2025–26 Youngstown State Penguins men's basketball team

2025–26 Youngstown State Penguins men's basketball
ConferenceHorizon League
Record15–17 (8–12 Horizon)
Head coach
Associate head coachDwaine Osborne
Assistant coaches
  • Danny Reese
  • Anthony Johnson
  • Mark Richmond
Home arenaBeeghly Center
2025–26 Horizon League men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Wright State † 15 – 5   .750 23 – 11   .676
Robert Morris 13 – 7   .650 22 – 11   .667
Detroit Mercy 12 – 8   .600 17 – 15   .531
Oakland 12 – 8   .600 16 – 16   .500
Green Bay 12 – 8   .600 18 – 15   .545
Purdue Fort Wayne 11 – 9   .550 17 – 15   .531
Northern Kentucky 10 – 10   .500 20 – 14   .588
Milwaukee 8 – 12   .400 12 – 20   .375
Youngstown State 8 – 12   .400 15 – 17   .469
Cleveland State 6 – 14   .300 11 – 22   .333
IU Indy 3 – 17   .150 7 – 25   .219
† 2026 Horizon League tournament winner
As of March 10, 2026

The 2025–26 Youngstown State Penguins men's basketball team represented Youngstown State University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Penguins, led by second-year head coach Ethan Faulkner, played their home games at the Beeghly Center in Youngstown, Ohio as members of the Horizon League.

Previous season

The Penguins finished the 2024–25 season 21–13, 13–7 in Horizon League play, to finish in fourth place.[1] They were defeated by Robert Morris in the championship game of the Horizon League tournament.[2]

Offseason

Departures

Youngstown State departures
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for departure
Ty Harper 1 G 6' 3" Fifth-year Senior Norcross, GA Transferred to Oral Roberts[3]
Christian Kirkland 2 F 6' 9" RS Freshman Philadelphia, PA Transferred to Palm Beach Atlantic (DII)[4]
EJ Farmer 3 G 6' 5" Senior Cleveland, OH Graduated[5]
Signed to SAM Basket Massagno[6]
Elijah Guillory 4 G 6' 5" Freshman Moon Township, PA Transferred to Tallahassee State College (NJCAA)[7]
Siem Uijtendaal 5 G 6' 6" Fifth-year Senior Haarlem, Netherlands Graduated[5]
Signed with Den Helder Suns[8]
Nik Hendrix 8 G 6' 1" Sophomore Hubbard, OH Left program
Juwan Maxey 11 G 6' 1" Junior Detroit, MI Transferred to Ball State[9]
David Wilkerson 13 G 6' 4" RS Sophomore Lansing, MI Transferred to Grand Valley State (DII)[10]
Dante DePante 14 G 6' 4" RS Freshman Pittsburgh, PA Transferred to Palm Beach Atlantic (DII)[11]
Kevin Hamilton 25 G 6' 7" Sophomore Akron, OH Transferred to Mount Union (DIII)[12]
Nico Galette 44 G 6' 6" Fifth-year Senior Rahway, NJ Graduated
Signed with CB Menorca[13]
Gabe Dynes 45 C 7' 3" Sophomore Independence, KY Transferred to USC[14]

Incoming transfers

Youngstown State incoming transfers
Name No. Pos. Ht. Wt. Year Hometown Previous school
Cam Polak 1 G 6' 2" 185 Sixth-year senior West Homestead, PA PennWest California
Rich Wolf 2 F 6' 7" 210 RS Junior Centerville, OH Charlotte
Derrick Anderson 3 G 6' 1" 180 Fifth-year senior Boardman, OH Lake Erie
Tyler Robinett 4 F 6' 8" 215 Sixth-year senior Middleton, ID College of Idaho
Drew King 6 G 6' 3" 190 RS Junior Phoenix, AZ Elon
Vlad Salaridze 7 F 6' 7" 230 Sixth-year senior Tbilisi, Georgia UT Martin
Bryson Dawkins 9 G 6' 2" 200 Senior Dothan, AL Houston Christian
Tae Blackshear 77 G 6' 6" 180 Junior Atlanta, GA McLennan CC

