2025–26 Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team

2025–26 Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball
2025–26 Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	18–15 (11–9 MVC)
Head coach	Roger Powell Jr. (3rd season);
Assistant coaches	Pat Baldwin; Matt Gordon; Jesse McClung;
Home arena	Athletics–Recreation Center

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	22	–	12	.647
Murray State	12	–	8	.600	20	–	13	.606
UIC	12	–	8	.600	19	–	16	.543
Northern Iowa †	11	–	9	.550	23	–	13	.639
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 22, 2026

The 2025–26 Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Beacons, led by third-year head coach Roger Powell Jr., played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Indiana as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).

Previous season

The Beacons finished the 2024–25 season 15–19, 6–14 in MVC play, to finish second to last place. They lost in the semi finals of the MVC Tournament to Bradley.^[1]

Roster

2025–26 Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Rakim Chaney	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Auburn HS	Rockford, IL
G	1	Justus McNair	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	So	Joliet West HS	Joliet, IL
G	3	Brody Whitaker (5Y)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Indianapolis	Greencastle, IN
F	4	Jayden Watson	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	RS Fr	Bloom HS	Chicago Heights, IL
G	5	Camden Webster	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Kankakee Valley HS	Wheatfield, IN
F	7	JT Pettigrew	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Fr	Bolingbrook HS	Lisle, IL
G	10	Mark Brown Jr.	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	Snow College	South Phoenix, AZ
G	11	Issiah Barnes	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	RS Sr	Tulsa	Chicago, IL
F	12	Owen Dease	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Sr	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	Evansville, IN
F	13	Carter Hopoi	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Fr	Mount Maunganui College	Tauranga, New Zealand
C	15	Kobe Walker	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	270 lb (122 kg)	Fr	Normal Community HS	Normal, IL
G	20	Joe Vick	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Kouts HS	Kouts, IN
G	22	Kyonte Thomas (5Y)	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	Southeastern	Chicago, IL
C	23	Shon Tupuola	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Jr	Saint Mary-of-the-Woods	Brownsburg, IN
G	32	Nick Lombardi	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Montini Catholic HS	Lisle, IL
C	35	Tucker Tornatta	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	So	Indianapolis	Evansville, IN
G	44	Sader Servilus	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Fr	Fort Erie International Academy	Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Head coach

Roger Powell Jr. (Illinois)

Assistant coach(es)

Pat Baldwin (Northwestern)
Matt Gordon (Illinois State)
Jesse McClung (Ball State)

Legend

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

Roster
Last update: October 4, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition season
October 28, 2025* 7:00 p.m.		Brescia	W 104–62		Athletics–Recreation Center Valparaiso, IN
Non-conference season
November 4, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Eastern Illinois BBN United Tipoff Classic	W 66–63	1–0	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,095) Valparaiso, IN
November 7, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SEC+		at No. 9 Kentucky BBN United Tipoff Classic	L 59–107	1–1	Rupp Arena (20,016) Lexington, KY
November 12, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Nicholls BBN United Tipoff Classic	W 68–63	2–1	Athletics–Recreation Center (867) Valparaiso, IN
November 16, 2025* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+		Bryant	W 68–50	3–1	Athletics–Recreation Center (980) Valparaiso, IN
November 19, 2025* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Cleveland State	W 90–75	4–1	Wolstein Center (2,017) Cleveland, OH
November 26, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Southern Indiana	L 56–64	4–2	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,296) Valparaiso, IN
November 29, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Western Michigan	W 84–55	5–2	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,107) Valparaiso, IN
December 2, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Marquette	L 72–75 ^OT	5–3	Fiserv Forum (13,486) Milwaukee, WI
December 6, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Calumet–St. Joseph	W 98–58	6–3	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,023) Valparaiso, IN
December 13, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		UNC Wilmington	L 70–73	6–4	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,603) Valparaiso, IN
December 16, 2025* 7:00 p.m., Peacock		at Northwestern	L 70–86	6–5	Welsh–Ryan Arena (4,525) Evanston, IL
Conference season
December 21, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Murray State	L 79–85	6–6 (0–1)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,612) Valparaiso, IN
December 29, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Northern Iowa	L 48–58	6–7 (0–2)	McLeod Center (3,558) Cedar Falls, IA
January 1, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Southern Illinois	L 70–75	6–8 (0–3)	Banterra Center (5,758) Carbondale, IL
January 4, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		UIC	W 66–59	7–8 (1–3)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,494) Valparaiso, IN
January 7, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Illinois State	W 77–71	8–8 (2–3)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,444) Valparaiso, IN
January 10, 2026 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Murray State	L 79–92	8–9 (2–4)	CFSB Center (5,112) Murray, KY
January 13, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Belmont	L 74–78	8–10 (2–5)	Curb Event Center (1,648) Nashville, TN
January 17, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Northern Iowa	W 54–44	9–10 (3–5)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,863) Valparaiso, IN
January 21, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Southern Illinois	W 69–63	10–10 (4–5)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,366) Valparaiso, IN
January 28, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Belmont	L 77–78	10–11 (4–6)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,713) Valparaiso, IN
January 31, 2026 12:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Indiana State	W 76–72 ^OT	11–11 (5–6)	Hulman Center (5,137) Terre Haute, IN
February 3, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Bradley	L 65–72	11–12 (5–7)	Carver Arena (5,397) Peoria, IL
February 6, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Evansville	W 70–63 ^OT	12–12 (6–7)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,488) Valparaiso, IN
February 9, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Drake	W 81–76	13–12 (7–7)	The Knapp Center (3,078) Des Moines, IA
February 12, 2026 6:00 p.m., Gray Media		at Illinois State	L 64–86	13–13 (7–8)	CEFCU Arena (3,607) Normal, IL
February 15, 2026 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Indiana State	W 76–75	14–13 (8–8)	Athletics–Recreation Center (2,065) Valparaiso, IN
February 18, 2026 6:00 p.m., Gray Media		Bradley	W 79–72	15–13 (9–8)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,636) Valparaiso, IN
February 21, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UIC	W 71–67	16–13 (10–8)	Credit Union 1 Arena (2,247) Chicago, IL
February 25, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Drake Senior Night	W 74–71	17–13 (11–8)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,835) Valparaiso, IN
February 28, 2026 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Evansville	L 79–80	17–14 (11–9)	Ford Center (3,982) Evansville, IN
Conference tournament
March 5, 2026* 6:00 p.m., Gray Media	(7)	vs. (10) Indiana State Arch Madness Opening Round	W 63–62	18–14	Enterprise Center (8,960) St. Louis, MO
March 6, 2026* 6:00 p.m., Gray Media	(7)	vs. (2) Bradley Arch Madness Quarterfinal	L 84–90 ^2OT	18–15	Enterprise Center (8,897) St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Zone.

Sources:^[2]^[3]

References

^ "Valpo's Unprecedented Arch Madness Run Ends with Heartbreaking Semifinal Defeat to Bradley". Valparaiso University. March 8, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
^ "2025–26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Valparaiso University. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
^ "Valparaiso Beacons Schedule 2025–26". ESPN. Retrieved October 27, 2025.

[1] "Valpo's Unprecedented Arch Madness Run Ends with Heartbreaking Semifinal Defeat to Bradley". Valparaiso University. March 8, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2025.

[2] "2025–26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Valparaiso University. Retrieved October 27, 2025.

[3] "Valparaiso Beacons Schedule 2025–26". ESPN. Retrieved October 27, 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball
Venues	Hilltop Gym (1939–1984) ARC (1984–present)
Culture & lore	"The Shot"
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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

Previous season

Roster

Schedule and results

See also

References