2025–26 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs men's basketball team

2025–26 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs men's basketball
2025–26 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs men's basketball
Conference	Big South Conference
Record	2–13 (0–0 Big South)
Head coach	Jeremy Luther (2nd season);
Associate head coach	Jake DeLaney
Assistant coaches	Adam Sweeney; Christian Turner; Mitch Hollis;
Home arena	Paul Porter Arena

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 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs men's basketball team represents Gardner–Webb University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Runnin' Bulldogs, led by second-year head coach Jeremy Luther, play their home games at Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, North Carolina as members of the Big South Conference.

Previous season

The Runnin' Bulldogs finished the 2024–25 season 11–20, 5–11 in Big South play, to finish in eighth place.^[1] They defeated USC Upstate in the first round of the Big South tournament,^[2] before falling to top-seeded and eventual tournament champions High Point in the quarterfinals.^[3]

Preseason

On October 15, 2025, the Big South Conference released their preseason coaches poll. Gardner–Webb was picked to finish eighth in the conference.^[4]

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:^[4]

Preseason All-Big South Teams

No players were named to the First or Second Team All-Big South.^[5]

Roster

2025–26 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Jamias Ferere	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Fr	Putnam Science Academy	High Point, North Carolina
G	1	Spence Sims	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	RS Fr	Alabama	Fairhope, Alabama
G	2	Isaiah Hicks	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	RS Jr	Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy	Shelby, North Carolina
G	3	Julius Clark	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Tallahassee State College	Tuscaloosa, Alabama
G	4	DJ Jefferson	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	RS Jr	Longwood	Richardson, Texas
F	5	Jacob Hogarth	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	Iona	Brooklyn, New York
G	6	Jacob Hudson	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	The Phelps School	Houston, Texas
F	7	Riek Riek	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	GS	Drury	Rochester, Minnesota
G	8	Ashton King	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	Millbrook High School	Raleigh, North Carolina
G	9	Paul Lindberg	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jr	Lutheran South Academy	Houston, Texas
G/F	10	Curtis Williams III	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	Northwest Florida State College	Rancho Cucamonga, California
F	11	Navuan Peterson	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	GS	Trevecca Nazarene	Orlando, Florida
G	12	Cameron Gales	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	So	Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy	Shelby, North Carolina
G	21	Ahmadou Ndiaye	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jr	Southwest Mississippi Community College	Everett, Massachusetts
G	23	Colin Hawkins	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	So	Sunrise Christian Academy	Colorado Springs, Colorado
G	25	Ace Talbert	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Saint Francis (PA)	Wyandanch, New York

Head coach

Jeremy Luther (North Greenville)

Assistant coach(es)

Jake DeLaney (Gardner–Webb)
Adam Sweeney (Gardner–Webb)
Christian Turner (Gardner–Webb)
Mitch Hollis (Covenant)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 20, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025* 8:00 pm, B1G+	at Minnesota	L 60–87	0–1	Williams Arena (7,669) Minneapolis, MN
November 7, 2025* 7:00 pm, ACCN	at Clemson	L 59–97	0–2	Littlejohn Coliseum (7,217) Clemson, SC
November 10, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	North Greenville	L 81–92	0–3	Paul Porter Arena (578) Boiling Springs, NC
November 15, 2025* 8:00 pm, FloCollege	at Elon	L 84–95	0–4	Schar Center (1,467) Elon, NC
November 18, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at DePaul	L 62–93	0–5	Wintrust Arena (2,762) Chicago, IL
November 22, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Richmond	L 67–102	0–6	Robins Center (4,176) Richmond, VA
November 26, 2025* 4:00 pm, FloCollege	vs. Navy Live Oak Bank Holiday Classic	L 51–84	0–7	Trask Coliseum Wilmington, NC
November 28, 2025* 12:00 pm, FloCollege	vs. Southeastern Louisiana Live Oak Bank Holiday Classic	L 68–76	0–8	Trask Coliseum Wilmington, NC
November 29, 2025* 3:00 pm, FloCollege	at UNC Wilmington Live Oak Bank Holiday Classic	L 62–88	0–9	Trask Coliseum (4,119) Wilmington, NC
December 3, 2025* 7:00 pm, WCCB	at Queens (NC)	L 74–107	0–10	Curry Arena (672) Charlotte, NC
December 6, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Georgia Southern	L 84–88	0–11	Paul Porter Arena (247) Boiling Springs, NC
December 12, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Brevard	W 77–63	1–11	Paul Porter Arena (789) Boiling Springs, NC
December 15, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Wofford	L 57–83	1–12	Paul Porter Arena (567) Boiling Springs, NC
December 18, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Toccoa Falls	W 105–65	2–12	Paul Porter Arena (2,000) Boiling Springs, NC
December 21, 2025* 3:00 pm, SECN+	at No. 20 Tennessee	L 52–94	2–13	Thompson–Boling Arena (19,059) Knoxville, TN
Big South regular season
December 31, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Charleston Southern			Paul Porter Arena Boiling Springs, NC
January 3, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+	at Winthrop			Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, SC
January 7, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at High Point			Qubein Center High Point, NC
January 14, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Radford			Paul Porter Arena Boiling Springs, NC
January 17, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Presbyterian			Paul Porter Arena Boiling Springs, NC
January 21, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Longwood			Joan Perry Brock Center Farmville, VA
January 24, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	USC Upstate			Paul Porter Arena Boiling Springs, NC
January 29, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+	at UNC Asheville			Kimmel Arena Asheville, NC
January 31, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	at Charleston Southern			Buccaneer Field House North Charleston, SC
February 4, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Longwood			Paul Porter Arena Boiling Springs, NC
February 7, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	at Presbyterian			Templeton Center Clinton, SC
February 12, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Winthrop			Paul Porter Arena Boiling Springs, NC
February 14, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	High Point			Paul Porter Arena Boiling Springs, NC
February 19, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Radford			Dedmon Center Radford, VA
February 26, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	UNC Asheville			Paul Porter Arena Boiling Springs, NC
February 28, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	at USC Upstate			G. B. Hodge Center Spartanburg, SC
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:^[6]^[7]

References

^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
^ "South-Carolina-Upstate vs Gardner-Webb Basketball Game Summary - March 5th, 2025". NCAA.com. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
^ "High Point knocks off Gardner-Webb in Big South Conference Tournament quarterfinals 85-64". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
^ ^a ^b "High Point Earns Top Spot in 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
^ "Big South Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Honors". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Gardner-Webb University Athletics. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
^ "Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 20, 2025.

[1] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 20, 2025.

[2] "South-Carolina-Upstate vs Gardner-Webb Basketball Game Summary - March 5th, 2025". NCAA.com. Retrieved October 20, 2025.

[3] "High Point knocks off Gardner-Webb in Big South Conference Tournament quarterfinals 85-64". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 20, 2025.

[poll-4] "High Point Earns Top Spot in 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 20, 2025.

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

[6] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Gardner-Webb University Athletics. Retrieved October 20, 2025.

[7] "Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 20, 2025.

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Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs men's basketball
Venues	Paul Porter Arena (1982–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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