WHEELING, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team has been slotted fifth in the Mountain East Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll that was unveiled Tuesday ahead of MEC Media Day at WesBanco Arena.
THE POLL
| Place |
Team (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. |
Fairmont State (10) |
100 |
| 2. |
West Liberty (1) |
88 |
| 3. |
Charleston |
78 |
| 4. |
Glenville State |
77 |
| 5. |
Concord |
60 |
| 6. |
West Virginia State |
56 |
| 7. |
Frostburg State |
48 |
| T-8. |
Davis & Elkins |
39 |
| T-8. |
Wheeling |
39 |
| 10. |
Point Park |
25 |
| 11. |
West Virginia Wesleyan |
10 |
2024-25 REVIEW
Concord finished last winter with a record of 17-11 as it remained in the mix for an NCAA Tournament spot until the very end of the season. The Mountain Lions advanced to the MEC Tournament Semifinals for a second straight season. The biggest wins of the year for the Maroon and Gray were a pair of road wins over nationally-ranked teams, 10
th-ranked West Liberty January 15 and seventh-rated Fairmont State January 29. After a 3-6 start to the year, CU won 13 of its next 14 games.
2025-26 SCHEDULE
CU opens the season November 14-15 at Indiana (Pa.) as it faces IUP and Pitt-Johnstown. The Mountain Lions renew their rivalry with Bluefield State for the time this season November 19 at the Carter Center. The return trip to Bluefield State will be February 2. Concord faces regional contenders California (Pa.) and Virginia Union, both at home, on November 22 and November 24 before opening MEC play at West Virginia State December 3. The Maroon and Gray faces each of the other 10 MEC schools in a double-round robin scheduling format. The MEC Tournament in March 4-8 at WesBanco Arena.
THE RETURNERS
Concord is tasked with replacing All-American and MEC Player of the Year
Kollin Tolbert who transferred to Division I East Texas A&M. All-MEC Second Teamer
Corey Boston is now at Division I IU-Indy, but the Mountain Lions and head coach
Todd May welcome back three players with starting experience, sophomore forward
Kraig Gilbert, sophomore guard
Josiah Rickards and senior forward
Ken Sallee, as well sophomore guard
Brendan Hoffman and junior forward
Boubacar Djigo who each averaged 15 minutes per game last year. Gilbert started in the final 25 games of the year as he averaged 9.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest while finishing second in the MEC in blocks per game (1.8).
Rickards poured in 8.9 points per game while shooting 42.5 percent from the field. He was also named to the All-MEC Tournament Team. Sallee netted 9.0 points per game while connecting on 41 three-pointers. Hoffman saw a steady uptick in playing time as the season progressed, playing at least 15 minutes in nine of the final 12 games. And he scored in double figures in four straight to end the year. Though only averaging 4.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, Djigo had a 17-point, 22-rebound output at West Virginia State late in the season. Sophomore guards
Sam Boothe,
John Gabbert and
Cole Lambert all appeared in at least 11 games last season.
THE NEWCOMERS
A mixture of transfers and freshmen highlight the new faces for the men's basketball program that has won 54 games over the last three seasons. The transfers include junior forward
Anfernee Hanna (Nassau, Bahamas/Motlow State CC), senior guard
Savier McCall (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Arkansas Tech), junior forward
Eldon Terry (Brockton, Mass./Quincy College) and junior guard
Khamani Wertz (Charlotte, N.C./Belmont Abbey).
Those new to college basketball are guard
Isaiah Board (Roanoke, Va./William Byrd), guard
Maki Cary (Charleston, W.Va./Capital), guard
MJ Patton (Princeton, W.Va./Summit Christian Academy) and guard
Micah Young (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville North)
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