2025–26 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

2025–26 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
2025–26 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational (Imagination Bracket) Champion
NIT
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	21–12 (12–8 MVC)
Head coach	Ryan Pedon (4th season);
Associate head coach	Jason Slay (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Andrew Dakich (4th season); Mike Netti (1st season); Jack Betz (1st season);
Home arena	Doug Collins Court; at CEFCU 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 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represents Illinois State University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds play their home games at Doug Collins Court at CEFCU Arena in Normal, Illinois as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).

Previous season

The Redbirds finished the 2024–25 season 22–14, 10–10 in the Missouri Valley Conference play to finish in a tie for fifth place. As the fifth seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated twelfth seed Missouri State in the opening round but were beaten by fourth seed Belmont in the quarterfinal round.

Offseason

Departures

Name	#	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Dalton Banks	3	G	6'2"	190	Graduate	Eau Claire, WI	Graduated (undrafted; signed with BC Margveti Tbilisi)
Malachi Poindexter	1	G	6'3"	190	Graduate	Mineral, VA	Graduated (undrafted)
Caden Boser	33	F	6'8"	225	Fifth Year	Eau Claire, WI	Graduated (undrafted)
Jordan Davis	5	G	6'4"	205	Fifth Year	La Crosse, WI	Graduated (undrafted)
Nick Feather	31	F	6'8"	280	Freshman	Heyworth, IL
Cade Norris	2	G	6'4"	205	Freshman	Hilliard, OH	Transferred to Samford

2025 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Nick Allen C	Bourbonnais, IL	Bradley–Bourbonnais Community HS	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Aug 26, 2024
Nick Allen C	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: (NR)
Ty'Reek Coleman G	Aurora, IL	Waubonsie Valley HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Aug 26, 2024
Ty'Reek Coleman G	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: (NR)
Isaac Ericksen F	Cary, NC	Green Level HS	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Aug 26, 2024
Isaac Ericksen F	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: (NR)
Mason Klabo G	Fargo, ND	Davies HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sep 16, 2024
Mason Klabo G	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: (NR)
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 Illinois State Signees". Rivals. "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals.

Incoming transfers

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Prior school
Landon Moore	G	6'3"	200	Senior	Bloomington, IL	Butler

Preseason

The Redbirds were picked to finish in first place in the conference's preseason poll.^[1]

Roster

2025–26 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	0	Jack Daugherty	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	Brookfield Central HS	Brookfield, WI
G	1	Landon Moore	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sr	Bloomington HS Western Reserve Academy Saint Francis (Pennsylvania) Butler	Bloomington, IL
G/F	2	Isaac Ericksen	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	Green Level HS	Cary, NC
G	3	Mason Klabo	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Davies HS	Fargo, ND
G	4	Landon Wolf	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	RS Sr	Cedar Falls HS Northern Iowa	Cedar Falls, IA
G	10	Ty'Reek Coleman	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Waubonsie Valley HS	Aurora, IL
G	11	Johnny Kinziger	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jr	De Pere HS	De Pere, WI
F	12	Brandon Lieb	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	GS	Deerfield HS Illinois	Deerfield, IL
G	13	Ty Blake (W)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	University HS	Normal, IL
G	14	Boden Skunberg	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	GS	Jamestown HS North Dakota State	Jamestown, ND
F	15	Nick Allen	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Fr	Bradley–Bourbonnais Community HS	Bourbonnais, IL
G	22	Ty Pence	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jr	St. Joseph-Ogden HS	St. Joseph, IL
F	23	Cameron Barnes	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	RS So	Duncanville HS Mississippi	Duncanville, TX
F	35	Chase Walker	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	280 lb (127 kg)	Jr	Saint Charles Preparatory School	Columbus, OH

