2025–26 Central Michigan Chippewas men's basketball team

2025–26 Central Michigan Chippewas men's basketball
2025–26 Central Michigan Chippewas men's basketball
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	8–18 (4–9 MAC)
Head coach	Andy Bronkema (1st season);
Associate head coach	Brooks Miller (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Jim Lake (1st season); Raymoan McAfee (1st season);
Home arena	McGuirk Arena

2025–26 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 22 Miami (OH)	14	–	0	1.000	27	–	0	1.000
Akron	13	–	1	.929	22	–	5	.815
Kent State	11	–	3	.786	20	–	7	.741
Ohio	8	–	6	.571	14	–	13	.519
Toledo	7	–	6	.538	13	–	13	.500
Bowling Green	7	–	8	.467	16	–	12	.571
UMass	6	–	8	.429	15	–	12	.556
Buffalo	5	–	8	.385	15	–	11	.577
Northern Illinois	4	–	9	.308	9	–	16	.360
Central Michigan	4	–	9	.308	8	–	18	.308
Eastern Michigan	4	–	10	.286	10	–	17	.370
Western Michigan	3	–	10	.231	9	–	17	.346
Ball State	3	–	11	.214	8	–	19	.296

† 2026 MAC tournament winner As of February 20, 2026 Rankings from AP Poll

The 2025–26 Central Michigan Chippewas men's basketball team represents Central Michigan University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Chippewas, led by first-year head coach Andy Bronkema, play their home games at McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant, Michigan as members of the Mid-American Conference.

Previous season

The Chippewas finished the 2024–25 season 14–17, 7-11 in MAC play, to finish tied for ninth place out of the twelve teams competing.^[1] They did not qualify for the MAC men's basketball tournament

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Jakobi Heady	0	G/F	6'6"	200	Senior	Sauk Village, Illinois	Transferred to Bethune–Cookman
Shaedon Simpson	1	G	6'6"	185	RS Freshman	Toronto, Ontario	Transferred to Saint Peter's
Cayden Vasko	2	G	6'6"	190	Sophomore	Lowell, Indiana	Transferred to Wofford
Mohammad Habhab	3	F	6'9"	205	Freshman	Dearborn, Michigan	Transferred to Eastern Michigan
Kyler VanderJagt	4	G	6'4"	205	Junior	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Transferred to Toledo
Quentin Heady	5	F	6'6"	200	Sophomore	Sauk Village, Illinois	Transferred to Bethune–Cookman
Damarion Bonds	7	G	6'6"	180	Junior	Pontiac, Michigan	Transferred to Alabama State
Ryan Hatcher	9	G	6'2"	155	Freshman	Detroit, Michigan
Trey Phillips	11	F	6'7"	205	Sophomore	Scottsdale, Arizona	Entered transfer portal
Hunter Harding	12	C	7'0"	245	Sophomore	Toronto, Ontario	Transferred to Indiana State
Bryan Ndjonga	13	F	6'9"	200	Sophomore	Yaoundé, Cameroon	Transferred to Canisius
Ugnius Jarusevicius	21	F	6'10"	220	Junior	Alytus, Lithuania	Transferred to Nebraska
Drew Barbee	22	G	6'3"	200	RS Freshman	Mount Pleasant, Michigan	Transferred to Incarnate Word
Gus Salem	23	G	6'2"	185	Freshman	Los Angeles, California	Entered transfer portal
Armani Mighty	26	C	6'10"	240	Junior	Toronto, Ontario	Transferred to Mercer
Anthony Pritchard	30	G	6'2"	185	Senior	Tulsa, Oklahoma	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Jaxson Whitaker	3	G	6'4"	215	Sophomore	Muskegon, Michigan	Ferris State
Kareem Aburashed	4	C	6'10"	235	Senior	West Bloomfield, Michigan	Wayne State
Tamario Adley	5	G	6'1"	195	Senior	Detroit, Michigan	Wayne State
Phat Phat Brooks	10	G	6'2"	195	Sophomore	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Michigan
Kayden Nation	11	F	6'7"	225	Junior	Peoria, Illinois	Indian Hills CC
Keenan Garner	13	F	6'6"	220	Sophomore	Fishers, Indiana	IU Indy
Nick Mullen	21	F	6'10"	230	Senior	Chesterton, Indiana	IU South Bend
Will Ashford	22	G	6'5"	200	Sophomore	Aurora, Illinois	Purdue Northwest
Jorden Brooks	23	G	6'1"	185	Junior	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Ferris State
Rodney Johnson Jr.	24	F	6'5"	220	Senior	Bryan, Texas	Tennessee Tech
Nathan Claerbaut	32	C	7'0"	230	Senior	Zeeland, Michigan	Ferris State
Logan McIntire	33	G	6'5"	205	Senior	Ramsey, Indiana	Kentucky Wesleyan

Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight
Uchenna Amene G	Northville, Michigan	Detroit Catholic Central High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)
Uchenna Amene G	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: On3: ESPN:
Nsikan Usen F	Milford, Michigan	Lakeland High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)
Nsikan Usen F	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: On3: ESPN:
Jalen Kampen G	Parchment, Michigan	Parchment High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)
Jalen Kampen G	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: On3: ESPN:
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

Preseason rankings

MAC preseason poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)

Preseason All-MAC

Preseason All-MAC teams
Team	Player	Position	Year

Roster

2025–26 Central Michigan Chippewas men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Uchenna Amene	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Detroit Catholic Central High School	Northville, Michigan
F	1	Nsikan Usen	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Lakeland High School	Milford, Michigan
G	2	Jalen Kampen	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Parchment High School	Parchment, Michigan
G	3	Jaxson Whitaker	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	So	Ferris State	Muskegon, Michigan
C	4	Kareem Aburashed	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Sr	Wayne State	West Bloomfield, Michigan
G	5	Tamario Adley	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Wayne State	Detroit, Michigan
G	10	Phat Phat Brooks	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	So	Michigan	Grand Rapids, Michigan
F	11	Kayden Nation	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jr	Indian Hills Community College	Peoria, Illinois
F	13	Keenan Garner	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	So	IU Indy	Fishers, Indiana
F	21	Nick Mullen	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Sr	IU South Bend	Chesterton, Indiana
G	22	Will Ashford	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Purdue Northwest	Aurora, Illinois
G	23	Jorden Brooks	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Ferris State	Grand Rapids, Michigan
F	24	Rodney Johnson Jr.	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Sr	Tennessee Tech	Bryan, Texas
C	32	Nathan Claerbaut	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Sr	Ferris State	Zeeland, Michigan
G	33	Logan McIntire	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sr	Kentucky Wesleyan	Ramsey, Indiana

Head coach

Andy Bronkema (Cornerstone)

Assistant coach(es)

