2025–26 Charleston Southern Buccaneers men's basketball team

2025–26 Charleston Southern Buccaneers men's basketball
2025–26 Charleston Southern Buccaneers men's basketball
Conference	Big South Conference
Record	8–6 (0–0 Big South)
Head coach	Saah Nimley (2nd season);
Associate head coach	Mike Howland
Assistant coaches	Trey Johnson; Nate Louis; Michael Ervin;
Home arena	Buccaneer Field House

2025–26 Big South men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
High Point	0	–	0	–	11	–	3	.786
Charleston Southern	0	–	0	–	8	–	6	.571
Winthrop	0	–	0	–	8	–	6	.571
USC Upstate	0	–	0	–	8	–	7	.533
Longwood	0	–	0	–	7	–	7	.500
Presbyterian	0	–	0	–	6	–	8	.429
Radford	0	–	0	–	6	–	8	.429
UNC Asheville	0	–	0	–	6	–	8	.429
Gardner–Webb	0	–	0	–	2	–	13	.133

† 2026 Big South tournament winner As of December 22, 2025

The 2025–26 Charleston Southern Buccaneers men's basketball team represents Charleston Southern University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Buccaneers, led by second-year head coach Saah Nimley, play their home games at the Buccaneer Field House in North Charleston, South Carolina as members of the Big South Conference.

Previous season

The Buccaneers finished the 2024–25 season 10–22, 6–10 in Big South play, to finish in seventh place.^[1] They were defeated by UNC Asheville in the quarterfinals of the Big South tournament.^[2]

Preseason

On October 15, 2025, the Big South Conference released their preseason coaches poll. Charleston Southern was picked to finish seventh in the conference.^[3]

Preseason rankings

Big South Preseason Poll
Place	Team	Points
1	High Point	80 (8)
2	UNC Asheville	68 (1)
3	Longwood	53
4	Radford	52
5	Winthrop	51
6	Presbyterian	37
7	Charleston Southern	27
8	Gardner–Webb	19
9	USC Upstate	18
(#) first-place votes

Source:^[3]

Preseason All-Big South Teams

Preseason All-Big South Second Team
Player	Year	Position
A'lahn Sumler	RS Junior	Guard

Source:^[4]

Roster

2025–26 Charleston Southern Buccaneers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Armari Carraway	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jr	Eastern Arizona	Fresno, California
G	1	A'lahn Sumler	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Jr	Northern Kentucky	Waterbury, Connecticut
G	2	Jaquias Franklin (5th)	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	Georgetown College	Elizabethtown, Kentucky
F	4	Trent Coleman	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	GS	Auburn Montgomery	Ridgeland, Mississippi
G	5	Jacob Taylor	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Wheeler High School	Marietta, Georgia
G	6	Anthony Gause	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	So	Milton High School	St. Louis, Missouri
F	7	Nate Brafford	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Georgia Southern	Waynesville, North Carolina
G	8	Luke Williams	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	GS	Maryville	Olathe, Kansas
G	10	AJ Gladieux	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Fr	Grace Christian School	Holly Springs, North Carolina
G	11	Brycen Blaine	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	RS Jr	Gulf Coast State	Richmond, Virginia
F	12	Jesse Hafemeister	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	GS	Mercyhurst	Mendham, New Jersey
G	13	Kaleb Lofton	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jr	Covenant College	Savannah, Georgia
F	22	Devin Brafford	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Siena	Waynesville, North Carolina
F	23	Reis Jones	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Sr	Florida SouthWestern	Fort Washington, Maryland
G	24	Easton Hupp	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Liberty Christian School	Fort Worth, Texas
F	34	Lase Olalere	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	RS So	Charleston Charter Math & Science	Charleston, South Carolina

Head coach

Saah Nimley (Charleston Southern)

Assistant coach(es)