Head coach

Ryan Pedon (Wooster)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
(5Y) Fifth-year Senior
Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 18, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition Season
October 19, 2025* 2:00 pm, BTN+		at No. 17 Illinois	L 65–92		16 – Daugherty	4 – Coleman	3 – Tied	State Farm Center (15,180) Champaign, Illinois
October 29, 2025* 7:00 pm, BTN+		at Northwestern	L 65–100		13 – Walker	5 – Tied	4 – Walker	Welsh–Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois
Non-Conference Regular Season
November 6, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Ohio	L 68–72	0–1	15 – Tied	7 – Tied	3 – Tied	Convocation Center (3,831) Athens, Ohio
November 9, 2025* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Cornell	W 76–65	1–1	24 – Coleman	10 – Lieb	2 – Tied	CEFCU Arena (4,086) Normal, Illinois
November 14, 2025* 6:30 pm, Peacock		vs. USC Experian Hall of Fame Series – Los Angeles	L 67–87	1–2	16 – Coleman	9 – Walker	2 – Tied	Intuit Dome (7,554) Inglewood, California
November 16, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Long Beach State	W 82–80	2–2	19 – Tied	7 – Walker	4 – Pence	Walter Pyramid (1,480) Long Beach, California
November 20, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Rockford	W 93–48	3–2	14 – Daugherty	10 – Lieb	3 – Coleman	CEFCU Arena (3,127) Normal, Illinois
November 23, 2025* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Coastal Carolina	W 94–42	4–2	16 – Tied	7 – Skunberg	5 – Klabo	CEFCU Arena (3,512) Normal, Illinois
November 27, 2025* 12:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. Charlotte Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational (Imagination Bracket) semifinal	W 79–69	5–2	22 – Skunberg	10 – Skunberg	4 – Kinziger	State Farm Field House (533) Kissimmee, Florida
November 28, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN2		vs. Furman Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational (Imagination Bracket) final	W 72–65	6–2	20 – Pence	10 – Pence	4 – Coleman	State Farm Field House (502) Kissimmee, Florida
December 3, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Eastern Kentucky	W 89–78	7–2	21 – Kinziger	8 – Skunberg	5 – Tied	CEFCU Arena (4,179) Normal, Illinois
December 6, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Chicago State	W 95–53	8–2	16 – Tied	11 – Lieb	9 – Walker	CEFCU Arena (3,881) Normal, Illinois
December 13, 2025* 4:00 pm, YouTube		vs. Utah State Salt Lake Slam	L 78–83	8–3	21 – Pence	4 – Pence	5 – Kinziger	Delta Center (2,539) Salt Lake City, Utah
Conference Regular Season
December 18, 2025 8:00 pm, MVC TV/ESPN+		at Southern Illinois	W 75–68	9–3 (1–0)	22 – Pence	8 – Wolf	5 – Walker	Banterra Center (3,923) Carbondale, Illinois
December 21, 2025 4:00 pm, Marquee/ESPN+		Indiana State	W 85–65	10–3 (2–0)	18 – Walker	7 – Lieb	4 – Lieb	CEFCU Arena (4,481) Normal, Illinois
December 29, 2025 8:00 pm, MVC TV/ESPN+		at Drake	W 73–56	11–3 (3–0)	17 – Walker	6 – Tied	3 – Tied	The Knapp Center (3,592) Des Moines, Iowa
January 1, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Evansville	W 73–47	12–3 (4–0)	22 – Walker	8 – Walker	4 – Tied	CEFCU Arena (5,216) Normal, Illinois
January 7, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Valparaiso	L 71–77	12–4 (4–1)	20 – Walker	7 – Wolf	3 – Kinziger	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,444) Valparaiso, Indiana
January 10, 2025 4:00 pm, ESPN+		UIC	L 59–63 ^OT	12–5 (4–2)	15 – Klabo	10 – Walker	5 – Kinziger	CEFCU Arena (4,859) Normal, Illinois
January 14, 2026 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Indiana State	L 89–94	12–6 (4–3)	21 – Walker	4 – Tied	3 – Kinziger	Hulman Center (4,452) Terre Haute, Indiana
