OPENING TIP
Lafayette men's hoops opens the 2025-26 home slate by hosting Dickinson College, a Division III program in the Centennial Conference.

Last time out, Lafayette opened the 2025-26 season with an 85-76 loss to St. Joseph's on Monday evening in Hagan Arena. The Leopards had four players in double figures, commanded by Andrew Phillips' 17 points, five rebounds and two steals, and totaled 45 percent from the floor on 64 shots.

The Leopards return eight players from last season, four of whom saw significant game time. Lafayette concluded 2024-25 with a 13-20 (7-11 PL) overall record, advancing to the Patriot League Tournament's quarterfinal. The Maroon and White lost five players to graduation and one player to the transfer portal. Senior Ryan Pettit and junior Mark Butler were named as team captains on Oct. 30, just two days after the preseason exhibition game at Drexel.

The Leopards host six non-conference games while traveling to seven opponents before Patriot League play begins on Dec. 31. From Nov. 28 -30, Lafayette will hold the second-annual Lafayette Classic inside Kirby Sports Center with Le Moyne, Ball State and Monmouth.

Next up, the Leopards travel south to Texas on Saturday at 3 p.m. 

THE MATCHUP
Dickinson finished the 2024-25 regular season at 9-17 (4-9 CC), playing in the first round of the Centennial Conference Tournament. The Red Devils were knocked out, 92-67, by third-seeded Gettysburg. Dickinson returns 13 letterwinners while adding three freshmen. Last season, senior forward David Petrusev paced the squad with 16.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg and 1.9 apg. 

In the past 15 seasons, head coach Alan Seretti's Red Devil teams have rewritten the school record books by producing three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a trip to the "Elite 8" in 2014. They have made five Centennial Conference Championship game appearances together, earning one regular-season conference championship and Centennial Conference tournament championships in 2013 and 2015.

LAST TIME OUT
Lafayette fell to St. Joseph's, 85-76, on Monday evening in the first game of the 2025-26 season. Shareef Jackson (16), Caleb Williams (15) and Mark Butler (10) rounded out the double-digit scorer side. Jackson, a Philadelphia native, grabbed a team-high eight rebounds while Butler dished a team-high four assists.

BE A HERO
Men's basketball is calling for help for a member of our Lafayette community in need of a hero. Andrea Samson '17, an alumna and first responder for over 11 years, is in urgent need of a kidney donor. If you are an O or A blood type, you may be a viable option for her. Please visit shareasparekidney.com or visit the informational table, run by Andrea's mother, Juliette, in the Kirby Sports Center atrium to learn more.

PRESEASON POLL
Lafayette was selected to finish seventh in the Patriot League preseason poll with 36 votes. Navy captured the top spot (79 points, seven first-place votes), followed by Boston U. (73, 2), Colgate (64, 1), American (47), Bucknell (44), Loyola Maryland (39), Lehigh (30), Holy Cross (23) and Army (15).

A TRUSTWORTHY DUO
Ryan Pettit is providing senior leadership for the Leopards in his second consecutive year as a captain, aided by junior Mark Butler. 

FRESH MEAT
Ashton Wallace, Beckett Currie, Christian Humphrey-Rembert, Luke Azzinaro, Luke Bevilacuqa and Shareef Jackson are set to enter the squad directly out of high school. KaiMani Murdock makes his way to the Leopard locker room following one year at Denmark Technical College.

"I am excited to welcome a great group of young men to College Hill," McGarvey said. "Our newcomers bring strong values with them that will help make a positive impact on the court, in the classroom and within the community."

AN EARLY LOOK (EXHIBITION)
Lafayette played an exhibition game against Drexel on Oct. 28 at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.  The hosts earned the final decision, 73-65. Williams (14) and Jackson (12) also aided in the offensive scoring effort. Butler netted a team-high 5-of-6 free throws and had a game-high four steals. Lafayette shot 36.4 percent from the floor (20-of-55) and 3-point range (8-of-22) overall and 53 percent from the line (17-of-32). Out of the freshman class, Humphrey, Jackson and Bevilacqua all saw court time. Kai Murdock, a sophomore transfer, made his Leopard debut with three points and a steal in eight minutes.

2024-25 HARDWARE
Caleb Williams secured an All-Rookie accolades as he competed in all 34 games with 26 starts. He was one of three Leopards to finish the season averaging in double figures with 11.2. He totaled a career- and team-high 20 points and nine rebounds during the 76-61 road victory at Colgate on Feb. 1. The Patriot League selected him as Rookie of the Week on Jan. 13 after averaging 13.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game to help the Leopards split the week, including an 82-65 victory over Holy Cross on Jan 11.

Lafayette has had at least one player on the Patriot League All-Rookie squad since 2019. Williams continued the streak as Mark Butler (2023-24), Josh Rivera (2022-23), CJ Fulton (2021-22) and Leo O'Boyle (2019-20) were all past Leopard honorees.

THAT EASTON CHARM
Lafayette will host the second-annual Lafayette Classic, a multi-team event at Kirby Sports Center, over the 2025 Thanksgiving weekend. Le Moyne, Ball State and Monmouth will travel to College Hill as participants. The four teams will play a round-robin formatted schedule with doubleheaders starting the evening of Friday, Nov. 28 through Sunday, Nov. 30.

