2025–26 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team

2025–26 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball
2025–26 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball
Conference	Conference USA
Record	10–8 (3–4 C-USA)
Head coach	Talvin Hester (4th season);
Assistant coaches	Winston Hines; Darshawn McClellan; Tyson Batiste; Tim McGraw; Kavin Gilder-Tilbury;
Home arena	Thomas Assembly Center

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 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team represents Louisiana Tech University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by fourth-year head coach Talvin Hester, play their home games at Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, Louisiana as members of Conference USA.

Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2024–25 season 20–12, 9–9 in C-USA play, to finish in sixth place.^[1] They were defeated by Middle Tennessee in the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament.^[2]

Preseason

On October 9, 2025, Conference USA released their preseason poll. Louisiana Tech was picked to finish fifth in the conference.^[3]

Preseason rankings

C-USA Preseason Poll
Place	Team	Votes
1	Liberty	143 (11)
2	Kennesaw State	126 (1)
3	New Mexico State	113
4	Middle Tennessee	103
5	Louisiana Tech	82
6	Western Kentucky	79
7	Jacksonville State	67
8	UTEP	66
9	Sam Houston	56
10	FIU	36
11	Delaware	35
12	Missouri State	30
(#) first-place votes

Source:^[3]

Preseason All C-USA Team

Preseason All C-USA Team
Player	Year	Position
Kaden Cooper	Junior	Guard

Source:^[3]

Roster

2025–26 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	DJ Dudley	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jr	Hutchinson Community College	Inglewood, California
F	2	Will Jeffress	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	GS	Pittsburgh	Erie, Pennsylvania
G	3	AJ Bates	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Seven Lakes High School	Houston, Texas
G	4	Jaylen Fenner	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Fr	Atascocita High School	Humble, Texas
F	5	Avery Thomas II	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	Jones College	Jackson, Mississippi
G	6	Keegan Rowell	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	RS So	McLennan Community College	Lorena, Texas
F	7	Sir Issac Herron	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	GS	Oral Roberts	Houston, Texas
G	8	Scooter Williams	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	GS	East Texas A&M	Clarksville, Tennessee
F	10	Kylan Howze	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jr	Jones College	Gulfport, Mississippi
G	11	Kaden Cooper	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Oklahoma	Ada, Oklahoma
F	14	Will Allen	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	RS Sr	Bonnabel High School	New Orleans, Louisiana
C	21	Melian Martinez	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	RS Jr	New Mexico Junior College	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
G	23	Lachlan Thompson (W)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	RS So	Choudrant High School	Choudrant, Louisiana
F	27	A'Meir Williams	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Fr	Kennedale High School	Kennedale, Texas

Head coach

Talvin Hester (Texas Wesleyan)

Assistant coach(es)

