Wikipedia mirror

2025–26 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team

2025–26 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball
ConferenceMid-American Conference
Record13–13 (7–6 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Lamar Thornton (7th season)
  • Kyle Barlow (7th season)
  • Lee Martin (6th season)
Home arenaConvocation Center
2025–26 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 22 Miami (OH) 13 – 0   1.000 26 – 0   1.000
Akron 12 – 1   .923 21 – 5   .808
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 – 7   .500 16 – 11   .593
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 – 10   .231 8 – 18   .308
† 2026 MAC tournament winner
As of February 17, 2026
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2025–26 Ohio University Bobcats men's basketball team represents Ohio University for the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bobcats are led by sixth-year head coach Jeff Boals, who was a 1995 graduate of Ohio University.[1][2] They play their home games at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio, as a member of the Mid-American Conference.[3][4]

Previous season

Main article: 2024–25 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team

The Bobcats were picked to win the conference but finished with a 16–16 record. They posted a disappointing 6–6 record entering 2025 prior to the start of league play. They finished tied for fourth in the MAC with a 10–6 conference record and lost their January matchup in the MAC-SBC challenge.[5] With a first round loss to Toledo, they failed to reach the MAC tournament semifinals for the first time since 2020 when the tournament was cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic.[6][7]

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason
Elmore James[8] 1 G 6'3" 205 Junior Cleveland, Ohio Transferred to Ball State[9]
AJ Brown[10] 3 G 6'4" 210 RS Sophomore Orlando, Florida Transferred to Florida[11]
Shereef Mitchell 4 G 6'1" 175 Grad. Student Omaha, Nebraska Graduated, Exhausted Eligibility
Ben Nicol[12] 7 F 6'7" 208 RS-Freshman Charleston, West Virginia Transferred to Charleston (WV)
Ben Estis* 14 G 6'1" 185 RS Sophomore Southlake, Texas Transferred to Trinity (TX)
AJ Clayton 23 F 6'8" 225 Senior Roseville, Ohio Graduated, Exhausted Eligibility
Vic Searls 35 F 6'9" 240 Grad. Student Hilliard, Ohio Graduated, Exhausted Eligibility

* Walk-on in 2024–25
[13][14][15]

Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason
Javan Simmons 1 F 6'7" 235 Sophomore Gahanna, OH Transferred from Toledo. Will have two years of eligibility remaining.[16]
Dior Conners 3 G 6'3" 183 Junior Columbus, OH Transferred from Appalachian State. Will have one year of eligibility remaining.[17]
Carter Reese 11 G 6'3" 200 Sophomore Westerville, OH Transferred from Ohio Northern. Will have three years of eligibility remaining.
Jalen Breath 22 F 6'8" 225 Junior Oklahoma City, OK Transferred from UNC Greensboro. Will have one year of eligibility remaining.[18]

[13][15]

Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown School Height Weight Commit date
Jordan Fisher
SF 		Reynoldsburg, OH Reynoldsburg 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg)  
Recruit ratings: No ratings found
JJ Kelly
ATH 		Chambersburg, PA Chambersburg Area 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg)  
Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Zay Mosley
SF 		Orlando, FL Oak Ridge 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg)  
Recruit ratings: No ratings found
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.

[19][20][21]

Preseason

On October 21, 2025 the MAC released the preseason coaches poll. Ohio was picked to finish fourth in the MAC regular season. Ohio received zero first place votes but did receive one vote to win the MAC Tournament.[22]

Preseason rankings

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

Source[23]

Preseason All-MAC

Preseason All-MAC teams
Team Player Position Year
1st Jackson Paveletzke G Sr.
2nd Javon Simmons G R-Jr.

Source[23]

Roster

2025–26 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Ajay Sheldon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Dublin Coffman Dublin, OH  
F 1 Javon Simmons 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Jr Gahanna Lincoln
Toledo 		Gahanna, OH  
G 3 Dior Conners 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Sr Pickerington North
Appalachian State 		Columbus, OH  
G 4 JJ Kelly 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Chambersburg Area Chambersburg, PA  
F 5 Ayden Evans 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Elizabethtown Radcliff, KY  
G 6 Elijah Elliot 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Oak Ridge Orlando, FL  
F 8 Zay Mosley 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Oak Ridge Pemberton, NJ  
F 10 Aidan Hadaway 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Lafayette Lafayette, GA  
G 11 Carter Reese (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Westerville North
Ohio Northern 		Westerville, OH  
G 13 Jackson Paveletzke 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Kimberly
Iowa State 		Kimberly, WI  
F 15 Chase Boals (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 253 lb (115 kg) RS Fr New Albany New Albany, OH  
F 17 Kiir Kuany 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Fr Huntington Prep Melbourne, Australia  
G 21 Jessie Burris 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Fr Delaware Hayes Delaware, OH  
F 22 Jalen Breath 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Sr Booker T. Washington
UNC Greensboro 		Oklahoma City, OK  
F 24 Jordan Fisher 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Reynoldsburg Pickerington, OH  
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: October 28, 2025

