2025–26 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team

2025–26 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball
2025–26 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball
Greenbrier Tip-Off (River Division) champions
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	9–2 (0–0 MAC)
Head coach	Rob Senderoff (15th season);
Assistant coaches	Randal Holt (5th season); Jon Fleming (4th season); Jalen Avery (2nd season); Luke Trondson (2nd season); Tommy Luce (2nd season);
Home arena	MAC Center
	Seasons ← 2024–25 2026–27 →

2025–26 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Miami (OH)	0	–	0	–	10	–	0	1.000
Buffalo	0	–	0	–	9	–	2	.818
Kent State	0	–	0	–	9	–	2	.818
Akron	0	–	0	–	8	–	3	.727
UMass	0	–	0	–	8	–	3	.727
Bowling Green	0	–	0	–	7	–	3	.700
Eastern Michigan	0	–	0	–	6	–	5	.545
Toledo	0	–	0	–	5	–	5	.500
Western Michigan	0	–	0	–	5	–	6	.455
Ohio	0	–	0	–	4	–	6	.400
Central Michigan	0	–	0	–	3	–	7	.300
Northern Illinois	0	–	0	–	3	–	7	.300
Ball State	0	–	0	–	3	–	8	.273

† 2026 MAC tournament winner As of December 14, 2025

The 2025–26 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team represents Kent State University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Flashes, led by 15th-year head coach Rob Senderoff, play their home games at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, also known as the MAC Center, in Kent, Ohio as members of the Mid-American Conference.

Previous season

The Golden Flashes finished the 2024–25 season 24–12, 11–7 in MAC play to finish in third place.^[1] They defeated Western Michigan before losing to Miami (OH) in the semifinals of the MAC tournament.^[2] They received an invitation to the NIT,^[3] where they defeated St. Bonaventure^[4] and Stanford,^[5] before falling to Loyola Chicago in the quarterfinals.^[6]

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Jonas Nichols	0	G	6'3"	206	Freshman	Akron, Ohio	Transferred to Northwest Florida State
VonCameron Davis	1	F	6'5"	229	Senior	Columbus, Ohio	Graduated
Marquis Barnett	2	G	6'4"	195	Senior	Saginaw, Michigan	Graduated
Jalen Sullinger	13	G	5'10"	167	Senior	Columbus, Ohio	Graduated; Signed with KKS Polonia Warsaw^[7]
Mike Bekelja	15	G	6'0"	184	Graduate student	Solon, Ohio	Graduated
Anthony Morales	22	F	6'8"	195	Graduate student	Boston, Massachusetts	Graduated
Derrick Lee Jr.	41	F	6'5"	205	Freshman	Novi, Michigan	Transferred to Lake Region State College
Cli'Ron Hornbeak	42	C	6'9"	238	Senior	Toledo, Ohio	Graduated
Donovan Hunter	55	F	6'8"	197	Sophomore	Columbus, Ohio	Transferred to Bellarmine
Jaiden Pennicott		G	6'2"	164	Freshman	Ajax, Ontario	Transferred to Palm Beach State College

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Rayvon Griffith	0	F	6'8"	205	Sophomore	Cincinnati, Ohio	Cincinnati
Rob Whaley Jr.	2	F/C	6'7"	289	Graduate student	Farmington, Utah	UNLV
Jahari Williamson	25	G	6'1"	193	Graduate student	Pickering, Ontario	Niagara

Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Dezmon Briscoe PF	Indianapolis, Indiana	Crispus Attucks High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Apr 28, 2025
Dezmon Briscoe PF	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (79)
Landon Vanderwarker SG	Delaware, Ohio	Northside Christian School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Nov 13, 2024
Landon Vanderwarker SG	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (N/A)
Quinn Woidke G	West Lake, Ohio	Saint Ignatius High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Nov 13, 2024
Quinn Woidke G	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (N/A)
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 21, 2025, the MAC released the preseason coaches' poll. Buffalo was picked to finish third in the MAC regular season.^[8]

Preseason rankings

MAC preseason poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Akron	143 (11)
2	Miami (OH)	133 (2)
3	Kent State	122
4	Ohio	108
5	UMass	98
6	Toledo	95
7	Bowling Green	73
8	Ball State	62
9	Eastern Michigan	52
10	Western Michigan	46
11	Buffalo	37
12	Central Michigan	31
13	Northern Illinois	14