Brooks Miller (Hillsdale)
Jim Lake (Central Michigan)
Raymoan McAfee (Ferris State)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 6, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 24, 2025* 7:00 p.m.	Saginaw Valley State	W 77–56		16 – Whitaker	8 – Garner	3 – Ashford	McGuirk Arena (1,121) Mount Pleasant, MI
Regular season
November 3, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Appalachian State MAC-SBC Challenge	W 82–66	1–0	22 – Adley	7 – Tied	3 – Tied	McGuirk Arena (1,587) Mount Pleasant, MI
November 8, 2025* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Bradley	L 54–85	1–1	12 – Garner	8 – Garner	2 – Adley	Carver Arena (5,814) Peoria, IL
November 13, 2025* 11:00 a.m., YouTube	vs. South Alabama Showdown in St. Pete	L 64–66	1–2	21 – McIntire	14 – Claerbaut	6 – Brooks	McArthur Center (148) St. Petersburg, FL
November 14, 2025* 11:00 a.m., YouTube	vs. Coppin State Showdown in St. Pete	W 82–59	2–2	20 – Claerbaut	11 – Claerbaut	4 – Brooks	McArthur Center (142) St. Petersburg, FL
November 20, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Northern Kentucky	L 66–90	2–3	12 – Mullen	6 – Claerbaut	5 – Tied	McGuirk Arena (1,402) Mount Pleasant, MI
November 22, 2025* 2:00 p.m., TruTV	at Marquette	L 71–85	2–4	14 – Claerbaut	8 – Adley	4 – Brooks	Fiserv Forum (14,034) Milwaukee, WI
November 25, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Adrian	W 112–67	3–4	18 – Johnson Jr.	8 – Adley	7 – Adley	McGuirk Arena (1,086) Mount Pleasant, MI
December 2, 2025* 8:00 p.m., Marquee/ESPN+	at Loyola Chicago	L 72–83	3–5	21 – Johnson Jr.	6 – Tied	6 – Brooks	Joseph J. Gentile Arena (1,726) Chicago, IL
December 7, 2025* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Saint Louis	L 65–107	3–6	19 – Adley	7 – Claerbaut	4 – Adley	Chaifetz Arena (4,446) Saint Louis, MO
December 13, 2025* 12:00 p.m., SNY/FloCollege	at Stony Brook	L 55–78	3–7	14 – Mullen	4 – Whitaker	3 – Tied	Stony Brook Arena (1,314) Stony Brook, NY
December 17, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Olivet	W 85–65	4–7	31 – Claerbaut	12 – Claerbaut	7 – Adley	McGuirk Arena (1,012) Mount Pleasant, MI
December 20, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Northern Illinois	L 73–74	4–8 (0–1)	18 – Tied	7 – Tied	7 – Brooks	Convocation Center (1,311) DeKalb, IL
December 22, 2025* 8:00 p.m., BTN	at Wisconsin	L 61–88	4–9	13 – Adley	5 – Mullen	6 – Adley	Kohl Center (14,106) Madison, WI
December 30, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN+	Ohio	L 64–80	4–10 (0–2)	19 – Adley	7 – Tied	4 – Claerbaut	McGuirk Arena (1,358) Mount Pleasant, MI
January 3, 2026 3:00 p.m., ESPN+	Toledo	L 75–78	4–11 (0–3)	17 – Brooks	6 – Mullen	4 – Adley	McGuirk Arena (1,342) Mount Pleasant, MI
January 6, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Akron	L 69–82	4–12 (0–4)	20 – Adley	6 – Adley	3 – Brooks	James A. Rhodes Arena (1,623) Akron, OH
January 10, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN+	Kent State	W 87–85	5–12 (1–4)	20 – Brooks	8 – Tied	4 – Brooks	McGuirk Arena (2,022) Mount Pleasant, MI
January 13, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Miami (OH)	L 61–100	5–13 (1–5)	16 – Claerbaut	8 – Garner	4 – Brooks	Millett Hall (2,021) Oxford, OH
January 20, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Ball State	L 67–68	5–14 (1–6)	21 – McIntire	8 – Tied	6 – Adley	McGuirk Arena (2,202) Mount Pleasant, MI
January 24, 2026 6:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Western Michigan	L 65–77	5–15 (1–7)	17 – Claerbaut	12 – Garner	5 – Adley	University Arena (4,776) Kalamazoo, MI
January 27, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Eastern Michigan	W 100–65	6–15 (2–7)	19 – McIntire	9 – Garner	6 – Adley	McGuirk Arena (1,886) Mount Pleasant, MI
January 31, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Bowling Green	W 62–59	7–15 (3–7)	18 – Garner	14 – Garner	6 – Brooks	McGuirk Arena (5,352) Mount Pleasant, MI
February 3, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at UMass	L 89–95	7–16 (3–8)	40 – McIntire	6 – Brooks	11 – Brooks	Mullins Center (2,243) Amherst, MA
February 7, 2026* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Louisiana MAC-SBC Challenge	L 80–85	7–17	21 – Adley	5 – Brooks	3 – Adley	Cajundome (3,148) Lafayette, LA
February 14, 2026 5:00 p.m., ESPN+	Northern Illinois	W 88–46	8–17 (4–8)	19 – Whitaker	11 – Garner	6 – Adley	McGuirk Arena (1,662) Mount Pleasant, MI
February 17, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+	at Eastern Michigan	L 54–66	8–18 (4–9)	17 – Adley	7 – Claerbaut	2 – Tied	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,517) Ypsilanti, MI
February 21, 2026 5:00 p.m., ESPN+	Western Michigan						McGuirk Arena Mount Pleasant, MI
February 24, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Kent State						MAC Center Kent, OH
February 28, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Buffalo						Alumni Arena Amherst, NY
March 3, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Akron						McGuirk Arena Mount Pleasant, MI
March 6, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Ball State						Worthen Arena Muncie, IN
MAC tournament
March 12–14, 2026	vs.						Rocket Arena Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:^[2]^[3]

References

^ Hotchkiss, Greg. "Men's Basketball Season Ends With 83-81 Double Overtime Loss to NIU". Central Michigan University Athletics.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Central Michigan University Athletics. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
^ "Central Michigan Chippewas 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 6, 2025.

[1] Hotchkiss, Greg. "Men's Basketball Season Ends With 83-81 Double Overtime Loss to NIU". Central Michigan University Athletics.

[2] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Central Michigan University Athletics. Retrieved October 6, 2025.

[3] "Central Michigan Chippewas 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 6, 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Central Michigan Chippewas men's basketball
Venues	Central Hall (1909–1951) Finch Fieldhouse (1951–1973) McGuirk Arena (1973–present)
Rivalries	In-state MAC schools
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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