Support staff

2025-26 Ohio Bobcats support staff
  • Jake Ness – Director of Basketball Operations
  • Keith Williams - Graduate Assistant
  • Sara Legarsky – Senior Director of Athletics Communications
  • Derek Lutz – Staff Athletic Trainer
  • Jessica Arquette – Ohio Athletics Sports Dietitian

Source:[24]

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 20, 2025*
8:10 p.m. 		vs. Wright State
CareSource Invitational-Dayton 		L 57–63  –
  14 – Paveletzke   11 – Hadaway   3 – Hadaway  UD Arena 
Dayton, OH
October 26, 2025*
2:00 p.m., B1G+ 		at Ohio State L 74–103  –
  14 – Tied   7 – Breath   7 – Paveletzke  Value City Arena 
Columbus, OH
Regular season
November 3, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Arkansas State
MAC-SBC Challenge 		L 85–89  0–1
  28 – Hadaway   6 – Hadaway   3 – Hadaway  Convocation Center (5,545)
Athens, OH
November 6, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Illinois State W 72–68  1–1
  19 – Paveletzke   8 – Hadaway   6 – Paveletzke  Convocation Center (3,831)
Athens, OH
November 11, 2025*
10:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Saint Mary's L 60–90  1–2
  19 – Paveletzke   6 – Tied   6 – Sheldon  University Credit Union Pavilion (3,012)
Moraga, CA
November 15, 2025*
12:00 p.m, The CW 		at No. 12 Louisville L 81–106  1–3
  28 – Paveletzke   9 – Simmons   4 – Paveletzke  KFC Yum! Center (14,899)
Louisville, KY
November 19, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Bethune–Cookman
Sunshine Slam campus game 		L 73–76  1–4
  28 – Paveletzke   11 – Hadaway   5 – Paveletzke  Convocation Center (3,664)
Athens, OH
November 24, 2025*
6:00 p.m., CBSSN 		vs. George Mason
Sunshine Slam Beach Bracket semifinals 		L 69–92  1–5
  16 – Hadaway   6 – Breath   5 – Paveletzke  Ocean Center 
Daytona Beach, FL
November 25, 2025*
5:00 p.m., CBSSN 		vs. Loyola Marymount
Sunshine Slam Beach Bracket consolation game 		L 58–70  1–6
  12 – Hadaway   8 – Elliott   2 – Tied  Ocean Center 
Daytona Beach, FL
December 3, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Maine W 79–57  2–6
  17 – Simmons   11 – Hadaway   4 – Breath  Convocation Center (3,553)
Athens, OH
December 6, 2025*
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Marshall W 88–81  3–6
  22 – Paveletzke   11 – Hadaway   5 – Simmons  Convocation Center (3,723)
Athens, OH
December 13, 2025*
5:00 p.m., PTB Live 		vs. St. Bonaventure
Cleveland Hoops Showdown 		W 88–83 OT 4–6
  25 – Paveletzke   7 – Hadaway   3 – Tied  Rocket Arena (6,165)
Cleveland, OH
December 16, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Ohio Wesleyan W 89–56  5–6
  19 – Hadaway   8 – Elliot   9 – Paveletzke  Convocation Center (2,664)
Athens, OH
December 20, 2025
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Bowling Green L 58–68  5–7
(0–1) 		 19 – Paveletzke   10 – Hadaway   1 – Tied  Convocation Center (3,035)
Athens, OH
December 22, 2025*
12:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Miami-Hamilton W 102–59  6–7
  17 – Fisher   6 – Elliott   7 – Elliott  Convocation Center (2,402)
Athens, OH
December 30, 2025
3:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Central Michigan W 80–64  7–7
(1–1) 		 23 – Paveletzke   11 – Hadaway   0 – Paveletzke  McGuirk Arena (1,358)
Mount Pleasant, MI
January 3, 2026
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Eastern Michigan W 68–67  8–7
(2–1) 		 15 – Simmons   8 – Hadaway   3 – Hadaway  George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,622)
Ypsilanti, MI
January 6, 2026
6:00 p.m., CBSSN 		UMass W 86–83  9–7
(3–1) 		 20 – Simmons   6 – Hadaway   10 – Paveletzke  Convocation Center (2,699)
Athens, OH
January 10, 2026
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Buffalo W 91–80  10–7
(4–1) 		 27 – Hadaway   10 – Hadaway   8 – Paveletzke  Convocation Center (3,872)
Athens, OH
January 13, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Toledo L 85–101  10–8
(4–2) 		 21 – Simmons   6 – Simmons   6 – Paveletzke  Savage Arena (4,552)
Toledo, OH
January 16, 2026
8:30 p.m., CBSSN 		at Ball State L 71–76  10–9
(4–3) 		 22 – Tied   7 – Hadaway   4 – Paveletzke  Worthen Arena (2,505)
Muncie, IN
January 20, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Northern Illinois W 80–77  11–9
(5–3) 		 23 – Paveletzke   9 – Kelly   6 – Hadaway  Convocation Center (2,867)
Athens, OH
January 23, 2026
8:00 p.m., ESPNU 		Akron L 65–86  11–10
(5–4) 		 16 – Tied   5 – Tied   4 – Paveletzke  Convocation Center (4,422)
Athens, OH
January 27, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Kent State L 57–72  11–11
(5–5) 		 13 – Hadaway   8 – Paveletzke   3 – Paveletzke  MAC Center (1,571)
Kent, OH
January 31, 2026
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Buffalo W 95–83  12–11
(6–5) 		 24 – Simmons   13 – Simmons   11 – Paveletzke  Alumni Arena (2,005)
Amherst, NY
February 3, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Western Michigan W 91–71  13–11
(7–5) 		 17 – Tied   8 – Hadaway   8 – Paveletzke  Convocation Center (3,113)
Athens, OH
February 7, 2026*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Old Dominion
MAC-SBC Challenge 		L 72–78  13–12
  19 – Sheldon   13 – Hadaway   11 – Paveletzke  Chartway Arena (6,657)
Norfolk, VA
February 13, 2026
9:00 p.m., ESPN 		at No. 23 Miami (OH) L 74–90  13–13
(7–6) 		 22 – Paveletzke   4 – Tied   3 – Tied  Millett Hall (10,640)
Oxford, OH
February 17, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Ball State       Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
February 21, 2026
3:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Northern Illinois       Convocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
February 28, 2026
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Toledo       Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
March 3, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at UMass       Mullins Center 
Amherst, MA
March 6, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Miami (OH)       Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
MAC Tournament
March 12, 2026†
TBA, ESPN+ 		vs. TBA
Quarterfinals 		      Rocket Arena 
Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