Winston Hines (Stillman)
Darshawn McClellan (Vanderbilt)
Tyson Batiste (Central Connecticut State)
Tim McGraw (John Brown)
Kavin Gilder-Tilbury (Texas State)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: December 6, 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 4, 2025* 9:00 pm, MWN	at Nevada	L 50–77	0–1	9 – Tied	5 – Cooper	3 – Bates	Lawlor Events Center (7,144) Reno, NV
November 9, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Lyon	W 93–35	1–1	18 – Thomas II	9 – Tied	7 – Bates	Thomas Assembly Center (2,046) Ruston, LA
November 15, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+	Jackson State	W 68–51	2–1	15 – Tied	9 – Tied	8 – Bates	Thomas Assembly Center (2,106) Ruston, LA
November 19, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+	at Indiana State	L 51−60	2−2	23 – Williams	11 – Williams	1 – Tied	Hulman Center (4,442) Terre Haute, IN
November 26, 2025* 6:30 pm, ESPN+	Indiana State Louisiana Tech MTE	W 75−73	3−2	17 – Dudley	10 – Cooper	3 – Tied	Thomas Assembly Center (2,022) Ruston, LA
November 29, 2025* 12:00 pm, ESPN+	Alcorn State Louisiana Tech MTE	W 83–58	4–2	26 – Bates	9 – Cooper	6 – Bates	Thomas Assembly Center (1,938) Ruston, LA
December 3, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+	at Georgia Southern	L 69–77	4–3	26 – Dudley	5 – Jeffress	9 – Bates	Hill Convocation Center (1,921) Statesboro, GA
December 7, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Ecclesia	W 89–37	5–3	20 – Cooper	9 – Jeffress	10 – Bates	Thomas Assembly Center (1,967) Ruston, LA
December 13, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Louisiana	W 65–44	6–3	23 – Bates	20 – Cooper	8 – Bates	Thomas Assembly Center (2,320) Ruston, LA
December 17, 2025* 6:30 pm, ESPN+	at Tulane	L 53–61	6–4	17 – Dudley	7 – Cooper	4 – Bates	Devlin Fieldhouse (1,030) New Orleans, LA
December 22, 2025* 1:00 pm, ESPN+	Dallas Christian	W 90–37	7–4	24 – Cooper	15 – Thomas II	6 – Bates	Thomas Assembly Center (1,815) Ruston, LA
Conference USA regular season
December 29, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+	UTEP	W 75-63	8-4 (1-0)	18 – Dudley	8 – Cooper	10 – Bates	Thomas Assembly Center (1,910) Ruston, LA
January 2, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+	at Middle Tennessee	L 51-88	8-5 (1-1)	12 – Williams	6 – Thomas II	4 – Bates	Murphy Center (3,127) Murfreesboro, TN
January 4, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	at Western Kentucky	L 61-66	8-6 (1-2)	13 – Bates	13 – Cooper	3 – Tied	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,523) Bowling Green, KY
January 8, 2026 6:00 pm, CBSSN	Liberty	L 56-72	8-7 (1-3)	17 – Dudley	10 – Thomas II	3 – Tied	Thomas Assembly Center (2,373) Ruston, LA
January 10, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Delaware	W 70-68 ^OT	9-7 (2-3)	17 – Dudley	8 – Tied	4 – Bates	Thomas Assembly Center (2,166) Ruston, LA
January 14, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+	Middle Tennessee						Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, LA
January 17, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+	at Jacksonville State						Pete Mathews Coliseum Jacksonville, AL
January 24, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Kennesaw State						Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, LA
January 28, 2026 8:00 pm, ESPN+	at UTEP						Don Haskins Center El Paso, TX
January 31, 2026 9:00 pm, ESPN2	at Sam Houston						Bernard Johnson Coliseum Huntsville, TX
February 4, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+	New Mexico State						Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, LA
February 7, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Sam Houston						Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, LA
February 12, 2026 7:30 pm, CBSSN	at Missouri State						Great Southern Bank Arena Springfield, MO
February 14, 2026 1:00 pm, ESPN+	at FIU						Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL
February 18, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+	Jacksonville State						Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, LA
February 21, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+	at Kennesaw State						VyStar Arena Kennesaw, GA
February 26, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+	Missouri State						Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, LA
February 28, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	FIU						Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, LA
March 5, 2026 6:00 pm, ESPN+	at Liberty						Liberty Arena Lynchburg, VA
March 7, 2026 11:00 am, ESPN+	at Delaware						Bob Carpenter Center Newark, DE
Conference USA tournament
March 11–14, 2026	vs.						Propst Arena Huntsville, AL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[4]^[5]

References

^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Conference USA. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
^ "Middle Tennesse edges Louisiana Tech 77-75 in 2OT in Conference USA Tournament quarterfinal". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c "2025-26 CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team and Poll Announced". Conference USA. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". LA Tech Athletics. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
^ "Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 6, 2025.

[1] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Conference USA. Retrieved December 6, 2025.

[2] "Middle Tennesse edges Louisiana Tech 77-75 in 2OT in Conference USA Tournament quarterfinal". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 6, 2025.

[poll-3] "2025-26 CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team and Poll Announced". Conference USA. Retrieved December 6, 2025.

[4] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". LA Tech Athletics. Retrieved December 6, 2025.

[5] "Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 6, 2025.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball
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