16, 2025.

[2] "Bradley's Arch Madness run ends in Championship". Bradley Braves Athletics. Retrieved December 16, 2025.

[3] "Chattanooga Mocs win 2025 NIT | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved December 16, 2025.

[4] Eminian, Dave. "'Regret this one': Bradley Braves NIT run ends with quarterfinals loss to Chattanooga". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved December 16, 2025.

[6] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Bradley University. Retrieved October 10, 2025.

[7] "Bradley Braves 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 10, 2025.

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Bradley Braves men's basketball
Venues	Peoria YMCA (1902–1909) Hewitt Gymnasium (1909–1925) Peoria Armory (1925–1941) Woodruff High School Gymnasium (1941–1943) Peoria Armory (1945–1949) Robertson Memorial Field House (1949–1982) Carver Arena (1982–present)
Rivalries	Illinois State
Culture & lore	Longest game in Division I history Point-shaving scandal Gambling scandal
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 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 1943–44 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 appearances in italics