† If a top eight finisher in MAC

Source[25][26]

Statistics

Team Statistics

Through February 04, 2026
Record Ohio OPP
Scoring 1871 1855
Scoring Average 77.96 77.29
Field goals – Att 667–1428 649–1427
3-pt. Field goals – Att 166–541 180–505
Free throws – Att 371–530 377–522
Rebounds 816 858
Assists 322 316
Turnovers 282 310
Steals 162 152
Blocked Shots 80 70

Source[27]

Player statistics

Minutes Scoring Total FGs 3-point FGs Free-Throws Rebounds
Player GP GS Tot Avg Pts Avg FG FGA Pct 3FG 3FA Pct FT FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg A PF TO Stl Blk
Jackson Paveletzke 23 23 829 36.0 391 17.0 127 250 0.508 24 69 0.348 113 142 0.796 12 57 69 3.0 116 31 57 23 0
Aidan Hadaway 24 24 752 31.3 342 14.3 139 286 0.486 30 109 0.275 34 49 0.694 45 129 174 7.3 51 68 45 19 17
Javan Simmons 23 23 603 26.2 323 14.0 112 219 0.511 3 22 0.136 96 142 0.676 56 69 125 5.4 33 63 39 13 15
JJ Kelly 24 19 617 25.7 225 9.4 89 162 0.549 19 55 0.345 28 35 0.800 26 68 94 3.9 13 57 25 24 21
Ajay Sheldon 24 22 714 29.8 166 6.9 53 150 0.353 44 123 0.358 16 22 0.727 10 53 63 2.6 47 60 32 39 1
Dior Conners 23 3 269 11.7 107 4.7 33 93 0.355 20 65 0.308 21 25 0.840 6 16 22 1.0 16 29 16 13 1
Kiir Kuany 23 0 183 8.0 80 3.5 31 59 0.525 7 23 0.304 11 15 0.733 7 20 27 1.2 2 24 6 7 6
Jalen Breath 21 1 291 13.9 78 3.7 26 52 0.500 0 1 0.000 26 62 0.419 25 38 63 3.0 9 45 16 6 9
Jesse Burris 16 0 181 11.3 64 4.0 23 65 0.354 12 41 0.293 6 6 1.000 9 13 22 1.4 5 14 10 5 3
Elijah Elliott 13 5 280 21.5 53 4.1 17 57 0.298 5 22 0.227 14 22 0.636 4 41 45 3.5 26 24 15 9 3
Ayden Evans 10 0 83 8.3 23 2.3 10 21 0.476 1 6 0.167 2 4 0.500 4 8 12 1.2 3 11 3 2 4
Jordan Fisher 5 0 22 4.4 19 3.8 7 14 0.500 1 5 0.200 4 6 0.667 0 2 2 0.4 1 3 1 2 0
Total 24 - 4824 - 1871 78.0 667 1428 0.467 166 541 0.307 371 530 0.700 204 514 718 29.9 322 429 282 162 80
Opponents 24 - 4824 - 1855 77.3 649 1427 0.455 180 505 0.356 377 522 0.722 274 584 858 35.8 316 466 310 152 70
Legend
  GP  Games played   GS  Games started  Avg  Average per game
  FG  Field-goals made  FGA  Field-goal attempts  Off  Offensive rebounds
 Def  Defensive rebounds   A  Assists   TO Turnovers
 Blk  Blocks  Stl  Steals  High  Team high