MAC Tournament Champions: Akron (8), Miami-Ohio (2), Kent State (1), Ohio (1), UMass (1)

Source^[8]

Preseason All-MAC

Preseason All-MAC teams
Team	Player	Position	Year
First	Delrecco Gillespie	Forward	Senior

Source^[8]

Roster

2025–26 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	0	Rayvon Griffith	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	RS So	Cincinnati	Cincinnati, Ohio
G	1	Cian Medley	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	Jr	Saint Louis	Sicklerville, New Jersey
F/C	2	Rob Whaley Jr.	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	289 lb (131 kg)	GS	UNLV	Farmington, Utah
G	4	Jamal Sumlin	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS Jr	Northwest Florida State College	Cleveland, Ohio
G	5	Brenden Moss	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	RS Jr	Minnesota Prep	Rockford, Illinois
G	6	Quinn Woidke	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Saint Ignatius High School	West Lake, Ohio
F	7	Landon Vanderwarker	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Fr	Northside Christian School	Delaware, Ohio
G	8	Morgan Safford	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	217 lb (98 kg)	GS	Miami (OH)	Columbus, Ohio
F/C	11	Dezmon Briscoe	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	219 lb (99 kg)	Fr	Crispus Attucks High School	Indianapolis, Indiana
F	14	Magnus Entenmann	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	227 lb (103 kg)	GS	International Sports Academy	Columbus, Ohio
F	21	Deandre Jones	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	211 lb (96 kg)	RS Fr	Garfield Heights High School	Cleveland, Ohio
F	22	Jaymen Townsend	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Fr	Victory Rock Prep	Marion, Indiana
F	23	Delrecco Gillespie	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Sr	East Coweta High School	Benton Harbor, Michigan
G	25	Jahari Williamson	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	Jr	Niagara	Pickering, Ontario
G	31	Dylan Lakatos	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	138 lb (63 kg)	Fr	North Royalton High School	Broadview Heights, Ohio
F	51	Drew Huffman	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	RS Fr	Cuyahoga Falls High School	Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
G	54	Omer Hamama	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Hapoel HaEmek	Rishon LeZion, Israel

Head coach

Rob Senderoff (Albany)

Assistant coach(es)

Randal Holt (Kent State)
Jon Fleming (Kent State)
Jalen Avery (Kent State)
Luke Trondson (Ohio State)
Tommy Luce (Purdue)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: December 9, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 3, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Troy MAC-SBC Challenge	L 97–103 ^OT	0–1	22 – Gillespie	16 – Gillespie	4 – Hamama	MAC Center (2,131) Kent, OH
November 7, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Cornell	W 110–102	1–1	34 – Safford	10 – Gillespie	10 – Hamama	MAC Center (1,870) Kent, OH
November 10, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	UNC Wilmington	W 86–77	2–1	19 – Medley	12 – Gillespie	10 – Medley	MAC Center (2,435) Kent, OH
November 15, 2025* 1:00 pm, PTB Live	vs. Cleveland State Greenbrier Tip-Off River Division	W 102–95	3–1	30 – Gillespie	13 – Gillespie	8 – Medley	Colonial Hall White Sulphur Springs, WV
November 16, 2025* 12:00 p.m., PTB Live	vs. Wright State Greenbrier Tip-Off River Division	W 76–72 ^OT	4–1	26 – Gillespie	17 – Gillespie	7 – Medley	Colonial Hall (459) White Sulphur Springs, WV
November 18, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Eastern Kentucky	W 93–78	5–1	25 – Gillespie	11 – Gillespie	6 – Medley	MAC Center (1,802) Kent, OH
November 22, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Cleveland State	W 91–71	6–1	21 – Medley	11 – Gillespie	6 – Safford	MAC Center (2,026) Kent, OH
November 29, 2025* 7:00 p.m., Boxcast	Penn State Shenango	W 123–59	7–1	19 – Jones	12 – Gillespie	16 – Medley	MAC Center (1,435) Kent, OH
December 3, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Austin Peay	W 96–84	8–1	22 – Gillespie	10 – Gillespie	8 – Medley	MAC Center (1,642) Kent, OH
December 6, 2025* 4:00 p.m., Boxcast	Roberts Wesleyan	W 111–68	9–1	22 – Safford	8 – Griffith	5 – Medley	MAC Center (1,720) Kent, OH
December 14, 2025* 5:00 p.m., KUNP-TV	at Portland	L 78–88	9–2	21 – Gillespie	14 – Gillespie	4 – Tied	Chiles Center (1,033) Portland, OR
December 20, 2025 2:00 p.m.	at UMass						Mullins Center Amherst, MA
December 29, 2025* 7:00 p.m., B1G+	at Purdue						Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN
January 3, 2026 7:00 pm	Northern Illinois						MAC Center Kent, OH
January 6, 2026 7:00 p.m.	Bowling Green						MAC Center Kent, OH
January 10, 2026 3:00 p.m.	at Central Michigan						McGuirk Arena Mount Pleasant, MI
January 13, 2026 6:30 p.m.	at Buffalo						Alumni Arena Buffalo, NY
January 16, 2026 6:30 p.m., CBSSN	Toledo						MAC Center Kent, OH
January 20, 2026 7:00 p.m.	Miami (OH)						MAC Center Kent, OH
January 24, 2026 3:30 p.m.	at Eastern Michigan						George Gervin GameAbove Center Ypsilanti, MI
January 27, 2026 7:00 p.m.	Ohio						MAC Center Kent, OH
January 30, 2026 6:00 p.m., CBSSN	at Akron						James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH
February 3, 2026 7:00 pm	at Toledo						Savage Arena Toledo, OH
February 7, 2026* TBA	at TBA MAC–SBC Challenge						TBA TBA
February 11, 2026 7:00 p.m.	Eastern Michigan						MAC Center Kent, OH
February 14, 2026 TBA	at Ball State						Worthen Arena Muncie, IN
February 17, 2026 TBA	at Bowling Green						Stroh Center Bowling Green, OH
February 24, 2026 7:00 p.m.	Central Michigan						MAC Center Kent, OH
February 28, 2026 TBA	Akron						MAC Center Kent, OH
March 3, 2026 TBA	at Northern Illinois						Convocation Center DeKalb, IL
March 6, 2026 7:00 p.m.	Western Michigan						MAC Center Kent, OH
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:^[9]^[10]

