2025–26 UTEP Miners men's basketball team

2025–26 UTEP Miners men's basketball
2025–26 UTEP Miners men's basketball
Conference	Conference USA
Record	10–16 (6–9 CUSA)
Head coach	Joe Golding (5th season);
Associate head coach	Jeremy Cox (1st, 4th overall season)
Assistant coaches	Byren Spriggs (5th season); Hunter Jenkins (1st season); Reggie Miller (2nd season);
Home arena	Don Haskins Center ; (Capacity: 11,892)

2025–26 Conference USA men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Liberty	14	–	0	1.000	22	–	3	.880
Sam Houston	9	–	5	.643	17	–	8	.680
Jacksonville State	8	–	6	.571	13	–	12	.520
Louisiana Tech	7	–	7	.500	14	–	11	.560
Western Kentucky	7	–	7	.500	14	–	11	.560
Missouri State	7	–	7	.500	13	–	12	.520
Kennesaw State	6	–	8	.429	14	–	11	.560
Middle Tennessee	6	–	8	.429	12	–	13	.480
UTEP	6	–	9	.400	10	–	16	.385
FIU	5	–	9	.357	12	–	13	.480
Delaware	5	–	9	.357	9	–	16	.360
New Mexico State	5	–	10	.333	12	–	13	.480

† 2026 CUSA tournament winner As of February 14, 2026

The 2025–26 UTEP Miners men's basketball team represents the University of Texas at El Paso during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Miners, led by fifth-year head coach Joe Golding, play their home games at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas as a member of Conference USA. This will mark UTEP's final season as members of Conference USA before transitioning to the Mountain West Conference on July 1, 2026.^[1]^[2]

Previous season

The UTEP finished the 2025-26 season 18–15, 7–11 in Conference USA to finish eighth in the conference. As the 8-seed in the Conference USA Tournament they defeated 9-seed Sam Houston in the First Round before falling to top-seeded Liberty 60–81 in the Quarterfinals to end their season.^[3]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
DaCannon Wickware	0	F	6'7"	210	Sophomore	Dallas, TX	Transferred to Midwestern State
Baylor Hebb	3	G	6'2"	180	Senior	Colleyville, TX	Entered transfer portal
Corey Camper Jr.	4	G	6'5"	180	Senior	Little Rock, AR	Transferred to Nevada
David Terrell Jr.	5	G	6'4"	185	Sophomore	Dallas, TX	Transferred to North Texas
Ahamad Bynum	12	G	6'3"	180	Junior	Chicago, IL	Transferred to Southern Indiana
Devon Barnes	13	G	6'1"	180	Sophomore	El Paso, TX	Transferred to Ball State
Antwonne Holmes	15	G	6'3"	170	Sophomore	El Paso, TX	Transferred to Sul Ross State
Raijon Dispenza	20	F	6'9"	210	Freshman	Mullica Hill, NJ	Departed program
Otis Frazier III	23	F	6'6"	210	Senior	Buckeye, AZ	Out of eligibility
Babacar Mbengue	25	F	7'0"	250	Freshman	Dakar, Senegal	Transferred to Kansas City
Derick Hamilton	32	F	6'10"	275	Senior	Baton Rouge, LA	Entered transfer portal
Kevin Kalu	34	F	6'9"	235	Senior	Baltimore, MD	Out of eligibility

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous college
David Tubek	0	F	6'7"	220	Junior	Juba, South Sudan	Seton Hall
Caleb Blackwell	4	G	6'1"	185	Junior	Buford, GA	South Plains College
Tyreese Watson	5	G	6'4"	190	Senior	Philadelphia, PA	Louisiana-Monroe
C.J. Smith	6	F	6'7"	210	Sophomore	Oklahoma City, OK	Oklahoma State
LA Hayes	7	G	6'5"	185	Junior	Cleveland, OH	Frank Phillips College
Kaseem Watson	13	F	6'9"	200	Junior	Philadelphia, PA	Delaware State
Jamal West Jr.	15	F	6'6"	225	Senior	Baltimore, MD	Nicholls
Cassius Brooks	23	G	6'0"	185	Senior	Chicago, IL	Arkansas Tech
Mouhamed Mbaye	25	C	6'10"	235	Junior	Saint-Louis, Senegal	Trinity Valley CC

2025 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Bobby Montgomery Jr. SF	Baltimore, MD	Mt. Zion Prep	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Nov 13, 2024
Bobby Montgomery Jr. SF	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (NR)
Overall recruit ranking: Scout: – Rivals: –
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 UTEP Basketball Recruiting Commits". Scout. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout. "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals.

