2025–26 USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball team

2025–26 USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball
2025–26 USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball
Conference	Big South Conference
Record	10–13 (2–6 Big South)
Head coach	Marty Richter (2nd season);
Assistant coaches	Cavel Witter; Nashad Mackey; Vince Fritz; Jon D'Angelo;
Home arena	G. B. Hodge Center

2025–26 Big South men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
High Point	12	–	1	.923	24	–	4	.857
Winthrop	11	–	1	.917	19	–	8	.704
Radford	7	–	5	.583	14	–	13	.519
Presbyterian	6	–	6	.500	13	–	14	.481
UNC Asheville	6	–	6	.500	12	–	14	.462
Longwood	6	–	7	.462	14	–	14	.500
Charleston Southern	3	–	9	.250	12	–	15	.444
USC Upstate	3	–	9	.250	11	–	16	.407
Gardner–Webb	1	–	11	.083	3	–	24	.111

† 2026 Big South tournament winner As of February 14, 2026

The 2025–26 USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball team represents the University of South Carolina Upstate during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by second-year head coach Marty Richter, play their home games at the G. B. Hodge Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina as members of the Big South Conference.

Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2024–25 season 6–26, 2–14 in Big South play, to finish in last place.^[1] They were defeated by Gardner–Webb in the first round of the Big South tournament.^[2]

Preseason

On October 15, 2025, the Big South Conference released their preseason coaches poll. USC Upstate was picked to finish last in the conference.^[3]

Preseason rankings

Big South Preseason Poll
Place	Team	Points
1	High Point	80 (8)
2	UNC Asheville	68 (1)
3	Longwood	53
4	Radford	52
5	Winthrop	51
6	Presbyterian	37
7	Charleston Southern	27
8	Gardner–Webb	19
9	USC Upstate	18
(#) first-place votes

Source:^[3]

Preseason All-Big South Teams

Preseason All-Big South Second Team
Player	Year	Position
Karmani Gregory	RS Junior	Guard

Source:^[4]

Roster

2025–26 USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Tyler Smith	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	152 lb (69 kg)	Jr	Trinity Valley Community College	Chicago, Illinois
G	1	Karmani Gregory	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	RS Jr	Florida SouthWestern	Palmetto, Florida
G	2	Isaiah Skinner	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	191 lb (87 kg)	RS Sr	Mt. San Jacinto College	Hemet, California
G	4	Carmelo Adkins	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	PHHoenix Prep	Lubbock, Texas
G	5	TJ Lewis	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	Fr	Blythewood High School	Blythewood, South Carolina
G	6	Kanye Jones	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	RS Jr	Buffalo	Orlando, Florida
C	7	Coen Collier	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	226 lb (103 kg)	Jr	Salt Lake Community College	Holladay, Utah
F	8	Nic Book	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	216 lb (98 kg)	So	Westfield High School	Christchurch, New Zealand
G	9	Mason Bendinger	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Salt Lake Community College	Salt Lake City, Utah
F	10	Breylin Garcia	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	217 lb (98 kg)	Sr	Daytona State	La Romana, Dominican Republic
G/F	11	Learic Davis	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS Jr	Milwaukee	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
F	12	Jafeth Martinez	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	238 lb (108 kg)	Jr	Florida SouthWestern	Roatán, Honduras
G	21	CJ Rich	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	Jr	Spring Valley High School	Columbia, South Carolina
G	24	Chico Johnson	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	RS So	Drake	Toledo, Ohio

Head coach

Marty Richter (Simpson)

Assistant coach(es)

