2025–26 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team
| 2025–26 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Horizon League |
| Record | 4–8 (0–2 Horizon) |
| Head coach |
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| Associate head coach | Frank Young |
| Assistant coaches |
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| Home arena | Wolstein Center |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oakland | 2 | – | 0 | 1.000 | 6 | – | 6 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Milwaukee | 1 | – | 0 | 1.000 | 4 | – | 6 | .400 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Robert Morris | 2 | – | 1 | .667 | 9 | – | 4 | .692 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youngstown State | 2 | – | 1 | .667 | 7 | – | 5 | .583 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue Fort Wayne | 2 | – | 1 | .667 | 7 | – | 6 | .538 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Detroit Mercy | 2 | – | 1 | .667 | 4 | – | 7 | .364 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wright State | 1 | – | 1 | .500 | 5 | – | 7 | .417 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Kentucky | 1 | – | 2 | .333 | 9 | – | 4 | .692 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Green Bay | 1 | – | 2 | .333 | 6 | – | 7 | .462 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland State | 0 | – | 2 | .000 | 4 | – | 9 | .308 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IU Indy | 0 | – | 3 | .000 | 4 | – | 9 | .308 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2026 Horizon League tournament winner As of December 17, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2025–26 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team represents Cleveland State University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Vikings, led by first-year head coach Rob Summers, play their home games at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio as members of the Horizon League.
Previous season
The Vikings finished the 2024–25 season 23–13, 14–6 in Horizon League play, to finish in a tie for second place.[1] They defeated Northern Kentucky,[2] before falling to eventual tournament runner-up Youngstown State in the semifinals of the Horizon League tournament.[3] They received an invitation to the CBI,[4] where they would defeat Queens[5] and Florida Gulf Coast,[6] before falling to Illinois State in the championship game.[7]
On March 30, 2025, it was announced that head coach Daniyal Robinson would be leaving the program, in order to take the head coaching position at North Texas.[8] On April 9, the school announced that they would be hiring Missouri assistant coach Rob Summers as the team's next head coach.[9]
Preseason
On October 8, 2025, the Horizon League released their preseason poll. Cleveland State was picked to finish eighth in the conference, while receiving two first-place votes.[10]
Preseason rankings
| 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:[10]
Preseason All-Horizon League Teams
No players were named to the Preseason All-Horizon League First or Second Teams.[10]
Roster
| 2025–26 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule and results
| Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | |||||||||||
| November 3, 2025* 8:00 pm, ESPN+/Marquee |
at Loyola Chicago | L 88–91 | 0–1 |
25 – Nessah | 11 – Nessah | 5 – Tied | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,581) Chicago, IL | ||||
| November 6, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Capital | W 71–70 | 1–1 |
13 – Beard | 14 – Harris | 4 – Nessah | Wolstein Center (1,450) Cleveland, OH | ||||
| November 10, 2025* 8:30 pm, BTN |
at Northwestern | L 63–110 | 1–2 |
15 – Nessah | 9 – Harris | 3 – Tied | Welsh–Ryan Arena (4,426) Evanston, IL | ||||
| November 15, 2025* 1:00 pm, PTB Live |
vs. Kent State Greenbrier Tip-Off River Division |
L 95−102 | 1−3 |
27 – Beard | 9 – Nessah | 4 – Tied | Colonial Hall (476) White Sulphur Springs, WV | ||||
| November 16, 2025* 2:30 pm, PTB Live |
vs. Radford Greenbrier Tip-Off River Division |
W 87−82 | 2−3 |
20 – Nessah | 15 – Harris | 6 – Beard | Colonial Hall (459) White Sulphur Springs, WV | ||||
| November 19, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Valparaiso | L 75–90 | 2–4 |
22 – Beard | 8 – Harris | 7 – Harris | Wolstein Center (2,017) Cleveland, OH | ||||
| November 22, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Kent State | L 71–91 | 2–5 |
15 – Lipscomb | 5 – Lipscomb | 2 – Tied | MAC Center (2,026) Kent, OH | ||||
| November 25, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Waynesburg | W 109–56 | 3–5 |
21 – Ryan | 8 – Tied | 6 – Lipscomb | Woodling Gym (949) Cleveland, OH | ||||