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 ^[11]	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	—

References

^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
^ "Flashes Fall to Miami (OH) in MAC Tournament Semifinal". kentstatesports.com. March 14, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
^ "Golden Flashes to Play St. Bonaventure in the National Invitation Tournament". Kent State Golden Flashes. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
^ Rosenblum, Jonah. "Kent State men's basketball: Golden Flashes upset St. Bonaventure in NIT first round". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
^ "Sullinger scores 34, Kent State takes down Stanford 77-75 in NIT". ABC7 San Francisco. March 24, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
^ Kwiecinski, Chris (March 26, 2025). "Loyola basketball advances to NIT Final Four for the first time since 1962 with win over Kent State". FOX 32 Chicago. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
^ "Jalen Sullinger". Polonia Warszawa (in Polish). Retrieved December 9, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c "MAC Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll & All-MAC Teams". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Kent State University Golden Flashes. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
^ "Kent State Golden Flashes 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
^ "AP Top 25 Men's College Basketball Poll". AP News. Retrieved October 14, 2025.

[1] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved October 7, 2025.

[2] "Flashes Fall to Miami (OH) in MAC Tournament Semifinal". kentstatesports.com. March 14, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.

[3] "Golden Flashes to Play St. Bonaventure in the National Invitation Tournament". Kent State Golden Flashes. Retrieved December 9, 2025.

[4] Rosenblum, Jonah. "Kent State men's basketball: Golden Flashes upset St. Bonaventure in NIT first round". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved December 9, 2025.

[5] "Sullinger scores 34, Kent State takes down Stanford 77-75 in NIT". ABC7 San Francisco. March 24, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.

[6] Kwiecinski, Chris (March 26, 2025). "Loyola basketball advances to NIT Final Four for the first time since 1962 with win over Kent State". FOX 32 Chicago. Retrieved December 9, 2025.

[7] "Jalen Sullinger". Polonia Warszawa (in Polish). Retrieved December 9, 2025.

[poll-8] "MAC Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll & All-MAC Teams". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved November 28, 2025.

[9] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Kent State University Golden Flashes. Retrieved December 9, 2025.

[10] "Kent State Golden Flashes 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 9, 2025.

[11] "AP Top 25 Men's College Basketball Poll". AP News. Retrieved October 14, 2025.

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v t e Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball
Venues	Various facilities (1913–1925) Wills Gymnasium (1925–1950) Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (1950–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1913–14 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