Source[27]

Awards and honors

Weekly Awards

Weekly Award Honors
Honors Player Position Date Awarded Source
MAC player of the week Jackson Paveletzke G January 12 [28]

References

  1. ^ "Jeff Boals". Ohio University Athletics. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  2. ^ "Jeff Boals". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  3. ^ "Convocation Center". Ohio University. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  4. ^ "MAC Men's College Basketball Standings – 2025–26". ESPN. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  5. ^ "MAC Men's College Basketball Standings - 2025-25". ESPN. Retrieved 2025-03-15.
  6. ^ Wright, Branson (March 12, 2020). "Mid-American Conference cancels basketball tournament in Cleveland because of coronavirus concerns". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  7. ^ "Ohio 85, Toledo 90". ESPN. Retrieved 2025-03-15.
  8. ^ Adams, Logan (April 8, 2025). "Men's Basketball: Elmore James to enter NCAA transfer portal". Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  9. ^ Brockway, Kevin (May 8, 2025). "Men's Basketball Signs Ohio Transfer Elmore James". Ball State Athletics. Retrieved May 11, 2025.
  10. ^ Adams, Logan (April 9, 2025). "Men's Basketball: Star guard AJ Brown enters transfer portal". Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  11. ^ Brockway, Kevin (April 24, 2025). "Florida basketball lands Ohio guard AJ Brown from transfer portal". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  12. ^ Adams, Logan (April 8, 2025). "Men's Basketball: MAC is unique in transfer portal era". Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  13. ^ a b "2025-26 Men's Basketball Roster". Ohio Athletics. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  14. ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Roster". Ohio Athletics. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  15. ^ a b "TRANSFER PORTAL". Verbal Commits. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  16. ^ "Ohio Men's Basketball Adds Toledo Transfer Javan Simmons". Ohio Athletics. April 9, 2025. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  17. ^ "Ohio men's basketball adds App State transfer Dior Conners". Athens Messenger. April 23, 2025. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  18. ^ "Ohio Men's Basketball Adds UNCG Transfer Jalen Breath". Ohio Athletics. April 9, 2025. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  19. ^ "Reynoldsburg's Jordan Fisher, Toby Nwokolo look to go out as OHSAA basketball champions". Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  20. ^ "Chambersburg's JJ Kelly makes his college basketball pick". Penn Live Patriot News. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  21. ^ Beach, Ashley (November 12, 2024). "Ohio Men's Basketball Adds Three During Early Signing Period". Ohio Athletics. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  22. ^ "MAC Basketball x Field of 68 Tip-Off Show Live TODAY!". getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference. October 20, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  23. ^ a b "MAC Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, All-MAC Teams". getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference. October 21, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  24. ^ "Men's Basketball Coaching Staff". ohiobobcats.com. Ohio University Athletics. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
  25. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Ohio University Athletics.
  26. ^ "Ohio Bobcats Schedule 2025–26". ESPN.
  27. ^ a b "2025-26 Ohio Bobcats Roster and Stats". Sports Reference.
  28. ^ "Paveletzke Earns Week 10 Men's Basketball Award". getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference. January 12, 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.