2025–26 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team

2025–26 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball
Greenbrier Tip-Off (River Division) champions
NIT, First Round
ConferenceMid-American Conference
Record24–10 (14–4 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Randal Holt (5th season)
  • Jon Fleming (4th season)
  • Jalen Avery (2nd season)
  • Luke Trondson (2nd season)
  • Tommy Luce (2nd season)
Home arenaMAC 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 – 5   .853
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 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team represented Kent State University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Flashes, led by 15th-year head coach Rob Senderoff, played their home games at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, also known as the MAC Center, in Kent, Ohio as members of the Mid-American Conference.

They finished the 2025–26 season 14–4 in MAC play, to finish in 3rd place.[1] They qualified for the MAC tournament as the 3rd seed where they defeated Ohio in the quarterfinals before losing to Akron in the semifinals.[2][3]

Kent State accepted an NIT bid and lost to Illinois State in the first round to finish the year 24–10 overall.[4][5]

Previous season

The Golden Flashes finished the 2024–25 season 24–12, 11–7 in MAC play to finish in third place.[6] They defeated Western Michigan before losing to Miami (OH) in the semifinals of the MAC tournament.[7] They received an invitation to the NIT,[8] where they defeated St. Bonaventure[9] and Stanford,[10] before falling to Loyola Chicago in the quarterfinals.[11]

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Jonas Nichols 0 G 6'3" 206 Freshman Akron, Ohio Transferred to Northwest Florida State
VonCameron Davis 1 F 6'5" 229 Senior Columbus, Ohio Graduated
Marquis Barnett 2 G 6'4" 195 Senior Saginaw, Michigan Graduated
Jalen Sullinger 13 G 5'10" 167 Senior Columbus, Ohio Graduated; Signed with KKS Polonia Warsaw[12]
Mike Bekelja 15 G 6'0" 184 Graduate student Solon, Ohio Graduated
Anthony Morales 22 F 6'8" 195 Graduate student Boston, Massachusetts Graduated
Derrick Lee Jr. 41 F 6'5" 205 Freshman Novi, Michigan Transferred to Lake Region State College
Cli'Ron Hornbeak 42 C 6'9" 238 Senior Toledo, Ohio Graduated
Donovan Hunter 55 F 6'8" 197 Sophomore Columbus, Ohio Transferred to Bellarmine
Jaiden Pennicott G 6'2" 164 Freshman Ajax, Ontario Transferred to Palm Beach State College

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school
Rayvon Griffith 0 F 6'8" 205 Sophomore Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati
Rob Whaley Jr. 2 F/C 6'7" 289 Graduate student Farmington, Utah UNLV
Jahari Williamson 25 G 6'1" 193 Graduate student Pickering, Ontario Niagara

Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown School Height Weight Commit date
Dezmon Briscoe
PF 		Indianapolis, Indiana Crispus Attucks High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Apr 28, 2025 
Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (79)
Landon Vanderwarker
SG 		Delaware, Ohio Northside Christian School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Nov 13, 2024 
Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (N/A)
Quinn Woidke
G 		Westlake, Ohio Saint Ignatius High School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Nov 13, 2024 
Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (N/A)
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.

Preseason

On October 21, 2025, the MAC released the preseason coaches' poll. Kent State was picked to finish third in the MAC regular season.[13]

Preseason rankings

MAC preseason poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Akron 143 (11)
2 Miami (OH) 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-Ohio (2), Kent State (1), Ohio (1), UMass (1)

Source[13]

Preseason All-MAC

Preseason All-MAC teams
Team Player Position Year
First Delrecco Gillespie Forward Senior

Source[13]

Roster

2025–26 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Rayvon Griffith 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS So Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio
G 1 Cian Medley 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Jr Saint Louis Sicklerville, New Jersey
F/C 2 Rob Whaley Jr. 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 289 lb (131 kg) GS UNLV Farmington, Utah
G 4 Jamal Sumlin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Jr Northwest Florida State College Cleveland, Ohio
G 5 Brenden Moss 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 196 lb (89 kg) RS Jr Minnesota Prep Rockford, Illinois
G 6 Quinn Woidke 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Saint Ignatius High School Westlake, Ohio
F 7 Landon Vanderwarker 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Northside Christian School Delaware, Ohio
G 8 Morgan Safford 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 217 lb (98 kg) GS Miami (OH) Columbus, Ohio
F/C 11 Dezmon Briscoe 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 219 lb (99 kg) Fr Crispus Attucks High School Indianapolis, Indiana
F 14 Magnus Entenmann 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 227 lb (103 kg) GS International Sports Academy Columbus, Ohio
F 21 Deandre Jones 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 211 lb (96 kg) RS Fr Garfield Heights High School Cleveland, Ohio
F 22 Jaymen Townsend 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Victory Rock Prep Marion, Indiana
F 23 Delrecco Gillespie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr East Coweta High School Benton Harbor, Michigan
G 25 Jahari Williamson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Jr Niagara Pickering, Ontario
G 31 Dylan Lakatos 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 138 lb (63 kg) Fr North Royalton High School Broadview Heights, Ohio
F 51 Drew Huffman 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Fr Cuyahoga Falls High School Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
G 54 Omer Hamama 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Hapoel HaEmek Rishon LeZion, Israel
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: December 9, 2025

