2025–26 Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team

2025–26 Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball
2025–26 Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	13–13 (7–8 MVC)
Head coach	Roger Powell Jr. (3rd season);
Assistant coaches	Pat Baldwin; Matt Gordon; Jesse McClung;
Home arena	Athletics–Recreation Center

2025–26 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Belmont	13	–	3	.813	23	–	4	.852
Murray State	11	–	5	.688	19	–	8	.704
Bradley	10	–	5	.667	17	–	9	.654
Illinois State	9	–	6	.600	17	–	9	.654
UIC	9	–	6	.600	14	–	12	.538
Northern Iowa	8	–	7	.533	16	–	10	.615
Valparaiso	7	–	8	.467	13	–	13	.500
Southern Illinois	6	–	9	.400	12	–	14	.462
Drake	6	–	10	.375	12	–	15	.444
Indiana State	3	–	12	.200	10	–	16	.385
Evansville	2	–	13	.133	6	–	20	.231

† 2026 MVC tournament winner As of February 12, 2026

The 2025–26 Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team represents Valparaiso University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Beacons, led by third-year head coach Roger Powell Jr., play their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Indiana as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).

Previous season

The Beacons finished the 2024–25 season 15–19, 6–14 in MVC play, to finish second to last place. They lost in the semi finals of the MVC Tournament to Bradley.^[1]

Roster

2025–26 Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Rakim Chaney	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Auburn HS	Rockford, IL
G	1	Justus McNair	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	So	Joliet West HS	Joliet, IL
G	3	Brody Whitaker (5Y)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Indianapolis	Greencastle, IN
F	4	Jayden Watson	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	RS Fr	Bloom HS	Chicago Heights, IL
G	5	Camden Webster	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Kankakee Valley HS	Wheatfield, IN
F	7	JT Pettigrew	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Fr	Bolingbrook HS	Lisle, IL
G	10	Mark Brown Jr.	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	Snow College	South Phoenix, AZ
G	11	Issiah Barnes	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	RS Sr	Tulsa	Chicago, IL
F	12	Owen Dease	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Sr	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	Evansville, IN
F	13	Carter Hopoi	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Fr	Mount Maunganui College	Tauranga, New Zealand
C	15	Kobe Walker	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	270 lb (122 kg)	Fr	Normal Community HS	Normal, IL
G	20	Joe Vick	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Kouts HS	Kouts, IN
G	22	Kyonte Thomas (5Y)	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	Southeastern	Chicago, IL
C	23	Shon Tupuola	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Jr	Saint Mary-of-the-Woods	Brownsburg, IN
G	32	Nick Lombardi	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Montini Catholic HS	Lisle, IL
C	35	Tucker Tornatta	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	So	Indianapolis	Evansville, IN
G	44	Sader Servilus	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Fr	Fort Erie International Academy	Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Head coach

Roger Powell Jr. (Illinois)

Assistant coach(es)