January 17, 2026 1:00 pm, ESPN2		Bradley I–74 Rivalry	W 88–62	13–6 (5–3)	23 – Skunberg	11 – Walker	3 – Tied	CEFCU Arena (7,549) Normal, Illinois
January 21, 2026 8:00 pm, ESPNU		Northern Iowa	W 59–54	14–6 (6–3)	20 – Skunberg	8 – Skunberg	2 – Kinziger	CEFCU Arena (4,312) Normal, Illinois
January 24, 2026 12:00 pm, ESPN+		at Belmont (Rescheduled from January 25 (Winter Storm Fern))	L 69–80	14–7 (6–4)	13 – Kinziger	8 – Walker	5 – Kinziger	Curb Event Center (764) Nashville, Tennessee
January 28, 2026 8:00 pm, MVC TV/ESPN+		at Murray State	W 70–65	15–7 (7–4)	21 – Walker	8 – Wolf	2 – Tied	CFSB Center (5,553) Murray, Kentucky
February 3, 2025 6:00 pm, MVC TV/ESPN+		Southern Illinois	L 50–54	15–8 (7–5)	12 – Walker	5 – Tied	4 – Kinziger	CEFCU Arena (4,766) Normal, Illinois
February 6, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Drake	W 86–76	16–8 (8–5)	19 – Coleman	8 – Coleman	4 – Skunberg	CEFCU Arena (5,191) Normal, Illinois
February 9, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Evansville	L 80–88	16–9 (8–6)	16 – Moore	9 – Wolf	8 – Kinziger	Ford Center (3,059) Evansville, Indiana
February 12, 2026 6:00 pm, MVC TV/ESPN+		Valparaiso	W 86–64	17–9 (9–6)	21 – Kinziger	8 – Pence	4 – Pence	CEFCU Arena (3,607) Normal, Illinois
February 15, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at UIC	L 56–83	17–10 (9–7)	12 – Kinziger	5 – Pence	4 – Pence	Credit Union 1 Arena (2,141) Chicago, Illinois
February 18, 2026 8:00 pm, ESPNU		Murray State	W 78–61	18–10 (10–7)	22 – Coleman	6 – Wolf	4 – Coleman	CEFCU Arena (4,319) Normal, Illinois
February 21, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN2		at Bradley I–74 Rivalry	L 60–74	18–11 (10–8)	12 – Tied	7 – Klabo	5 – Kinziger	Carver Arena (10,542) Peoria, Illinois
February 25, 2026 6:00 pm, ESPNU		at Northern Iowa	W 71–69	19–11 (11–8)	14 – Tied	8 – Skunberg	5 – Walker	McLeod Center (3,907) Cedar Falls, Iowa
March 1, 2026 4:00 pm, CBSSN		Belmont Senior Day	W 81–74	20–11 (12–8)	16 – Kinziger	5 – Wolf	6 – Kinziger	CEFCU Arena (6,149) Normal, Illinois
Conference Tournament
March 6, 2026* 8:30 pm, MVC TV/ESPN+	(3)	vs. (6) Northern Iowa Arch Madness Quarterfinal	L 52–74	20–12	11 – Walker	6 – Pence	3 – Kinziger	Enterprise Center (8,897) St. Louis, Missouri
National Invitation Tournament
March 18, 2026* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	(4 WS)	Kent State First round	W 79–58	21–12	24 – Wolf	7 – Tied	7 – Kinziger	CEFCU Arena (2,565) Normal, Illinois
March 22, 2026* 3:30 pm, ESPN2	(4 WS)	at (1 WS) Wake Forest Second round						LJVM Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Zone.

Source^[2]

References

^ "Illinois State Picked as MVC Men's Basketball Preseason Favorite". Missouri Valley Conference Sports. September 29, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
^ "2025–26 Men's Basketball Schedule". goredbirds.com. Illinois State University Athletics. Retrieved October 18, 2025.

[1] "Illinois State Picked as MVC Men's Basketball Preseason Favorite". Missouri Valley Conference Sports. September 29, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.

[2] "2025–26 Men's Basketball Schedule". goredbirds.com. Illinois State University Athletics. Retrieved October 18, 2025.

[1]

[2]

Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
Venues	John W. Cook Hall (1898–1925) McCormick Gymnasium (1925–1963) Horton Field House (1963–1988) CEFCU Arena (1989–present)
Rivalries	Bradley
Culture & lore	Reggie Redbird "Go, You Redbirds"
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 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