2025–26 Radford Highlanders men's basketball team
| 2025–26 Radford Highlanders men's basketball | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Big South Conference |
| Record | 4–7 (0–0 Big South) |
| Head coach |
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| Associate head coach | Marcus Jenkins |
| Assistant coaches |
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| Home arena | Dedmon Center |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| High Point | 0 | – | 0 | – | 9 | – | 3 | .750 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charleston Southern | 0 | – | 0 | – | 8 | – | 5 | .615 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| USC Upstate | 0 | – | 0 | – | 8 | – | 6 | .571 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winthrop | 0 | – | 0 | – | 7 | – | 6 | .538 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Longwood | 0 | – | 0 | – | 6 | – | 7 | .462 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Presbyterian | 0 | – | 0 | – | 6 | – | 7 | .462 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UNC Asheville | 0 | – | 0 | – | 6 | – | 7 | .462 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radford | 0 | – | 0 | – | 5 | – | 8 | .385 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gardner–Webb | 0 | – | 0 | – | 2 | – | 12 | .143 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2026 Big South tournament winner As of December 18, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2025–26 Radford Highlanders men's basketball team represents Radford University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Highlanders, led by first-year head coach Zach Chu, play their home games at the Dedmon Center in Radford, Virginia as members of the Big South Conference.
Previous season
The Highlanders finished the 2024–25 season 20–13, 9–7 in Big South play, to finish in fourth place.[1] They defeated Presbyterian in the quarterfinals of the Big South tournament,[2] before falling to top-seeded and eventual tournament champions High Point in the semifinals.[3]
On March 11, 2025, it was announced that head coach Darris Nichols would be leaving the program after four seasons, in order to take the head coaching position at La Salle.[4] Five days later, on March 16, the school announced that they would be hiring SMU chief strategist Zach Chu as the team's new head coach.[5]
Preseason
On October 15, 2025, the Big South Conference released their preseason coaches poll. Radford was picked to finish fourth in the conference.[6]
Preseason rankings
| 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:[6]
Preseason All-Big South Teams
| Player | Year | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Jaylon Johnson | Senior | Guard |
Source:[7]
Roster
| 2025–26 Radford Highlanders men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Schedule and results
| Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exhibition | |||||||||||
| October 29, 2025* 7:00 pm |
Bridgewater | W 95–56 | Dedmon Center Radford, VA | ||||||||
| Non-conference regular season | |||||||||||
| November 3, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Western Illinois | W 80–75 | 1–0 |
Dedmon Center (1,767) Radford, VA | |||||||
| November 7, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
West Virginia Wesleyan | W 99–61 | 2–0 |
Dedmon Center (1,549) Radford, VA | |||||||
| November 11, 2025* 7:00 pm, ACCN |
at No. 18 North Carolina | L 74–89 | 2–1 |
Dean Smith Center (16,613) Chapel Hill, NC | |||||||
| November 15, 2025* 3:30 pm, PTB Live |
vs. Wright State Greenbrier Tip-Off River Division |
L 59–92 | 2–2 |
Colonial Hall (476) White Sulphur Springs, WV | |||||||
| November 16, 2025* 2:30 pm, PTB Live |
vs. Cleveland State Greenbrier Tip-Off River Division |
L 82–87 | 2–3 |
Colonial Hall (459) White Sulphur Springs, WV | |||||||
| November 18, 2025* 7:00 pm, SECN+ |
at South Carolina | L 58–87 | 2–4 |
Colonial Life Arena (11,623) Columbia, SC | |||||||
| November 21, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
UNC Wilmington | L 73–81 | 2–5 |
Dedmon Center (1,584) Radford, VA | |||||||
| November 24, 2025* 8:00 pm, ACCNX |
at SMU | L 72–89 | 2–6 |
Moody Coliseum (4,421) University Park, TX | |||||||
| November 29, 2025* 2:30 pm, ESPN+ |
Notre Dame (MD) | W 102–75 | 3–6 |
Dedmon Center (828) Radford, VA | |||||||
| December 3, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Southern Miss | L 75–82 | 3–7 |
Dedmon Center (1,788) Radford, VA | |||||||
| December 7, 2025* 2:30 pm, ESPN+ |
Saint Francis | W 89–56 | 4–7 |
Dedmon Center (924) Radford, VA | |||||||
| December 14, 2025* 2:30 pm, ESPN+ |
Coppin State | Dedmon Center Radford, VA | |||||||||
| December 18, 2025* 7:00 pm |
at William & Mary | Kaplan Arena Williamsburg, VA | |||||||||
| December 21, 2025* 2:30 pm, ESPN+ |
VMI | Dedmon Center Radford, VA | |||||||||
| December 28, 2025* 2:30 pm, ESPN+ |
Shenandoah | Dedmon Center Radford, VA | |||||||||
| Big South regular season | |||||||||||
| December 31, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at USC Upstate | G. B. Hodge Center Spartanburg, SC | |||||||||
| January 7, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Presbyterian | Dedmon Center Radford, VA | |||||||||
| January 10, 2026 2:30 pm, ESPN+ |
UNC Asheville | Dedmon Center Radford, VA | |||||||||
| January 14, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Gardner–Webb | Paul Porter Arena Boiling Springs, NC | |||||||||
| January 17, 2026 2:30 pm, ESPN+ |
Longwood | Dedmon Center Radford, VA | |||||||||
| January 21, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+ |
at Winthrop | Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, SC | |||||||||
| January 24, 2026 2:30 pm, ESPN+ |
High Point | Dedmon Center Radford, VA | |||||||||
| January 29, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Charleston Southern | Buccaneer Field House North Charleston, SC | |||||||||
| January 31, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Presbyterian | Templeton Center Clinton, SC | |||||||||
| February 4, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Winthrop | Dedmon Center Radford, VA | |||||||||
| February 7, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at High Point | Qubein Center High Point, NC | |||||||||
| February 14, 2026 2:30 pm, ESPN+ |
Charleston Southern | Dedmon Center Radford, VA | |||||||||
| February 19, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Gardner–Webb | Dedmon Center Radford, VA | |||||||||
| February 21, 2026 4:30 pm, ESPN+ |
at UNC Asheville | Kimmel Arena Asheville, NC | |||||||||
| February 26, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
USC Upstate | Dedmon Center Radford, VA | |||||||||
| February 28, 2026 3:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Longwood | Joan Perry Brock Center Farmville, VA | |||||||||
| Big South tournament | |||||||||||
| March 4–8, 2026 TBA |
vs. | Freedom Hall Civic Center Johnson City, TN | |||||||||
References
- ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ "Moss and Radford win 74-69 in OT against Presbyterian in Big South quarterfinals". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ "High Point survives scare from Radford, reaches Big South Tournament final". College Sports Wire. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ "La Salle names Radford coach Darris Nichols as Fran Dunphy's successor". CBS News. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ "Radford names Zach Chu as head men's basketball coach". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ a b "High Point Earns Top Spot in 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ "Big South Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Honors". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Radford University Athletics. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ "Radford Highlanders 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 21, 2025.