Cavel Witter (Creighton)
Nashad Mackey (Embry–Riddle)
Vince Fritz (Missouri Southern)
Jon D'Angelo (Virginia)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 22, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025* 10:30 pm, ESPN+	at California Baptist	L 75–87	0–1	24 – Gregory	6 – Adkins	3 – Gregory	Fowler Events Center (4,386) Riverside, CA
November 5, 2025* 9:00 pm, MW Network	at Fresno State	W 67–66	1–1	15 – Gregory	10 – Martinez	3 – Smith	Save Mart Center (2,722) Fresno, CA
November 8, 2025* 12:00 pm, ESPN+	Southern Virginia	W 105-46	2–1	23 – Adkins	9 – Garcia	6 – Skinner	G. B. Hodge Center (302) Spartanburg, SC
November 12, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Bob Jones	W 114–53	3–1	17 – Adkins	12 – Skinner	5 – Skinner	G. B. Hodge Center (373) Spartanburg, SC
November 15, 2025* 7:00 pm, FloCollege	at UNC Wilmington	L 60–73	3–2	15 – Gregory	8 – Davis	3 – Skinner	Trask Coliseum (5,220) Wilmington, NC
November 19, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Tennessee Tech	L 84–88	3–3	22 – Adkins	6 – Davis	8 – Smith	G. B. Hodge Center (471) Spartanburg, SC
November 21, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at West Georgia	L 64–72	3–4	21 – Bendinger	12 – Martinez	5 – Smith	The Coliseum (522) Carrollton, GA
November 25, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	North Carolina Central	W 82–67	4–4	19 – Bendinger	5 – Martinez	5 – Gregory	G. B. Hodge Center (357) Spartanburg, SC
November 29, 2025* 2:00 pm, B1G+	at Nebraska	L 63–72	4–5	20 – Gregory	9 – Adkins	4 – Gregory	Pinnacle Bank Arena (14,107) Lincoln, NE
December 3, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Coastal Carolina	W 85–78 ^OT	5–5	27 – Bendinger	9 – Davis	3 – Gregory	G. B. Hodge Center (717) Spartanburg, SC
December 6, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Western Carolina	W 78–67	6–5	15 – Bendinger	9 – Davis	6 – Gregory	G. B. Hodge Center (419) Spartanburg, SC
December 13, 2025* 2:00 pm, The CW	at No. 14 North Carolina	L 62–80	6–6	14 – Davis	9 – Martinez	6 – Smith	Dean Smith Center (17,759) Chapel Hill, NC
December 16, 2025* 6:00 pm	at South Carolina State	W 78–72	7–6	19 – Bendinger	9 – Davis	4 – Gregory	SHM Memorial Center (185) Orangeburg, SC
December 17, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Southern Wesleyan	W 98–63	8–6	17 – Skinner	8 – Collier	6 – Skinner	G. B. Hodge Center (239) Spartanburg, SC
December 20, 2025* 1:00 pm, ESPN+	at Youngstown State	L 65–74	8–7	26 – Gregory	8 – Smith	3 – Smith	Beeghly Center (3,041) Youngstown, OH
Big South regular season
December 31, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Radford	L 69–76	8–8 (0–1)	16 – Adkins	8 – Adkins	3 – Bendinger	G. B. Hodge Center Spartanburg, SC
January 3, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	at Presbyterian	L 77–86	8–9 (0–2)	18 – Davis	5 – Garcia	4 – Gregory	Templeton Center (415) Clinton, SC
January 10, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Winthrop	L 50–71	8–10 (0–3)	16 – Garcia	6 – Garcia	3 – Skinner	G. B. Hodge Center (404) Spartanburg, SC
January 14, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Charleston Southern	W 86–81	9–10 (1–3)	22 – Davis	9 – Adkins	3 – Smith	Buccaneer Field House (589) North Charleston, SC
January 17, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at High Point	L 69–89	9–11 (1–4)	17 – Davis	11 – Martinez	3 – Adkins	Qubein Center (4,790) High Point, NC
January 21, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	UNC Asheville	L 69–83	9–12 (1–5)	28 – Bendinger	5 – Garcia	3 – Skinner	G. B. Hodge Center (441) Spartanburg, SC
January 24, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	at Gardner–Webb	L 65–67	9–13 (1–6)	22 – Gregory	6 – Davis	2 – Gregory	Paul Porter Arena (435) Boiling Springs, NC
January 29, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Longwood	W 65–60	10–13 (2–7)	19 – Gregory	10 – Adkins	5 – Gregory	G. B. Hodge Center (703) Spartanburg, SC
February 4, 2026 6:30 pm	at UNC Asheville						Kimmel Arena Asheville, NC
February 7, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Charleston Southern						G. B. Hodge Center Spartanburg, SC
February 12, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	High Point						G. B. Hodge Center Spartanburg, SC
February 14, 2026 3:00 pm	at Longwood						Joan Perry Brock Center Farmville, VA
February 19, 2026 6:30 pm	at Winthrop						Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, SC
February 21, 2026 4:30 pm, ESPN+	Presbyerian						G. B. Hodge Center Spartanburg, SC
February 26, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Radford						Dedmon Center Radford, VA
February 28, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Gardner–Webb						G. B. Hodge Center Spartanburg, SC
Big South tournament
March 4–8, 2026 TBA	vs.						Freedom Hall Civic Center Johnson City, TN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:^[5]^[6]

References

^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
^ "Selden's 18 lead Gardner-Webb past South Carolina Upstate 83-63 in Big South Conference Tournament". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
^ ^a ^b "High Point Earns Top Spot in 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
^ "Big South Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Honors". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of South Carolina - Upstate. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
^ "South Carolina Upstate Spartans 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 22, 2025.

[1] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 22, 2025.

[2] "Selden's 18 lead Gardner-Webb past South Carolina Upstate 83-63 in Big South Conference Tournament". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 22, 2025.

[poll-3] "High Point Earns Top Spot in 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 22, 2025.

[4] "Big South Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Honors". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 22, 2025.

[5] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of South Carolina - Upstate. Retrieved October 22, 2025.

[6] "South Carolina Upstate Spartans 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 22, 2025.

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[5]

[6]

USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball
Venues	G. B. Hodge Center (1973–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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
NAIA national championship in bold