2025 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown School Height Weight Commit date
Jaiden Haynes
G 		Atlanta, GA Moravian Prep 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sep 13, 2024 
Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Markus Navarra
F 		Saranac Lake, NY Lee Academy 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) N/A May 24, 2025 
Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Connor Swider
F 		Portsmouth, RI Worcester Academy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) N/A Oct 2, 2024 
Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Overall recruit ranking:
  • 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 Team Ranking". Rivals.

Preseason

On October 8, 2025, the Horizon League released their preseason poll. Youngstown State was picked to finish third in the conference, while receiving two first-place votes.[15]

Preseason rankings

Horizon League Preseason Poll
Place Team Points
1 Milwaukee 428 (24)
2 Oakland 384 (7)
3 Youngstown State 364 (2)
4 Robert Morris 345 (8)
5 Purdue Fort Wayne 287 (1)
6 Northern Kentucky 274
7 Wright State 221
8 Cleveland State 217 (2)
9 Detroit Mercy 176
10 IU Indy 115
11 Green Bay 93
(#) first-place votes

Source:[15]

Preseason All-Horizon League Teams

Preseason All-Horizon League Teams
Team Player Position Year
First Cris Carroll Forward Senior

Source:[15]

Roster

2025–26 Youngstown State Penguins men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Jason Nelson 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Sr VCU Richmond, VA
G 1 Cam Polak (6Y) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr PennWest California West Homestead, PA
F 2 Rich Wolf 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr Charlotte Centerville, OH
G 3 Derrick Anderson (5Y) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Lake Erie Boardman, OH
F 4 Tyler Robinett (6Y) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr College of Idaho Middleton, ID
G 5 Shaheed Solebo 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Fr Lane Tech Chicago, IL
G 6 Drew King 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr Elon Phoenix, AZ
F 7 Vlad Salaridze (6Y) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr UT Martin Tbilisi, Georgia
G 8 Jaiden Haynes 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Moravian Prep Atlanta, GA
G 9 Bryson Dawkins 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Houston Christian Dothan, AL
C 10 Imanuel Zorgvol 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Northern Kentucky Paramaribo, Suriname
F 13 Markus Navarra 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Lee Academy Saranac Lake, NY
F 15 Cris Carroll 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Coffeyville CC Tallahassee, FL
F 21 Connor Swider 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Worcester Academy Portsmouth, RI
G 77 Tae Blackshear 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr McLennan CC Atlanta, GA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on
  • (5Y) Fifth-year senior
  • (6Y) Sixth-year senior
  • Injured
  • Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 17, 2025

