2025–26 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team

2025–26 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Record7–5 (0–0 WAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Ted Crass
  • Cameron Henderson
  • Doug Karleskint
  • Danny Young
Home arenaMoody Coliseum
2025–26 WAC men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
California Baptist 0 0   9 3   .750
Utah Valley 0 0   9 3   .750
Tarleton State 0 0   9 4   .692
UT Arlington 0 0   7 4   .636
Abilene Christian 0 0   7 5   .583
Utah Tech 0 0   6 6   .500
Southern Utah 0 0   4 9   .308
† 2026 WAC tournament winner
As of December 19, 2025

The 2025–26 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represents Abilene Christian University (ACU) during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats, led by fifth-year head coach Brette Tanner, play their home games at Moody Coliseum in Abilene, Texas, as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

Effective in 2026–27, the WAC will rebrand as the United Athletic Conference (UAC), with ACU's membership accordingly transferring.[1]

Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2024–25 season 16–16, 8–8 in WAC play, to finish in a tie for fourth place.[2] They were defeated by Seattle in the quarterfinals of the WAC tournament.[3]

Preseason

On October 28, 2025, the WAC released their preseason coaches poll. Abilene Christian was picked to finish third in the conference.[4]

Preseason rankings

WAC Preseason Poll
Place Team Points
1 California Baptist 33 (5)
2 Utah Valley 29 (1)
3 Abilene Christian 27
4 UT Arlington 22 (1)
5 Tarleton State 19
6 Utah Tech 9
7 Southern Utah 8
(#) first-place votes

Source:[4]

Preseason All-WAC Team

Preseason All-WAC Team
Player Year Position
Bradyn Hubbard Senior Forward

Source:[4]

Roster

2025–26 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Zy Wright 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Sr Chadron State Lincolnton, Georgia
G 2 Yaniel Rivera 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Dade Christian School Bayamón, Puerto Rico
G 3 Tylan Lewis 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Independence High School Nashville, Tennessee
G 4 Rich Smith 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr St. Thomas Aquinas College Bronx, New York
G 5 Cbo Newton 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS So Grambling State Ruston, Louisiana
G 7 Christian Alston 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Bartlett High School Memphis, Tennessee
F 10 Joseph Scott 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Mineral Area College Baltimore, Maryland
F 11 Ma'Shy Hill 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Jr SPIRE Academy Austin, Texas
F 15 Bradyn Hubbard 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Connors State College Tulsa, Oklahoma
G 20 Isaiah Carrillo 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Wylie High School Abilene, Texas
F 21 Cade Hornecker 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS Jr Southern Illinois Amarillo, Texas
G 23 Joseph Venzant 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Liberty Midland, Texas
G 24 Isaac Dye 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr State College Area High School State College, Pennsylvania
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: October 31, 2025

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 25, 2025*
2:00 pm
at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi W 82–77 
Dugan Wellness Center (976)
Corpus Christi, TX
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025*
8:00 pm, ESPN+
McMurry W 92–55  1–0
Moody Coliseum (1,523)
Abilene, TX
November 6, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Omaha W 73–71  2–0
Moody Coliseum (1,025)
Abilene, TX
November 11, 2025*
3:00 pm, ESPN+
Southwestern Adventist W 104–63  3–0
Moody Coliseum (654)
Abilene, TX
November 14, 2025*
8:00 pm, ESPN+
at Stephen F. Austin L 66–76  3–1
William R. Johnson Coliseum 
Nacogdoches, TX
November 18, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Texas State L 49–63  3–2
Strahan Arena (1,215)
San Marcos, TX
November 24, 2025*
8:00 pm, PTB Live
vs. UTSA
Jacksonville Classic
W 61–50  4–2
John Hurst Adams Gymnasium (562)
Jacksonville, FL
November 25, 2025*
5:30 pm, PTB Live
vs. William & Mary
Jacksonville Classic
L 58–92  4–3
John Hurst Adams Gymnasium (246)
Jacksonville, FL
November 28, 2025*
3:00 pm, ESPN+
Jarvis Christian W 87–55  5–3
Moody Coliseum (584)
Abilene, TX
December 2, 2025*
8:00 pm, ESPN+
at Pepperdine W 71–63  6–3
Firestone Fieldhouse (511)
Malibu, CA
December 6, 2025*
3:00 pm, ESPN+
New Mexico State W 77–69  7–3
Moody Coliseum (923)
Abilene, TX
December 16, 2025*
8:00 pm, ESPN+
at No. 1 Arizona L 62−96  7−4
McKale Center (13,092)
Tucson, AZ
December 19, 2025*
8:30 pm, TNT/TruTV
at No. 10 BYU L 67–85  7–5
Marriott Center (17,958)
Provo, UT
December 22, 2025*
4:00 pm, YouTube
at Texas Southern H&PE Arena 
Houston, TX
WAC regular season
January 1, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Utah Tech Moody Coliseum 
Abilene, TX
January 3, 2026
3:00 pm, ESPN+
Utah Valley Moody Coliseum 
Abilene, TX
January 8, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Tarleton State EECU Center 
Stephenville, TX
January 10, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at UT Arlington College Park Center 
Arlington, TX
January 15, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+
California Baptist Moody Coliseum 
Abilene, TX
January 17, 2026
7:30 pm, ESPN+
at Southern Utah America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
January 24, 2026
4:00 pm, ESPN+
at Tarleton State EECU Center 
Stephenville, TX
January 29, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Utah Tech Moody Coliseum 
Abilene, TX
January 31, 2026
3:00 pm, ESPN+
Southern Utah Moody Coliseum 
Abilene, TX
February 5, 2026
8:00 pm, ESPN+
at Utah Valley UCCU Center 
Orem, UT
February 7, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at California Baptist Fowler Events Center 
Riverside, CA
February 12, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPNU/ESPN+
UT Arlington Moody Coliseum 
Abilene, TX
February 14, 2026
3:00 pm, ESPN+
Tarleton State Moody Coliseum 
Abilene, TX
February 21, 2026
3:00 pm, ESPN+
Southern Utah Moody Coliseum 
Abilene, TX
February 26, 2026
8:00 pm, ESPN+
at Utah Tech Burns Arena 
St. George, UT
February 28, 2026
3:00 pm, ESPN+
at Utah Valley UCCU Center 
Orem, UT
March 5, 2026
9:00 pm, ESPN+
at California Baptist Fowler Events Center 
Riverside, CA
March 7, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+
UT Arlington Moody Coliseum 
Abilene, TX
WAC tournament
March 11–14, 2026
vs.  Orleans Arena 
Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Sources:[5][6]

References

  1. ^ "Atlantic Sun Conference and Western Athletic Conference to Forge Strategic Alliance: WAC to Rebrand as United Athletic Conference" (Press release). United Athletic Conference. June 25, 2025. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  2. ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Western Athletic Conference. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  3. ^ "ACU Men's Basketball: Wildcats bounced by Seattle U in WAC Tournament quarterfinals". Abilene Reporter-News. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "California Baptist Voted Top Team In 2025-26 WAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". Western Athletic Conference. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  5. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Abilene Christian University Athletics. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  6. ^ "Abilene Christian Wildcats 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 31, 2025.