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 3, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Troy
MAC-SBC Challenge 		L 97–103 OT 0–1
  22 – Gillespie   16 – Gillespie   4 – Hamama  MAC Center (2,131)
Kent, OH
November 7, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Cornell W 110–102  1–1
  34 – Safford   10 – Gillespie   10 – Hamama  MAC Center (1,870)
Kent, OH
November 10, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		UNC Wilmington W 86–77  2–1
  19 – Medley   12 – Gillespie   10 – Medley  MAC Center (2,435)
Kent, OH
November 15, 2025*
1:00 p.m., PTB Live 		vs. Cleveland State
Greenbrier Tip-Off (River Division) Semifinal 		W 102–95  3–1
  30 – Gillespie   13 – Gillespie   8 – Medley  Colonial Hall 
White Sulphur Springs, WV
November 16, 2025*
12:00 p.m., PTB Live 		vs. Wright State
Greenbrier Tip-Off (River Division) Final 		W 76–72 OT 4–1
  26 – Gillespie   17 – Gillespie   7 – Medley  Colonial Hall (459)
White Sulphur Springs, WV
November 18, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Eastern Kentucky W 93–78  5–1
  25 – Gillespie   11 – Gillespie   6 – Medley  MAC Center (1,802)
Kent, OH
November 22, 2025*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Cleveland State W 91–71  6–1
  21 – Medley   11 – Gillespie   6 – Safford  MAC Center (2,026)
Kent, OH
November 29, 2025*
7:00 p.m., Boxcast 		Penn State Shenango W 123–59  7–1
  19 – Jones   12 – Gillespie   16 – Medley  MAC Center (1,435)
Kent, OH
December 3, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Austin Peay W 96–84  8–1
  22 – Gillespie   10 – Gillespie   8 – Medley  MAC Center (1,642)
Kent, OH
December 6, 2025*
4:00 p.m., Boxcast 		Roberts Wesleyan W 111–68  9–1
  22 – Safford   8 – Griffith   5 – Medley  MAC Center (1,720)
Kent, OH
December 14, 2025*
5:00 p.m., KUNP/ESPN+ 		at Portland L 78–88  9–2
  21 – Gillespie   14 – Gillespie   4 – Tied  Chiles Center (1,033)
Portland, OR
December 20, 2025
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at UMass W 69–59  10–2
(1–0) 		 19 – Woidke   20 – Gillespie   8 – Medley  Mullins Center (3,104)
Amherst, MA
December 29, 2025*
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		at No. 5 Purdue L 60–101  10–3
  10 – Tied   4 – Tied   3 – Tied  Mackey Arena (14,876)
West Lafayette, IN
January 3, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Northern Illinois W 77–73  11–3
(2–0) 		 28 – Gillespie   11 – Gillespie   2 – Tied  MAC Center (2,081)
Kent, OH
January 6, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Bowling Green W 96–93  12–3
(3–0) 		 32 – Gillespie   10 – Gillespie   10 – Medley  MAC Center (1,688)
Kent, OH
January 10, 2026
3:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Central Michigan L 85–87  12–4
(3–1) 		 23 – Williamson   23 – Gillespie   8 – Medley  McGuirk Arena (2,022)
Mount Pleasant, MI
January 13, 2026
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Buffalo W 87–81  13–4
(4–1) 		 20 – Gillespie   15 – Gillespie   12 – Medley  Alumni Arena (1,084)
Amherst, NY
January 16, 2026
6:30 p.m., CBSSN 		Toledo W 87–84  14–4
(5–1) 		 29 – Gillespie   13 – Gillespie   9 – Medley  MAC Center (2,433)
Kent, OH
January 20, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		No. 25 Miami (OH) L 101–107 OT 14–5
(5–2) 		 27 – Whaley Jr.   14 – Whaley Jr.   7 – Medley  MAC Center (6,327)
Kent, OH
January 24, 2026
3:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Eastern Michigan W 76–75 2OT 15–5
(6–2) 		 27 – Whaley Jr.   12 – Gillespie   4 – Medley  George Gervin GameAbove Center (2,804)
Ypsilanti, MI
January 27, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Ohio W 72–57  16–5
(7–2) 		 18 – Safford   12 – Gillespie   8 – Medley  MAC Center (1,571)
Kent, OH
January 30, 2026
6:00 p.m., CBSSN 		at Akron L 52–69  16–6
(7–3) 		 17 – Gillespie   17 – Griffith   3 – Medley  James A. Rhodes Arena (4,847)
Akron, OH
February 3, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Toledo W 75–72  17–6
(8–3) 		 25 – Gillespie   10 – Gillespie   5 – Medley  Savage Arena (4,165)
Toledo, OH
February 7, 2026*
3:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Southern Miss
MAC-SBC Challenge 		L 65–66  17–7
  15 – Tied   9 – Gillespie   3 – Medley  Reed Green Coliseum (2,734)
Hattiesburg, MS
February 11, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Eastern Michigan W 95–91  18–7
(9–3) 		 23 – Safford   12 – Gillespie   10 – Medley  MAC Center (2,438)
Kent, OH
February 14, 2026
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Ball State W 75–68  19–7
(10–3) 		 22 – Gillespie   14 – Gillespie   8 – Medley  Worthen Arena (3,418)
Muncie, IN
February 17, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Bowling Green W 78–71  20–7
(11–3) 		 27 – Safford   9 – Griffith   6 – Medley  Stroh Center (2,223)
Bowling Green, OH
February 24, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Central Michigan W 83–81  21–7
(12–3) 		 17 – Gillespie   11 – Gillespie   6 – Medley  MAC Center (2,124)
Kent, OH
February 27, 2026
8:00 p.m., ESPNU 		Akron L 70–92  21–8
(12–4) 		 15 – Safford   8 – Gillespie   7 – Medley  MAC Center (6,327)
Kent, OH
March 3, 2026
8:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Northern Illinois W 102–76  22–8
(13–4) 		 18 – Tied   7 – Tied   4 – Tied  Convocation Center (1,040)
DeKalb, IL
March 6, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Western Michigan W 86–78  23–8
(14–4) 		 16 – Williamson   8 – Gillespie   5 – Medley  MAC Center (2,421)
Kent, OH
MAC tournament
March 12, 2026*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		(3) vs. (6) Ohio
Quarterfinal 		W 86–75  24–8
  27 – Gillespie   8 – Gillespie   7 – Medley  Rocket Arena (9,123)
Cleveland, OH
March 13, 2026*
7:30 p.m., CBSSN 		(3) vs. (2) Akron
Semifinal 		L 68–75  24–9
  15 – Whaley Jr.   14 – Gillespie   3 – Medley  Rocket Arena (10,936)
Cleveland, OH
NIT
March 18, 2026*
8:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at (4 WS) Illinois State
First round 		L 58–79  24–10
  19 – Safford   15 – Gillespie   7 – Medley  CEFCU Arena (2,565)
Normal, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
WS=Winston-Salem.
All times are in Eastern.