Roster

2025–26 UTEP Miners men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	0	David Tubek	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jr	Seton Hall	Juba, South Sudan
G	1	KJ Thomas	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	So	Randall HS	Amarillo, Texas
G	2	Jordan Hernandez	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	RS Jr	Cochise College	El Paso, Texas
G	3	Bobby Montgomery Jr.	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Mt. Zion Prep	Baltimore, Maryland
G	4	Caleb Blackwell	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	South Plains College	Buford, Georgia
G	5	Tyreese Watson	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	Louisiana–Monroe	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
F	6	C.J Smith	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	Oklahoma State	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
G	7	LA Hayes	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Frank Phillips College	Cleveland, Ohio
G	11	Trey Horton III	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jr	Providence Day School	Charlotte, North Carolina
F	13	Kaseem Watson	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Delaware State	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
F	15	Jamal West Jr.	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Sr	Nicholls	Baltimore, Maryland
G	23	Cassius Brooks	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Arkansas Tech	Chicago, Illinois
C	25	Mouhamed Mbaye	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jr	Trinity Valley CC	Saint-Louis, Senegal
F	33	Elijah Jones	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jr	East Carolina	Pleasantville, New Jersey

Head coach

Joe Golding (Abilene Christian)

Assistant coach(es)

Jeremy Cox (Colorado Mesa)
Byren Spriggs (Slippery Rock)
Hunter Jenkins (Louisiana Tech)
Reggie Miller (Abilene Christian)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2025-10-29

