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2025–26 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball team

2025–26 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball
ConferenceOhio Valley Conference
Record10–7 (3–3 OVC)
Head coach
Associate head coachColin Schneider
Assistant coaches
  • Ryan Hellenthal
  • Garret Covington
  • Rob Holloway
  • Mike Waldo (Special assistant to the head coach)
  • Evan Ambrose (Graduate Asstistant)
Home arenaFirst Community Arena
2025–26 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
UT Martin 12 – 4   .750 20 – 7   .741
Tennessee State 11 – 5   .688 17 – 9   .654
Southeast Missouri State 11 – 5   .688 16 – 11   .593
Morehead State 11 – 5   .688 15 – 12   .556
SIU Edwardsville 10 – 6   .625 17 – 10   .630
Lindenwood 10 – 6   .625 16 – 11   .593
Eastern Illinois 7 – 9   .438 11 – 16   .407
Little Rock 7 – 9   .438 10 – 17   .370
Tennessee Tech 6 – 10   .375 11 – 16   .407
Southern Indiana 2 – 14   .125 5 – 21   .192
Western Illinois 1 – 15   .063 5 – 22   .185
† 2026 OVC tournament winner
As of February 14, 2026

The 2025–26 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball team represents Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by seventh-year head coach Brian Barone, play their home games at the First Community Arena in Edwardsville, Illinois as members of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). The Cougars are the defending OVC tournament champions.

Previous season

The Cougars finished the 2024–25 season 22–12, 13–7 in OVC play to finish in second place. As the No. 2 seed in the OVC tournament, the Cougars defeated Tennessee State[1][2] and Southeast Missouri State to win the tournament championship.[3][4][5] As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the school's first-ever trip to the tournament.

Graduate guard Ray'Sean Taylor was named the 2024–25 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, and his cousin junior guard Brian Taylor II was named to the All-OVC Second Team.[6]

Season Forecast

Seven players, including two medical redshirts, return from the 2024–25 squad. They are joined by three freshmen, a junior college transfer, three transfers from other Division I programs, and a graduate student from a non-Division I school. [7]

In a vote of Ohio Valley Conference head men's basketball coaches and communication directors, SIUE was picked to finish 3rd in the 11 team Ohio Valley Conference. [8]

2025–26 OVC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll

  1. Little Rock (12 first-place) - 188 points
  2. Southeast Missouri (6) - 177
  3. SIUE (1) - 163
  4. Tennessee State (1) - 135
  5. Lindenwood - 100
  6. Morehead State - 100
  7. Tennessee Tech - 80
  8. UT Martin - 79
  9. Southern Indiana (2) - 67
  10. Eastern Illinois - 63
  11. Western Illinois - 57

Roster

Source [7]