BICENTENNIAL EXCURSION
The men's basketball trip to Texas on Nov. 8 is part of the school's Bicentennial, taking several of Lafayette's athletic teams to non-traditional locales in 2025-26. 

INJURY REPORT
Freshman Beckett Currie suffered a broken left scaphoid during preseason preparations and will have to have season-ending surgery in the coming months. Joshua Wyche is also sidelined from a recurring injury.

BEHIND THE MIC
Lafayette Sports Networks's Gary Laubach also was able to chat with head coach Mike McGarvey to preview the men's basketball season, available for viewing on YouTube at tinyurl.com/2956dz22.

NIGERIAN PRIDE
On July 30, Folabomi Fayemi was named to Nigeria's 17-man provisional roster for the senior men's national team, D'Tigers, ahead of the 2025 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) AfroBasket tournament. The Houston, Texas native practiced in a week-long training camp and had two friendly games leading up to the showdown in Luanda, Angola from Aug. 12-24. The D'Tigers were in Group B alongside Madagascar, defending champions Tunisia and Cameroon. The sophomore guard is studying Economics on College Hill and played in 11 games as a rookie.

FRESH FLOORING
Kirby Sports Center, the Leopards' home arena, has seen major upgrades over the past year. During the summer, the court was completely overhauled and redesigned. It now features a prominent Leopard head logo as well as a maroon Leopard print border. A state-of-the art Daktronics control and video display system can now be seen above center court, showcasing promotional team videos and updated branding to enhance the fan experience. 

LAFAYETTE ON ESPN+
A reminder that the Patriot League is paired with ESPN and you will be able to find all Lafayette home games on ESPN+ with the same high quality broadcast you've come to expect. ESPN+ is a subscription-based service that offers monthly and yearly packages. Visit plus.espn.com now to check out the bundles including live sports and originals. Select games will be televised on CBS Sports Network and announced later in the season.

HOMEWARD BOUND
On Aug. 26, EJ Stephens '21 was announced as the Director of Basketball Operations for 2025-26. Stephens competed in over 103 contests while wearing the Maroon and White, totaling 1,017 points, 307 rebounds and 175 assists in his career. Following his senior season as a co-captain, he earned Second Team All-Patriot League laurels, a NABC All-District 13 Second Team nod and three Lafayette Dean's List awards. The Psychology major was also chosen as the Oaks Leadership "Leader of Distinction." To this day, Stephens ranks 11th in the conference for his 90.4 free throw percentage. This past summer, he was a part of the 2025 NBL1 roster for the Newcastle Falcons alongside O'Boyle and Myles Cherry '20. The 6'3 guard was a dynamic scorer who used his graduate year at Minnesota. The Plantation, Fla. native spent the 2023-24 pro season with the Cheshire Phoenix in England's SLB (formerly BBL).

ALUMNI IN THE PROS
On July 1, recent graduate and the 2024-25 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Justin Vander Baan '25 was named to the Boras Basket program in Sweden's SBL Herr league. He earned a Player of the Match accolade on Oct. 24 for his efforts in a 118-83 win over competitor Jamtland. With Lafayette last January, he led the country in blocks per game (3.14) and ranked seventh for total blocks (44).

Former Leopard captain and 1,000-point scorer Leo O'Boyle '23 is currently playing in the Belgian and Dutch BNXT League with the LWD Basket Leeuwarden for the 2025-26 season. On Oct. 12, he put up 28 points, featuring six 3's, against foe Heroes Den Bosch. O'Boyle previously re-signed with the Newcastle Falcons for summer 2025 after averaging 17.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game last year in Australia. The Scranton, Pa. native also played his graduate season for Penn State and had a stint in Pully-Lausanne, Switzerland. On Jan. 15, he scored a globe-high 41 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Foxes in a 106-98 loss in the Swiss League.

EXCELLENCE IN ACADEMICS
Lafayette's athletic programs stood out among the nation's best on May 6 in the NCAA's Division I annual academic progress rate release. Lafayette's overall APR score was 995 with 11 Leopard programs achieving perfect scores of 1000. Men's hoops finished with a 984, matching the national all-sport average. Justin Vander Baan '25 earned a spot on the six-person Academic All-Patriot League Team on March 5.

SEASON THREE AT THE HELM
Mike McGarvey took over as the 20th head coach in Lafayette men's basketball history on March 29, 2023,
following a one-year tenure as the associate head coach and acting head coach. In 2022-23, he led the Leopards to Patriot League Tournament victories over Lehigh in the quarterfinal round and American in the semifinal, before falling to Colgate in the championship game. In 2023-24, Lafayette finished in second place in the Patriot League regular season. In the next year, the program improved it's win total for the third straight season.

SHUFFLING STARTERS
Lafayette used 11 different starting lineups, featuring 11 athletes, through 33 contests last season. Sophomore guard Mark Butler was the only Leopard to start every game until Feb. 15. In the most used lineup (previously 10 consecutive games), Butler and Justin Vander Baan were returning starters while Caleb Williams, Alex Chaikin and Andrew Phillips were all fresh faces. Misha Bednostin filled in for Vander Baan on Feb. 5 due to illness. On Feb. 19, Pettit returned for Chaikin (illness) and Luka Savicevic stood in for Butler. While hosting Lehigh, TJ Berger made his first start of the season.