2025–26 Nicholls Colonels men's basketball team

2025–26 Nicholls Colonels men's basketball
2025–26 Nicholls Colonels men's basketball
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	14–19 (12–10 Southland)
Head coach	Tevon Saddler (3rd season);
Associate head coach	Jovan Coleman
Assistant coaches	Tyler Guidry; Darius Dangerfield;
Home arena	Stopher Gymnasium

2025–26 Southland Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Stephen F. Austin	20	–	2	.909	28	–	6	.824
McNeese †	19	–	3	.864	28	–	6	.824
UT Rio Grande Valley	14	–	8	.636	19	–	14	.576
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	13	–	9	.591	18	–	15	.545
New Orleans	12	–	10	.545	15	–	18	.455
Nicholls	12	–	10	.545	14	–	19	.424
Northwestern State	8	–	14	.364	10	–	22	.313
Houston Christian	8	–	14	.364	12	–	20	.375
Incarnate Word	7	–	15	.318	12	–	19	.387
Lamar	7	–	15	.318	12	–	19	.387
East Texas A&M	6	–	16	.273	11	–	21	.344
Southeastern Louisiana	6	–	16	.273	9	–	22	.290

† 2026 Southland tournament winner

The 2025–26 Nicholls State Colonels men's basketball team represented Nicholls State University in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Colonels, led by third-year head coach Tevon Saddler, played their home games at Stopher Gymnasium in Thibodaux, Louisiana as members of the Southland Conference.

Previous season

The Colonels finished the 2024–25 season 20–13, 13–7 in Southland play to finish in third place.^[1] They defeated Incarnate Word^[2], before falling to Lamar in the Southland tournament semifinals.^[3]

Roster

2025–26 Nicholls Colonels men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Jalin Rice	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Cleveland State	Flora, Mississippi
G	1	Trae English	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	RS Sr	McNeese	Baltimore, Maryland
G	2	Christian Winborne	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Iona	Baltimore, Maryland
G	3	Jaylen Searles	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	GS	Utah Tech	Everett, Washington
F	5	Sincere Malone	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sr	Eastern Illinois	Chicago, Illinois
G	6	Jordan Matthews	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Fr	Vandebilt Catholic High School	Houma, Louisiana
F	7	Grant Sanders	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sr	Brewton–Parker Christian	McDonough, Georgia
G	8	Kevin Pazmino	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jr	Florida	Weston, Florida
G	9	Zaiden Cross	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	Tennessee Southern	Scarborough, Ontario
G	21	Nick Krass	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jr	Tarleton State	Gulfport, Mississippi
G	22	Jalik Dunkley	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Arizona Christian	Hamilton, Ontario
G	24	Zee Hamoda	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	Sacramento State	Riffa, Bahrain
F	25	Domanic Betancourt	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jr	Brewton–Parker Christian	Tampa, Florida

Head coach

Tevon Saddler (Nicholls State)

Assistant coach(es)