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 29, 2025*
6:30 p.m. 		Akron W 84–78  –
  19 – Blackshear   8 – Rolf   5 – Polak  Beeghly Center (502)
Youngstown, OH
Regular season
November 3, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		at Pittsburgh L 59–74  0–1
  18 – Carroll   5 – Polak   3 – Blackshear  Petersen Events Center (5,050)
Pittsburgh, PA
November 7, 2025*
9:00 p.m., MW Network 		at Grand Canyon W 90–81  1–1
  18 – Zorgvol   10 – King   8 – King  Global Credit Union Arena (7,142)
Phoenix, AZ
November 10, 2025*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Penn State Shenango W 115–53  2–1
  18 – Zorgvol   10 – Rolf   6 – King  Beeghly Center (1,861)
Youngstown, OH
November 15, 2025*
4:00 p.m., ESPN+/YES Network 		at St. Bonaventure L 80–84  2–2
  14 – Rolf   5 – 2 tied   3 – 3 tied  Reilly Center (4,084)
St. Bonaventure, NY
November 19, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Toledo L 75–92  2–3
  16 – Dawkins   5 – Dawkins   5 – King  Savage Arena (3,741)
Toledo, OH
November 23, 2025*
5:30 p.m. 		vs. UNC Greensboro
Jacksonville Classic 		L 62–68  2–4
  18 – Dawkins   8 – Carroll   2 – Nelson  John Hurst Adams Gymnasium (346)
Jacksonville, FL
November 24, 2025*
6:30 p.m. 		vs. Georgia Southern
Jacksonville Classic 		W 67–61  3–4
  22 – Rolf   6 – 2 tied   4 – King  John Hurst Adams Gymnasium (542)
Jacksonville, FL
November 28, 2025*
3:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Chicago State W 87–64  4–4
  15 – 2 tied   5 – 2 tied   5 – Nelson  Beeghly Center (1,356)
Youngstown, OH
December 3, 2025
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Wright State W 69–68  5–4
(1–0) 		 19 – Carroll   7 – Carroll   3 – Blackshear  Beeghly Center (1,471)
Youngstown, OH
December 6, 2025
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at IU Indy W 78–55  6–4
(2–0) 		 20 – Rolf   8 – Salaridze   4 – Nelson  The Jungle (629)
Indianapolis, IN
December 14, 2025*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Thiel W 103–52  7–4
  17 – Carroll   8 – Dawkins   8 – King  Beeghly Center (1,526)
Youngstown, OH
December 17, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Robert Morris L 77–80 OT 7–5
(2–1) 		 31 – Carroll   5 – Dawkins   3 – 2 tied  UPMC Events Center (1,407)
Moon Township, PA
December 20, 2025*
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		USC Upstate W 74–65  8–5
  27 – Carroll   7 – Carroll   5 – Carroll  Beeghly Center (3,041)
Youngstown, OH
December 29, 2025
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Detroit Mercy L 68–73  8–6
(2–2) 		 15 – Carroll   8 – Carroll   3 – King  Beeghly Center (1,519)
Youngstown, OH
January 1, 2026
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Oakland L 83–85  8–7
(2–3) 		 20 – Dawkins   7 – 2 tied   8 – Nelson  Beeghly Center (1,396)
Youngstown, OH
January 4, 2026
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Northern Kentucky L 79–94  8–8
(2–4) 		 26 – Carroll   5 – Carroll   6 – Nelson  Truist Arena (1,930)
Highland Heights, KY
January 7, 2026
7:17 p.m., ESPN+ 		Purdue Fort Wayne L 69–71  8–9
(2–5) 		 14 – Carroll   10 – Rolf   4 – Salaridze  Beeghly Center (1,784)
Youngstown, OH
January 9, 2026*
11:00 a.m., ESPN+ 		Bryant & Stratton W 99–61  9–9
  18 – Carroll   13 – Salaridze   7 – King  Beeghly Center (4,637)
Youngstown, OH
January 15, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Wright State L 83–93  9–10
(2–6) 		 19 – Dawkins   7 – Salaridze   5 – King  Nutter Center (4,724)
Fairborn, OH
January 17, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Cleveland State L 78–80  9–11
(2–7) 		 21 – Carroll   11 – Carroll   6 – Nelson  Wolstein Center (1,964)
Cleveland, OH
January 22, 2026
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Green Bay W 88–81  10–11
(3–7) 		 34 – Carroll   7 – Carroll   6 – Nelson  Beeghly Center (1,721)
Youngstown, OH
January 24, 2026
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Milwaukee L 64–65  10–12
(3–8) 		 19 – Carroll   9 – Rolf   2 – 4 tied  Beeghly Center (2,187)
Youngstown, OH
January 30, 2026
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		IU Indy W 85–76  11–12
(4–8) 		 18 – 2 tied   9 – Dawkins   7 – Dawkins  Beeghly Center (1,644)
Youngstown, OH
February 4, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Purdue Fort Wayne W 90–61  12–12
(5–8) 		 18 – Dawkins   8 – Zorgvol   4 – Carroll  Memorial Coliseum (1,728)
Fort Wayne, IN
February 7, 2026
4:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Robert Morris L 66–72  12–13
(5–9) 		 20 – Carroll   5 – Dawkins   5 – Nelson  Beeghly Center (2,245)
Youngstown, OH
February 12, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Oakland W 86–82  13–13
(6–9) 		 26 – Polak   10 – Carroll   6 – Rolf  OU Credit Union O'rena (2,402)
Auburn Hills, MI
February 15, 2026
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Detroit Mercy L 70–76  13–14
(6–10) 		 22 – Blackshear   7 – Rolf   3 – Dawkins  Calihan Hall (1,111)
Detroit, MI
February 18, 2026
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Cleveland State W 106−82  14−14
(7−10) 		 26 – Carroll   6 – 3 tied   6 – Carroll  Beeghly Center (1,790)
Youngstown, OH
February 22, 2026
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Northern Kentucky W 64–58  15–14
(8–10) 		 22 – Dawkins   10 – Carroll   5 – Nelson  Beeghly Center (2,344)
Youngstown, OH
February 25, 2026
8:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Milwaukee L 65–78  15–15
(8–11) 		 13 – Carroll   10 – Rolf   6 – Rolf  UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (2,047)
Milwaukee, WI
February 28, 2026
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Green Bay L 63–85  15–16
(8–12) 		 22 – Carroll   4 – 4 tied   5 – Nelson  Kress Center (2,438)
Green Bay, WI
Horizon League tournament
March 4, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		(9) at (2) Robert Morris
First round 		L 53–68  15–17
  18 – Salaridze   9 – Salaridze   3 – Nelson  UPMC Events Center (3,537)
Moon Township, PA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Sources:[16][17]