2023–24 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Ring Malith 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Barton CC/Rocky Bayou Christian HS Twic, South Sudan
G 1 Jordan Pickett 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Belleville East HS Belleville, IL
G 2 CJ Hall 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) GS Nelson/McLennan CC/Mansfield Summit HS Killeen, TX
F 4 Darrion Baker 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So Akron/Hillcrest HS Chicago, IL
G 5 Jack Campion 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Southern Indiana/Milton HS Milton, WI
G 7 Darius Robinson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr Oral Roberts/Kenwood Academy Chicago, IL
G 8 Harrison Alexander 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS So Mississippi State/Madison-Ridgeland Academy Madison, MS
G 9 Tyler King 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr North Central Missouri/Parkway West HS Saint Louis, MO
G 11 Dehrio McCaskill 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Vashon HS Saint Louis, MO
G 17 Corentin Efono 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr - Aalst, Belgium
F 20 Iwo Baganc 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr - Poznań, Poland
F 21 Myles Thompson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Barton CC/Hutchinson HS Hutchinson, KS
F 24 Kyle Thomas 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Bradley/Benet Academy Bolingbrook, IL
F 33 Jo Valrie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) GS Point Park Houston, TX
C 34 Arnas Sakenis 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Sr Andrew HS Tinley Park, IL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Source[9]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition Season
October 26, 2025*
1:00 PM 		St. Ambrose
Championship Banner Celebration 		W 100–60 
 17 – Thomas   9 – Sakenis   5 – Campion  First Community Arena 
Edwardsville, IL
Non-Conference Season
November 4, 2025*
6:00 PM, ESPN+ 		East–West W 119–50  1–0
  16 – Malith   9 – Valrie   5 – Pickett  First Community Arena (1,143)
Edwardsville, IL
November 7, 2025*
12:30 PM, ESPN+ 		at UTSA W 77–60  2–0
  20 – Malith   10 – Valrrie   4 – Campion  Convocation Center (840)
San Antonio, TX
November 10, 2025*
6:00 PM, ESPN+ 		Indiana State L 55–64  2–1
  15 – Malith   7 – Pickett   3 – Tied  First Community Arena (2,482)
Edwardsville, IL
November 14, 2025*
6:30 PM, ESPN+ 		at Drake W 61–59  3–1
  20 – Malith   13 – Thompson   8 – Campion  The Knapp Center (3,234)
Des Moines, IA
November 17, 2025*
7:00 PM, B1G Network 		at No. 23 Wisconsin L 69–94  3–2
  12 – Pickett   7 – Thompson   3 – Pickett  Kohl Center (13,797)
Madison, WI
November 21, 2025*
5:00 PM, MW Network 		at Air Force
Air Force Classic 		L 63–77  3–3
  17 – Malith   7 – Thompson   3 – Hall  Clune Arena (1,305)
Air Force Academy, CO
November 23, 2025*
12:00 PM, MW Network 		vs. Alabama State
Air Force Classic 		W 83–68  4–3
  15 – Campion   8 – Tied   5 – Campion  Clune Arena (1,099)
Air Force Academy, CO
November 28, 2025*
3:00 PM, ESPN+ 		Missouri Baptist W 92–55  5–3
  14 – Malith   7 – Sakenis   4 – Campion  First Community Arena (1,487)
Edwardsville, IL
December 2, 2025*
6:00 PM, ESPN+ 		at North Florida W 72–63  6–3
  31 – Malith   10 – Malith   5 – Campion  UNF Arena (1,166)
Jacksonville, FL
December 6, 2025*
1:00 PM, ESPN+ 		Western Michigan L 73–83  6–4
  20 – Malith   5 – Thompson   8 – Campion  First Community Arena (1,497)
Edwardsville, IL
December 14, 2025*
1:00 PM, ESPN+ 		Eureka W 97–54  7–4
  15 – Pickett   8 – Malith   5 – Robinson  First Community Arena (1,004)
Edwardsville, IL
Conference Season
December 18, 2025
5:30 PM, ESPN+ 		at Eastern Illinois L 72–76 OT 7–5
(0–1) 		 23 – Malith   5 – Tied   10 – Campion  Groniger Arena (451)
Charleston, IL
December 22, 2025
3:30 PM, ESPN+ 		at Western Illinois W 66–61  8–5
(1–1) 		 24 – Malith   6 – Malith   5 – Campion  Western Hall (628)
Macomb, IL
January 1, 2026
3:30 PM, ESPN+ 		Southern Indiana W 59–55  9–5
(2–1) 		 12 – Malith   8 – Thomas -   2 – Malith  First Community Arena (1,849)
Edwardsville, IL
January 3, 2026
3:30 PM, ESPN+ 		Morehead State L 72–73  9–6
(2–2) 		 15 – Baker   5 – Baker   5 – Hall  First Community Arena (1,869)
Edwardsville, IL
January 6, 2026
7:30 PM, ESPN+ 		Lindenwood W 66–62  10–6
(3–2) 		 20 – Baker   9 – Baker   7 – Campion  First Community Arena (1,477)
Edwardsville, IL
January 8, 2026
7:30 PM, ESPN+ 		Little Rock L 70–73  10–7
(3–3) 		 15 – Thomas   8 – Thomas   8 – Campion  First Community Arena (1,102)
Edwardsville, IL
January 15, 2026
7:30 PM, ESPN+ 		at UT Martin L 59–65  10–8
(3–4) 		 15 – Baker   8 – Sakenis   4 – Hall  Kathleen and Tom Elam Center (1,753)
Martin, TN
January 17, 2026
3:45 PM, ESPN+ 		at Southeast Missouri State W 68–55  11–8
(4–4) 		 19 – Sakenis   8 – Sakenis   6 – Campion  Show Me Center (3,020)
Cape Girardeau, MO
January 22, 2026
7:30 PM, ESPNU 		Tennessee State       First Community Arena 
Edwardsville, IL
January 24, 2026
4:00 PM, ESPN+ 		Tennessee Tech       First Community Arena 
Edwardsville, IL
January 29, 2026
6:30 PM, ESPN+ 		at Morehead State       Ellis T. Johnson Arena 
Morehead, KY
January 31, 2026
7:30 PM, ESPN+ 		at Southern Indiana       Liberty Arena 
Evansville, IN
February 3, 2026
7:30 PM, ESPN+ 		at Lindenwood       The Hyland Arena 
St. Charles, MO
February 7, 2026
3:00 PM, ESPN+ 		at Little Rock       Jack Stephens Center 
Little Rock, AR
February 12, 2026
7:30 PM, ESPN+ 		Southeast Missouri State       First Community Arena 
Edwardsville, IL
February 14, 2026
3:30 PM, ESPN+ 		UT Martin       First Community Arena 
Edwardsville, IL
February 19, 2026
7:30 PM, ESPN+ 		at Tennessee Tech       Eblen Center 
Cookeville, TN
February 21, 2026
3:30 PM, ESPN+ 		at Tennessee State       Gentry Center 
Nashville, TN
February 26, 2026
7:30 PM, ESPN+ 		Western Illinois       First Community Arena 
Edwardsville, IL
February 28, 2026
3:30 PM, ESPN+ 		Eastern Illinois
Senior Day 		      First Community Arena 
Edwardsville, IL
Conference Tournament
March 4–7, 2026
ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+ 		vs. TBD       Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.
All times are in Central Time Zone.

References

  1. ^ "'Go time': SIUE holds off Tenn. State, advances to OVC Basketball Tourney final". The Telegraph. March 8, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  2. ^ "SIUE holds off Tennessee State, will play in OVC title game". The Intelligencer, Edwardsville Publishing Company, LLC. March 8, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  3. ^ "SIUE Cougars punch out SEMO and punch their ticket to first NCAA Basketball Tourney". The Telegraph. March 8, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  4. ^ "Trust, togetherness lead SIUE to NCAA Tournament berth with rout of SEMO". St.Louis Today/St. Louis Post-Dispatch. March 9, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  5. ^ "SIUE wins OVC Tournament, claims first bid into NCAA Tournament". The Intelligencer, Edwardsville Publishing Company, LLC. March 8, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  6. ^ "SIUE's Taylor, SEMO's Korn, Little Rock's Gatkek and Lindenwood's Jones Earn 2024–25 OVC Men's Basketball Top Honors". Ohio Valley Conference. March 4, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "2025-26 Men's Basketball Roster". Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
  8. ^ "Little Rock Picked as 2025-26 OVC Men's Basketball Favorites" (Press release). Ohio Valley Conference. October 14, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
  9. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
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