Jovan Coleman (Mississippi State)
Tyler Guidry (SAGU)
Darius Dangerfield (Lycoming)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 27, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 4, 2025* 6:00 p.m., SECN+		at No. 9 Kentucky BBN United Tipoff Classic	L 51–77	0–1	13 – J. Rice	6 – G. Sanders	4 – T. English	Rupp Arena (19,289) Lexington, KY
November 7, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Eastern Illinois BBN United Tipoff Classic	L 57–65	0–2	20 – J. Searles	10 – S. Malone	3 – J. Searles	Groniger Arena (1,024) Charleston, IL
November 12, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Valparaiso BBN United Tipoff Classic	L 63–68	0–3	14 – T. English	7 – Tied	2 – Tied	Athletics–Recreation Center (867) Valparaiso, IN
November 15, 2025* 4:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Murray State	L 79–99	0–4	18 – J. Dunkley	5 – C. Winborne	4 – Tied	CFSB Center Murray, KY
November 22, 2025* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Oklahoma State	L 81–95	0–5	22 – J. Dunkley	12 – J. Dunkley	5 – S. Malone	Gallagher-Iba Arena (4,703) Stillwater, OK
November 28, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Tulane	L 72–82	0–6	22 – J. Searles	15 – J. Dunkley	5 – Tied	Devlin Fieldhouse (1,168) New Orleans, LA
December 2, 2025* 8:00 p.m., truTV		at Creighton	L 76–96	0–7	20 – C. Winborne	7 – J. Searles	4 – T. English	CHI Health Center Omaha (15,742) Omaha, NE
December 6, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Incarnate Word	W 74–67	1–7 (1–0)	19 – J. Dunkley	6 – J. Dunkley	5 – T. English	Stopher Gymnasium (721) Thibodaux, LA
December 10, 2025* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		College of Biblical Studies	W 117–49	2–7	20 – Z. Cross	12 – D. Betancourt	5 – J. Searles	Stopher Gymnasium (505) Thibodaux, LA
December 17, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Houston Christian	W 79–64	3–7 (2–0)	23 – J. Dunkley	5 – Tied	3 – Tied	Stopher Gymnasium (544) Thibodaux, LA
December 21, 2025* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Pacific	L 82–95	3–8	21 – J. Searles	4 – J. Dunkley	6 – J. Searles	Alex G. Spanos Center (1,055) Stockton, CA
December 29, 2025 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	W 76–71	4–8 (3–0)	16 – J. Dunkley	7 – J. Searles	8 – T. English	Hilliard Center (1,223) Corpus Christi, TX
December 31, 2025 4:30 p.m., ESPN+		at UT Rio Grande Valley	W 71–69	5–8 (4–0)	22 – J. Dunkley	12 – J. Dunkley	4 – J. Searles	UTRGV Fieldhouse (613) Edinburg, TX
January 3, 2026 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		East Texas A&M	W 80–58	6–8 (5–0)	21 – S. Malone	13 – J. Searles	7 – J. Searles	Stopher Gymnasium (613) Thibodaux, LA
January 5, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Northwestern State	W 74–72	7–8 (6–0)	18 – J. Searles	7 – J. Dunkley	3 – Tied	Stopher Gymnasium (511) Thibodaux, LA
January 10, 2026 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		at New Orleans	W 90–77	8–8 (7–0)	24 – J. Searles	5 – Tied	7 – T. English	Lakefront Arena (906) New Orleans, LA
January 12, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at McNeese	L 68–94	8–9 (7–1)	17 – C. Winborne	8 – S. Malone	5 – Tied	The Legacy Center (3,073) Lake Charles, LA
January 17, 2026 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Lamar	L 80–90	8–10 (7–2)	22 – S. Malone	7 – G. Sanders	8 – S. Malone	Stopher Gymnasium (655) Thibodaux, LA
January 19, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Stephen F. Austin	L 62–79	8–11 (7–3)	22 – J. Searles	8 – Tied	3 – S. Malone	Stopher Gymnasium (721) Thibodaux, LA
January 24, 2026 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Southeastern Louisiana	L 61–67	8–12 (7–4)	19 – S. Malone	10 – J. Dunkley	3 – Tied	University Center (564) Hammond, LA
January 27, 2026 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		New Orleans	L 62−80	8−13 (7−5)	19 – Z. Hamoda	7 – Z. Hamoda	8 – S. Malone	Stopher Gymnasium (915) Thibodaux, LA
January 31, 2026 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		at East Texas A&M	W 72–68	9–13 (8–5)	20 – J. Dunkley	7 – J. Dunkley	3 – Tied	The Field House (478) Commerce, TX
February 2, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Northwestern State	W 61–58	10–13 (9–5)	16 – Z. Hamoda	10 – J. Dunkley	3 – Z. Hamoda	Prather Coliseum (1,000) Natchitoches, LA
February 7, 2026 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	L 76–83	10–14 (9–6)	18 – S. Malone	7 – Tied	5 – S. Malone	Stopher Gymnasium (603) Thibodaux, LA
February 9, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		UT Rio Grande Valley	L 72–92	10–15 (9–7)	20 – T. English	7 – J. Dunkley	4 – S. Malone	Stopher Gymnasium (521) Thibodaux, LA
February 14, 2026 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Incarnate Word	W 91–83	11–15 (10–7)	18 – Tied	6 – J. Searles	7 – T. English	McDermott Center (146) San Antonio, TX
February 16, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Houston Christian	L 68–72	11–16 (10–8)	17 – T. English	10 – J. Dunnkley	6 – T. English	Sharp Gymnasium (901) Houston, TX
February 21, 2026 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Stephen F. Austin	L 78–81	11–17 (10–9)	24 – Z. Hamoda	5 – Z. Hamoda	6 – T. English	William R. Johnson Coliseum (4,212) Nacogdoches, TX
February 23, 2026 6:00 p.m., CBSSN		at Lamar	W 53–52	12–17 (11–9)	18 – T. English	9 – Z. Hamoda	3 – J. Rice	Neches Arena (2,437) Beaumont, TX
February 28, 2026 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Southeastern Louisiana	W 68–60	13–17 (12–9)	16 – English	10 – Malone	5 – Tied	Stopher Gymnasium (833) Thibodaux, LA
March 2, 2026 6:30 p.m., CBSSN		McNeese	L 65–75	13–18 (12–10)	20 – English	14 – Rice	3 – Searles	Stopher Gymnasium (912) Thibodaux, LA
Southland tournament
March 8, 2026 7:30 pm, ESPN+	(6)	vs. (7) Northwestern State First round	W 61–47	14–18	14 – Malone	7 – Dunkley	4 – Sanders	The Legacy Center (2,835) Lake Charles, LA
March 9, 2026 7:30 pm, ESPN+	(6)	vs. (3) UT Rio Grande Valley Quarterfinals	L 68−86	14−19	17 – English	12 – Sanders	5 – Sanders	The Legacy Center Lake Charles, LA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