References

  1. ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Horizon League. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  2. ^ Krispinsky, Chad (March 11, 2025). "YSU comes up short in Horizon League Championship game". WKBN. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  3. ^ "#ORUMBB Signs Transfer Guard Ty Harper to 2025-26 Roster". Oral Roberts Athletics. April 30, 2025. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  4. ^ "Christian Kirkland". Palm Beach Atlantic Athletics. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  5. ^ a b Masano, Marissa (October 30, 2025). "Basketball bolsters preseason roster". The Jambar. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  6. ^ @YSUMensHoops (August 4, 2025). "Congratulations to EJ Farmer on signing a professional contract with Sam Basket Massagno in Massango, Switzerland! #GoGuins #ProGuins" (Tweet). Retrieved February 5, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  7. ^ "Elijah Guillory". Tallahassee State College Athletics. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  8. ^ "Siem Uijtendaal signs with Den Helder Suns". BNXT League. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  9. ^ "Men's Basketball Signs Youngstown State Transfer Juwan Maxey". Ball State Athletics. April 23, 2025. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  10. ^ @gvsubasketball (April 16, 2025). "It is now official, David Wilkerson is a Laker!! ⚓️ #AnchorUp" (Tweet). Retrieved February 5, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  11. ^ "Dante DePante". Palm Beach Atlantic Athletics. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  12. ^ Moyer, William (January 1, 2026). "Historic Start for Purple Raiders Men's Basketball". Raider Student Media. Retrieved February 5, 2026. Junior transfer Kevin Hamilton, in his first season with the Raiders after playing for D1 Youngstown State...
  13. ^ @YSUMensHoops (August 4, 2025). "Congratulations to Nico Galette on signing a professional contract with CB Menorca in Spain!!! #GoGuins #ProGuins" (Tweet). Retrieved February 5, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  14. ^ "Dynes Signs With USC Men's Basketball". USC Athletics. April 23, 2025. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  15. ^ a b c White, Rachel (October 8, 2025). "Milwaukee Earns Top Spot in 2025-26 Under Armour #HLMBB Preseason Poll". Horizon League. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  16. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Youngstown State University. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  17. ^ "Youngstown State Penguins Schedule 2025-26". ESPN. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
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