| November 28, 2025* 2:00 pm, SECN+ |
at Missouri | L 59–86 | 3–6 |
14 – Nessah | 9 – Nessah | 3 – Lipscomb | Mizzou Arena (9,463) Columbia, MO | ||||
| December 3, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Northern Kentucky | L 80–95 | 3–7 (0–1) |
23 – Lipscomb | 5 – Tied | 5 – Beard | Truist Arena (1,814) Highland Heights, KY | ||||
| December 6, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Detroit Mercy | L 59–71 | 3–8 (0–2) |
15 – Lipscomb | 13 – Ryan | 3 – Lipscomb | Wolstein Center (1,655) Cleveland, OH | ||||
| December 14, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Oakland City | W 96–52 | 4–8 |
16 – Tied | 8 – Nessah | 6 – Lipscomb | Wolstein Center (1,003) Cleveland, OH | ||||
| December 17, 2025* 7:30 pm, ESPN+ |
at UAB | Bartow Arena Birmingham, AL | |||||||||
| December 21, 2025 5:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Milwaukee | Wolstein Center Cleveland, OH | |||||||||
| December 29, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
IU Indy | Wolstein Center Cleveland, OH | |||||||||
| January 4, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Purdue Fort Wayne | Memorial Coliseum Fort Wayne, IN | |||||||||
| January 9, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Oakland | OU Credit Union O'rena Auburn Hills, MI | |||||||||
| January 11, 2026 1:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Detroit Mercy | Calihan Hall Detroit, MI | |||||||||
| January 15, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Green Bay | Wolstein Center Cleveland, OH | |||||||||
| January 17, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Youngstown State | Wolstein Center Cleveland, OH | |||||||||
| January 21, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Wright State | Nutter Center Fairborn, OH | |||||||||
| January 30, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Green Bay | Resch Center Ashwaubenon, WI | |||||||||
| February 1, 2026 3:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Milwaukee | UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena Milwaukee, WI | |||||||||
| February 4, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Oakland | Wolstein Center Cleveland, OH | |||||||||
| February 7, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at IU Indy | The Jungle Indianapolis, IN | |||||||||
| February 12, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Robert Morris | Wolstein Center Cleveland, OH | |||||||||
| February 15, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Wright State | Wolstein Center Cleveland, OH | |||||||||
| February 18, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+ |
at Youngstown State | Beeghly Center Youngstown, OH | |||||||||
| February 22, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Purdue Fort Wayne | Wolstein Center Cleveland, OH | |||||||||
| February 25, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Northern Kentucky | Wolstein Center Cleveland, OH | |||||||||
| February 28, 2026 1:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Robert Morris | UPMC Events Center Moon Township, PA | |||||||||
References
- ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Horizon League. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ^ "Cleveland State men's basketball reaches Horizon League semis with 68-63 win over Northern Kentucky". cleveland.com. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ^ "YSU survives Cleveland State, punches ticket to Horizon League Championship". WFMJ.com. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ^ "Teams". College Basketball Invitational. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ^ "Cleveland State Beat Queens (NC) 88-73 Cruising To The CBI Semifinals". FloHoops. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ^ "Cleveland State pulls away late to end FGCU men's basketball season in CBI semifinal". The News-Press. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ^ "Illinois State wins CBI championship with victory over Cleveland State". CBS Chicago. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ^ "UNT hires new basketball head coach Daniyal Robinson". FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ^ "Missouri basketball assistant coach Rob Summers hired to familiar head coaching job". Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Milwaukee Earns Top Spot in 2025-26 Under Armour #HLMBB Preseason Poll". Horizon League. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Cleveland State University. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ^ "Cleveland State Vikings 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 20, 2025.