Mike Howland (DePauw)
Trey Johnson (Charleston Southern)
Nate Louis (Charleston Southern)
Michael Ervin (Appalachian State)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
(5th) Fifth-year senior
Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 19, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025* 7:00 pm, ACCNX	at Virginia Tech	L 67–98	0–1	Cassell Coliseum (4,488) Blacksburg, VA
November 6, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Toccoa Falls	W 106–71	1–1	Buccaneer Field House (802) North Charleston, SC
November 10, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at The Citadel	W 96–86	2–1	McAlister Field House (1,719) Charleston, SC
November 13, 2025* 8:00 pm	at Alabama A&M Bulldog Bash	L 64–68	2–2	AAMU Event Center (1,833) Huntsville, AL
November 14, 2025* 6:30 pm	vs. Lindenwood Bulldog Bash	L 77–83	2–3	AAMU Event Center (190) Huntsville, AL
November 18, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	IU Indy	W 103–91	3–3	Buccaneer Field House (875) North Charleston, SC
November 21, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at East Carolina	W 77–65	4–3	Williams Arena (3,327) Greenville, NC
November 25, 2025* 7:30 pm, ESPN+	Piedmont	W 93–81	5–3	Buccaneer Field House (803) North Charleston, SC
November 28, 2025* 4:00 pm, SECN+	at South Carolina	L 62–74	5–4	Colonial Life Arena (9,789) Columbia, SC
December 2, 2025* 11:00 am, ESPN+	at UT Martin	L 56–73	5–5	Skyhawk Arena (4,513) Martin, TN
December 4, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Warren Wilson	W 124–63	6–5	Buccaneer Field House (501) North Charleston, SC
December 8, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	South Carolina State	W 84–44	7–5	Buccaneer Field House (854) North Charleston, SC
December 18, 2025* 11:00 am, ESPN+	North Florida	W 113–90	8–5	Buccaneer Field House (903) North Charleston, SC
December 21, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+	at Furman	L 76–84	8–6	Timmons Arena (1,867) Greenville, SC
December 28, 2025* 4:00 pm, ESPN+	at Richmond			Robins Center Richmond, VA
Big South regular season
December 31, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+	at Gardner–Webb			Paul Porter Arena Boiling Springs, NC
January 3, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	UNC Asheville			Buccaneer Field House North Charleston, SC
January 7, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+	at Winthrop			Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, SC
January 10, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	High Point			Buccaneer Field House North Charleston, SC
January 14, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	USC Upstate			Buccaneer Field House North Charleston, SC
January 21, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Presbyterian			Templeton Center Clinton, SC
January 24, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+	at Longwood			Joan Perry Brock Center Farmville, VA
January 29, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Radford			Buccaneer Field House North Charleston, SC
January 31, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Gardner–Webb			Buccaneer Field House North Charleston, SC
February 4, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at High Point			Qubein Center High Point, NC
February 7, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	at USC Upstate			G. B. Hodge Center Spartanburg, SC
February 12, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Presbyterian			Buccaneer Field House North Charleston, SC
February 14, 2026 2:30 pm, ESPN+	at Radford			Dedmon Center Radford, VA
February 21, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+	Longwood			Buccaneer Field House North Charleston, SC
February 26, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Winthrop			Buccaneer Field House North Charleston, SC
February 28, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	at UNC Asheville			Kimmel Arena Asheville, NC
Big South tournament
March 4–8, 2026 TBA	vs.			Freedom Hall Civic Center Johnson City, TN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:^[5]^[6]

References

^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
^ "Solomon's 21 lead UNC Asheville past Charleston Southern in Big South Conference Tournament 80-60". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
^ ^a ^b "High Point Earns Top Spot in 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
^ "Big South Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Honors". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Charleston Southern University. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
^ "Charleston Southern Buccaneers 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 19, 2025.

[1] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 19, 2025.

[2] "Solomon's 21 lead UNC Asheville past Charleston Southern in Big South Conference Tournament 80-60". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 19, 2025.

[poll-3] "High Point Earns Top Spot in 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 19, 2025.

[4] "Big South Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Honors". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 19, 2025.

[5] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Charleston Southern University. Retrieved October 19, 2025.

[6] "Charleston Southern Buccaneers 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 19, 2025.

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[5]

[6]

Charleston Southern Buccaneers men's basketball
Venues	North Charleston Coliseum (alternate; 1993–present) Buccaneer Field House (1965–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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