Pat Baldwin (Northwestern)
Matt Gordon (Illinois State)
Jesse McClung (Ball State)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
(5Y) Fifth-year senior
Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 4, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition season
October 28, 2025* 7:00 p.m.	Brescia	W 104–62		Athletics–Recreation Center Valparaiso, IN
Non-conference season
November 4, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Eastern Illinois BBN United Tipoff Classic	W 66–63	1–0	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,095) Valparaiso, IN
November 7, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SEC+	at No. 9 Kentucky BBN United Tipoff Classic	L 59–107	1–1	Rupp Arena (20,016) Lexington, KY
November 12, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Nicholls BBN United Tipoff Classic	W 68–63	2–1	Athletics–Recreation Center (867) Valparaiso, IN
November 16, 2025* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+	Bryant	W 68–50	3–1	Athletics–Recreation Center (980) Valparaiso, IN
November 19, 2025* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Cleveland State	W 90–75	4–1	Wolstein Center (2,017) Cleveland, OH
November 26, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Southern Indiana	L 56–64	4–2	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,296) Valparaiso, IN
November 29, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Western Michigan	W 84–55	5–2	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,107) Valparaiso, IN
December 2, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Marquette	L 72–75 ^OT	5–3	Fiserv Forum (13,486) Milwaukee, WI
December 6, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Calumet–St. Joseph	W 98–58	6–3	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,023) Valparaiso, IN
December 13, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	UNC Wilmington	L 70–73	6–4	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,603) Valparaiso, IN
December 16, 2025* 7:00 p.m., Peacock	at Northwestern	L 70–86	6–5	Welsh–Ryan Arena (4,525) Evanston, IL
Conference season
December 21, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	Murray State	L 79–85	6–6 (0–1)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,612) Valparaiso, IN
December 29, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Northern Iowa	L 48–58	6–7 (0–2)	McLeod Center (3,558) Cedar Falls, IA
January 1, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Southern Illinois	L 70–75	6–8 (0–3)	Banterra Center (5,758) Carbondale, IL
January 4, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	UIC	W 66–59	7–8 (1–3)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,494) Valparaiso, IN
January 7, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Illinois State	W 77–71	8–8 (2–3)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,444) Valparaiso, IN
January 10, 2026 3:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Murray State	L 79–92	8–9 (2–4)	CFSB Center (5,112) Murray, KY
January 13, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+	at Belmont	L 74–78	8–10 (2–5)	Curb Event Center (1,648) Nashville, TN
January 17, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Northern Iowa	W 54–44	9–10 (3–5)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,863) Valparaiso, IN
January 21, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Southern Illinois	W 69–63	10–10 (4–5)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,366) Valparaiso, IN
January 28, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Belmont	L 77–78	10–11 (4–6)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,713) Valparaiso, IN
January 31, 2026 12:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Indiana State	W 76–72 ^OT	11–11 (5–6)	Hulman Center (5,137) Terre Haute, IN
February 3, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Bradley	L 65–72	11–12 (5–7)	Carver Arena (5,397) Peoria, IL
February 6, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Evansville	W 70–63 ^OT	12–12 (6–7)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,488) Valparaiso, IN
February 9, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+	at Drake	W 81–76	13–12 (7–7)	The Knapp Center (3,078) Des Moines, IA
February 12, 2026 6:00 p.m., Gray Media	at Illinois State	L 64–86	13–13 (7–8)	CEFCU Arena (3,607) Normal, IL
February 15, 2026 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	Indiana State			Athletics–Recreation Center Valparaiso, IN
February 18, 2026 6:00 p.m., Gray Media	Bradley			Athletics–Recreation Center Valparaiso, IN
February 21, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	at UIC			Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL
February 25, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Drake Senior Night			Athletics–Recreation Center Valparaiso, IN
February 28, 2026 3:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Evansville			Ford Center Evansville, IN
Conference tournament
March 5, 2026 Gray Media	vs. Arch Madness Opening Round			Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO
March 6, 2026 Gray Media	vs. Arch Madness Quarterfinal			Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Zone.

Sources:^[2]^[3]

References

^ "Valpo's Unprecedented Arch Madness Run Ends with Heartbreaking Semifinal Defeat to Bradley". Valparaiso University. March 8, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
^ "2025–26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Valparaiso University. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
^ "Valparaiso Beacons Schedule 2025–26". ESPN. Retrieved October 27, 2025.

[1] "Valpo's Unprecedented Arch Madness Run Ends with Heartbreaking Semifinal Defeat to Bradley". Valparaiso University. March 8, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2025.

[2] "2025–26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Valparaiso University. Retrieved October 27, 2025.

[3] "Valparaiso Beacons Schedule 2025–26". ESPN. Retrieved October 27, 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball
Venues	Hilltop Gym (1939–1984) ARC (1984–present)
Culture & lore	"The Shot"
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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