2025–26 Delaware State Hornets men's basketball team
| 2025–26 Delaware State Hornets men's basketball | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference |
| Record | 4–8 (0–0 MEAC) |
| Head coach |
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| Assistant coaches |
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| Home arena | Memorial Hall |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Howard | 0 | – | 0 | – | 8 | – | 5 | .615 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Norfolk State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 5 | – | 8 | .385 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Delaware State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 4 | – | 9 | .308 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Carolina Central | 0 | – | 0 | – | 4 | – | 9 | .308 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maryland Eastern Shore | 0 | – | 0 | – | 4 | – | 12 | .250 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Morgan State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 2 | – | 9 | .182 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coppin State* | 0 | – | 0 | – | 2 | – | 13 | .133 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Carolina State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 1 | – | 12 | .077 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2026 MEAC tournament winner * Ineligible for 2026 NCAA Tournament due to APR penalties. As of December 19, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2025–26 Delaware State Hornets men's basketball team represents Delaware State University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hornets, led by fifth-year head coach Stan Waterman, play their home games at Memorial Hall in Dover, Delaware as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Previous season
The Hornets finished the 2024–25 season 16–14, 8–6 in MEAC play to finish in third place.[1] They were upset in the quarterfinals of the MEAC tournament by No. 6-seeded NC Central.[2]
Preseason
On October 8, 2025, the MEAC released their preseason polls. Delaware State was picked to finish fifth in the conference.[3]
Preseason rankings
| Place | Team | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norfolk State | 118 (12) | |
| 2 | Howard | 97 (4) | |
| 3 | South Carolina State | 90 | |
| 4 | Morgan State | 73 | |
| T–5 | Delaware State | 70 | |
| North Carolina Central | |||
| 7 | Maryland Eastern Shore | 31 | |
| 8 | Coppin State | 27 | |
| (#) first-place votes | |||
Source:[3]
Preseason All-MEAC Teams
| Team | Player | Year | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | Ponce James | Sophomore | Guard |
| Second | Zion Bethea | Graduate Senior | |
| Camian Shell |
Source:[3]
Roster
| 2025–26 Delaware State Hornets men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule and results
| Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exhibition | |||||||||||
| November 1, 2025* 2:00 pm |
Delaware Valley | W 87–62 | – |
Memorial Hall Dover, DE | |||||||
| Non-conference regular season | |||||||||||
| November 5, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Temple | L 65–83 | 0–1 |
Liacouras Center (3,637) Philadelphia, PA | |||||||
| November 8, 2025* 1:00 pm, ACCNX |
at Syracuse | L 43–83 | 0–2 |
JMA Wireless Dome (19,275) Syracuse, NY | |||||||
| November 10, 2025* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ |
at Niagara | L 57–68 | 0–3 |
Gallagher Center (1,676) Lewiston, NY | |||||||
| November 15, 2025* 1:00 pm, NECFR |
at New Haven | L 52–65 | 0–4 |
Hazell Center (673) West Haven, CT | |||||||
| November 18, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Cheyney | W 88–70 | 1–4 |
Memorial Hall (300) Dover, DE | |||||||
| November 20, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Kean | W 66–64 | 2–4 |
Memorial Hall (500) Dover, DE | |||||||
| November 23, 2025* 1:00 pm, ACCNX |
at Miami (FL) | L 41–97 | 2–5 |
Watsco Center (4,126) Coral Gables, FL | |||||||
| November 26, 2025* 2:30 pm |
vs. Virginia State HBCU in DC Tip-off Experience |
L 58–62 | 2–6 |
CareFirst Arena (1,000) Washington, D.C. | |||||||
| November 29, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at UMBC | L 57–71 | 2–7 |
Chesapeake Arena (723) Catonsville, MD | |||||||
| December 3, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Navy | L 59–66 | 2–8 |
Memorial Hall (300) Dover, DE | |||||||
| December 6, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Delaware Rivalry |
W 75–72 OT | 3–8 |
Memorial Hall (400) Dover, DE | |||||||
| December 13, 2025* 3:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Longwood | W 81–76 | 4–8 |
Joan Perry Brock Center (1,294) Farmville, VA | |||||||
| December 18, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Saint Joseph's | Hagan Arena Philadelphia, PA | |||||||||
| December 21, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Holy Family | Memorial Hall Dover, DE | |||||||||
| December 29, 2025* 7:00 pm, BTN |
at Rutgers | Jersey Mike's Arena Piscataway, NJ | |||||||||
| MEAC regular season | |||||||||||
| January 3, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Coppin State | Memorial Hall Dover, DE | |||||||||
| January 10, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Norfolk State | Memorial Hall Dover, DE | |||||||||
| January 12, 2026 |
at Howard | Burr Gymnasium Washington, D.C. | |||||||||
| January 17, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Morgan State | Memorial Hall Dover, DE | |||||||||
| January 24, 2026 4:00 pm |
at North Carolina Central | McDougald–McLendon Arena Durham, NC | |||||||||
| January 26, 2026 |
at South Carolina State | SHM Memorial Center Orangeburg, SC | |||||||||
| January 31, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Maryland Eastern Shore | Memorial Hall Dover, DE | |||||||||
| February 7, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Coppin State | Physical Education Complex Baltimore, MD | |||||||||
| February 14, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Norfolk State | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall Norfolk, VA | |||||||||
| February 16, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Howard | Memorial Hall Dover, DE | |||||||||
| February 21, 2026 4:00 pm |
at Morgan State | Hill Field House Baltimore, MD | |||||||||
| February 28, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+ |
North Carolina Central | Memorial Hall Dover, DE | |||||||||
| March 2, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
South Carolina State | Memorial Hall Dover, DE | |||||||||
| March 5, 2026 7:30 pm |
at Maryland Eastern Shore | Hytche Athletic Center Princess Anne, MD | |||||||||
| MEAC tournament | |||||||||||
| March 11–14, 2026 |
vs. | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA | |||||||||
References
- ^ "2024-25 Men's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
- ^ Delaware State Athletics (March 14, 2025). "Delaware State falls 79-77 to North Carolina Central on buzzer-beater". Retrieved December 5, 2025.
- ^ a b c "S. C. State's Jayden Johnson Named 2025-26 MEAC Men's Basketball Preseason Player of the Year". meacsports.com. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. October 8, 2025. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
- ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Delaware State University. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
- ^ "Delaware State Hornets 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 5, 2025.