Sources:[14][15]

References

  1. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Standings". ESPN. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  2. ^ "Kent State 86, Ohio 75". ESPN. March 12, 2026. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  3. ^ "Akron 75, Kent State 68". ESPN. March 13, 2026. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  4. ^ Popovich, Mike (March 16, 2026). "-Kent State men's basketball team to play at Illinois State in NIT". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  5. ^ Popovich, Mike (March 18, 2026). "Illinois State ends Kent State's season in first round of NIT". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  6. ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  7. ^ "Flashes Fall to Miami (OH) in MAC Tournament Semifinal". kentstatesports.com. March 14, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  8. ^ "Golden Flashes to Play St. Bonaventure in the National Invitation Tournament". Kent State Golden Flashes. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  9. ^ Rosenblum, Jonah. "Kent State men's basketball: Golden Flashes upset St. Bonaventure in NIT first round". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  10. ^ "Sullinger scores 34, Kent State takes down Stanford 77-75 in NIT". ABC7 San Francisco. March 24, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  11. ^ Kwiecinski, Chris (March 26, 2025). "Loyola basketball advances to NIT Final Four for the first time since 1962 with win over Kent State". FOX 32 Chicago. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  12. ^ "Jalen Sullinger". Polonia Warszawa (in Polish). Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  13. ^ a b c "MAC Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll & All-MAC Teams". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  14. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Kent State University Golden Flashes. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  15. ^ "Kent State Golden Flashes 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
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