Conference awards and honors

Weekly awards

Weekly honors
Honors	Player	Position	Date awarded	Ref.

References

^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Southland Conference. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
^ "Colonels Take Down UIW in Overtime to Reach Semifinals". geauxcolonels.com. March 10, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
^ "Colonels Outlasted in Semifinals against No. 2 Lamar". geauxcolonels.com. March 11, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Nicholls State University. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
^ "Nicholls Colonels Schedule 2025-26". ESPN Enterprises, Inc. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
^ "Nicholls Colonels". CBS Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
^ "NICHOLLS STATE COLONELS". FOX SPORTS™, SPEED™, SPEED.COM™ & © 2025 Fox Media LLC and Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
^ "2026 Nicholls Colonels Schedule". Nolan Analytics, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2025.

[1] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Southland Conference. Retrieved November 27, 2025.

[2] "Colonels Take Down UIW in Overtime to Reach Semifinals". geauxcolonels.com. March 10, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.

[3] "Colonels Outlasted in Semifinals against No. 2 Lamar". geauxcolonels.com. March 11, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.

[4] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Nicholls State University. Retrieved November 27, 2025.

[5] "Nicholls Colonels Schedule 2025-26". ESPN Enterprises, Inc. Retrieved November 27, 2025.

[6] "Nicholls Colonels". CBS Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 27, 2025.

[7] "NICHOLLS STATE COLONELS". FOX SPORTS™, SPEED™, SPEED.COM™ & © 2025 Fox Media LLC and Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2025.

[8] "2026 Nicholls Colonels Schedule". Nolan Analytics, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2025.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

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[8]

Nicholls Colonels men's basketball
Venues	Shaver Gymnasium (1958–1969) Stopher Gymnasium (1970–present)
Culture & lore	Colonel Tillou 6th Man Basketball Band
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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