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* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	UT Permian Basin	W 98–56	1–0	18 – Watson	8 – Tied	7 – Thomas	Don Haskins Center (3,038) El Paso, TX
November 7, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Western New Mexico	W 107–70	2–0	16 – Tied	8 – Mbaye	7 – Watson	Don Haskins Center (3,516) El Paso, TX
November 11, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Loyola Marymount	L 58–71	2–1	14 – West Jr.	4 – Jones	5 – Watson	Don Haskins Center (3,534) El Paso, TX
November 15, 2025* 2:00 p.m., MW Network	at Utah State	L 51–75	2–2	13 – Jones	4 – Tied	3 – Brooks	Smith Spectrum (7,942) Logan, UT
November 19, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	St. Thomas (TX)	W 84–83 ^OT	3–2	20 – West	8 – Tied	5 – Thomas	Don Haskins Center (3,202) El Paso, TX
November 24, 2025* 2:00 p.m., PTB Live	vs. William & Mary Jacksonville Classic	L 63–74	3–3	13 – Blackwell	5 – Tied	4 – Watson	John Hurst Adams Gymnasium (246) Jacksonville, FL
November 25, 2025* 2:00 p.m., PTB Live	vs. UAB Jacksonville Classic	L 59–75	3–4	21 – Jones	3 – Tied	4 – Thomas	John Hurst Adams Gymnasium (146) Jacksonville, FL
December 7, 2025* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Seattle	L 68–75	3–5	21 – West	14 – West	3 – Thomas	Climate Pledge Arena (1,253) Seattle, WA
December 13, 2025* 10:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Hawaii	L 61–66	3–6	12 – Tied	7 – Tied	3 – Blackwell	Stan Sheriff Center (4,694) Honolulu, HI
December 21, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Norfolk State Sun Bowl Invitational semifinals	L 71–72	3–7	18 – Blackwell	13 – West Jr.	7 – Blackwell	Don Haskins Center (3,525) El Paso, TX
December 22, 2025 5:00 p.m., ESPN+	North Dakota State Sun Bowl Invitational consolation game	W 76–66	4–7	24 – Jones	6 – West Jr.	4 – Thomas	Don Haskins Center (3,538) El Paso, TX
Conference USA regular season
December 29, 2025 5:30 p.m., ESPN+	at Louisiana Tech	L 63–75	4–8 (0–1)	16 – Watson	8 – West Jr.	4 – Blackwell	Thomas Assembly Center (1,910) Ruston, LA
January 2, 2026 6:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Missouri State	L 55-79	4-9 (0-2)	12 – Tied	5 – Jones	6 – Thomas	Great Southern Bank Arena (1,846) Springfield, MO
January 4, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	at FIU	L 64-76	4-10 (0-3)	25 – Watson	8 – West Jr.	5 – Thomas	Ocean Bank Convocation Center (323) Miami, FL
January 8, 2026 7:00 p.m., CBSSN	Middle Tennessee	W 83–80 ^OT	5–10 (1–3)	23 – Watson	10 – Hayes	4 – Thomas	Don Haskins Center (4,368) El Paso, TX
January 10, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Western Kentucky	L 56–68	5–11 (1–4)	15 – West Jr.	8 – Watson	6 – Thomas	Don Haskins Center (4,392) El Paso, TX
January 15, 2026 5:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Delaware	W 70–69	6–11 (2–4)	20 – Watson	10 – West Jr.	3 – Tied	Bob Carpenter Center (2,113) Newark, DE
January 17, 2026 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Liberty	L 69–80	6–12 (2–5)	21 – Jones	7 – Jones	7 – Blackwell	Liberty Arena (3,082) Lynchburg, VA
January 22, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	FIU	W 83–77	7–12 (3–5)	28 – West Jr.	7 – West Jr.	5 – West Jr.	Don Haskins Center (3,186) El Paso, TX
January 24, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Missouri State	L 57–62	7-13 (3-6)	16 – Jones	8 – West Jr.	3 – Tied	Don Haskins Center (3,788) El Paso, TX
January 28, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Louisiana Tech	L 59–69	7–14 (3–7)	25 – Jones	11 – West Jr.	3 – Tied	Don Haskins Center (3,335) El Paso, TX
January 31, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Delaware	W 70–55	8–14 (4–7)	15 – Tied	12 – Jones	3 – Tied	Don Haskins Center (4,077) El Paso, TX
February 4, 2026 5:30 p.m., ESPN+	at Sam Houston	L 66–70	8–15 (4–8)	22 – Blackwell	7 – Tied	3 – Blackwell	Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,261) Huntsville, TX
February 7, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	New Mexico State Battle of I-10	W 91–88 ^OT	9–15 (5–8)	21 – Blackwell	12 – Tied	5 – Blackwell	Don Haskins Center (7,862) El Paso, TX
February 11, 2026 5:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Jacksonville State	W 69–64	10–15 (6–8)	16 – Tied	8 – Watson	6 – Blackwell	Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,263) Jacksonville, AL
February 14, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN2	Liberty	L 64–73	10–16 (6–9)	15 – Jones	8 – Jones	3 – Blackwell	Don Haskins Center (3,914) El Paso, TX
February 21, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at New Mexico State Battle of I-10						Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM
February 26, 2026 5:30 p.m., ESPN+	at Middle Tennessee						Murphy Center Murfreesboro, TN
February 28, 2026 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Western Kentucky						E.A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
March 5, 2026 7:00 p.m., CBSSN	Kennesaw State						Don Haskins Center El Paso, TX
March 7, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Jacksonville State						Don Haskins Center El Paso, TX
Conference USA tournament
March 10–14, 2026	vs.						Propst Arena Huntsville, AL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain Time.

Source^[4]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** — = Not ranked
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	—
Coaches

References

^ Thamel, Pete (October 1, 2024). "UTEP 'honored' to join retooled Mountain West". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
^ Marcello, Brandon (October 1, 2024). "UTEP joins Mountain West: League nears replenishing full-time membership as Miners defect from Conference USA". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
^ Bloomquist, Bret. "No. 1 Liberty basketball too much for UTEP at Conference USA tournament quarterfinals". El Paso Times. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". utepminers.com. Retrieved October 29, 2025.

[1] Thamel, Pete (October 1, 2024). "UTEP 'honored' to join retooled Mountain West". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 30, 2025.

[2] Marcello, Brandon (October 1, 2024). "UTEP joins Mountain West: League nears replenishing full-time membership as Miners defect from Conference USA". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 30, 2025.

[3] Bloomquist, Bret. "No. 1 Liberty basketball too much for UTEP at Conference USA tournament quarterfinals". El Paso Times. Retrieved October 30, 2025.

[4] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". utepminers.com. Retrieved October 29, 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

UTEP Miners men's basketball
Venues	Holliday Hall (1933–1961) Memorial Gymnasium (1961–1976) Don Haskins Center (1976–present)
Rivalries	New Mexico State
Culture & lore	Paydirt Pete Glory Road
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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
NCAA national championship in bold