2025–26 South Carolina State Bulldogs basketball team
| 2025–26 South Carolina State Bulldogs basketball | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference |
| Record | 1–13 (0–0 MEAC) |
| Head coach |
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| Associate head coach | Raheem Waller |
| Assistant coaches |
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| Home arena | SHM Memorial Center |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Howard | 0 | – | 0 | – | 9 | – | 5 | .643 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Norfolk State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 6 | – | 9 | .400 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Delaware State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 5 | – | 9 | .357 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Carolina Central | 0 | – | 0 | – | 4 | – | 10 | .286 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maryland Eastern Shore | 0 | – | 0 | – | 4 | – | 13 | .235 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Morgan State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 2 | – | 11 | .154 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coppin State* | 0 | – | 0 | – | 2 | – | 14 | .125 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Carolina State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 1 | – | 13 | .071 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2026 MEAC tournament winner * Ineligible for 2026 NCAA Tournament due to APR penalties. As of December 23, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2025–26 South Carolina State Bulldogs basketball team represents South Carolina State University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by fourth-year head coach Erik Martin, play their home games at SHM Memorial Center in Orangeburg, South Carolina as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Previous season
The Bulldogs finished the 2024–25 season 20–13, 11–3 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for first place, claiming at least part of the regular season conference title for the first time since 2004. In the MEAC tournament, they defeated Coppin State in the quarterfinals[1] and then NC Central in the semifinals[2] before falling to top-seeded Norfolk State by a score of 65-66 in the championship game.[3]
Preseason
On October 8, 2025, the MEAC released their preseason polls. South Carolina State was picked to finish third in the conference.[4]
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:[4]
Preseason MEAC Player of the Year
| Player | Year | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Jayden Johnson | Sophomore | Guard |
Preseason All-MEAC Teams
| Team | Player | Year | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | Jayden Johnson | Sophomore | Guard |
Source:[4]
Roster
| 2025–26 South Carolina State Bulldogs men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Schedule and results
| Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exhibition | |||||||||||
| October 31, 2025* 7:30 pm |
Allen | W 92–53 | – |
13 – Tenebay | 7 – Knights Wright | 4 – Hodge Jr. | SHM Memorial Center (435) Orangeburg, SC | ||||
| Regular season | |||||||||||
| November 3, 2025* 9:00 pm, ACCN |
at No. 11 Louisville | L 45–104 | 0–1 |
11 – Wright | 5 – Knights Wright | 2 – McKenzie | KFC Yum! Center (14,218) Louisville, KY | ||||
| November 7, 2025* 8:30 pm, ESPN+ |
at Samford | L 72–82 | 0–2 |
22 – Morrow | 7 – Morrow | 8 – Johnson | Pete Hanna Center (2,371) Homewood, AL | ||||
| November 10, 2025* 7:00 pm |
at North Carolina A&T | L 62–85 | 0–3 |
18 – Bronston Jr. | 7 – Bronston Jr. | 4 – Johnson | Corbett Sports Center (3,923) Greensboro, NC | ||||
| November 14, 2025* 7:00 pm |
at Charleston | L 61–88 | 0–4 |
15 – Bronston Jr. | 7 – Okojie | 6 – Johnson | TD Arena (5,241) Charleston, SC | ||||
| November 19, 2025* 7:00 pm |
Chattanooga | L 66–78 | 0–5 |
13 – Johnson | 6 – Clark | 2 – Knights Wright | SHM Memorial Center (200) Orangeburg, SC | ||||
| November 23, 2025* 2:00 pm |
at South Dakota | L 81–82 | 0–6 |
17 – Clark | 7 – Tenebay | 8 – Wright | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,235) Vermillion, SD | ||||
| November 25, 2025* 8:00 pm, SECN+ |
at Missouri | L 66–98 | 0–7 |
17 – Bronston Jr. | 5 – Tindal | 3 – Johnson | Mizzou Arena (7,887) Columbia, MO | ||||
| November 29, 2025* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Winthrop | L 79–101 | 0–8 |
17 – Treadwell | 4 – Parker | 6 – Wright | Winthrop Coliseum (1,131) Rock Hill, SC | ||||
| December 5, 2025* 7:00 pm |
at Bethune–Cookman | L 59–80 | 0–9 |
14 – Parker | 8 – Parker | 3 – Johnson | Moore Gymnasium (467) Daytona Beach, FL | ||||
| December 8, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Charleston Southern | L 44–84 | 0–10 |
8 – Tied | 8 – Clark | 2 – Knights Wright | Buccaneer Field House (854) North Charleston, SC | ||||
| December 12, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Queens | L 78–102 | 0–11 |
17 – Bronston Jr. | 20 – Parker | 11 – Johnson | Curry Arena (368) Charlotte, NC | ||||
| December 16, 2025* 6:00 pm |
USC Upstate | L 72–78 | 0–12 |
16 – Bronston Jr. | 7 – Parker | 3 – Wright | SHM Memorial Center (185) Orangeburg, SC | ||||
| December 19, 2025* 12:00 pm |
Brewton-Parker | W 68–54 | 1−12 |
16 – Clark | 9 – Tied | 4 – Johnson | SHM Memorial Center (75) Orangeburg, SC | ||||
| December 22, 2025* 4:00 pm, SECN+ |
at South Carolina | L 70–95 | 1–13 |
20 – Johnson | 4 – Tied | 6 – Johnson | Colonial Life Arena (10,171) Columbia, SC | ||||
| December 30, 2025* 8:00 pm, SECN+ |
at Tennessee | Food City Center Knoxville, TN | |||||||||
| January 3, 2026 4:00 pm |
Howard | SHM Memorial Center Orangeburg, SC | |||||||||
| January 10, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Morgan State | Hill Field House Baltimore, MD | |||||||||
| January 12, 2026 7:00 pm |
at Coppin State | Physical Education Complex Baltimore, MD | |||||||||
| January 17, 2026 TBD |
Norfolk State | SHM Memorial Center Orangeburg, SC | |||||||||
| January 20, 2026* 7:00 pm |
Mid-Atlantic Christian | SHM Memorial Center Orangeburg, SC | |||||||||
| January 24, 2026 4:00 pm |
Maryland Eastern Shore | SHM Memorial Center Orangeburg, SC | |||||||||
| January 26, 2026 7:30 pm |
Delaware State | SHM Memorial Center Orangeburg, SC | |||||||||
| January 31, 2026 4:00 pm |
NC Central | SHM Memorial Center Orangeburg, SC | |||||||||
| February 7, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Howard | Burr Gymnasium Washington, DC | |||||||||
| February 14, 2026 4:00 pm |
Morgan State Senior Day |
SHM Memorial Center Orangeburg, SC | |||||||||
| February 16, 2026 7:00 pm |
Coppin State | SHM Memorial Center Orangeburg, SC | |||||||||
| February 21, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPNU |
at Norfolk State | Echols Memorial Hall Norfolk, VA | |||||||||
| February 28, 2026 4:30 pm |
at Maryland Eastern Shore | Hytche Athletic Center Princess Anne, MD | |||||||||
| March 2, 2026 7:00 pm |
at Delaware State | Memorial Hall Dover, DE | |||||||||
| March 5, 2026 7:30 pm, ESPNU/ESPN+ |
at North Carolina Central | McDougald-McLendon Arena Durham, NC | |||||||||
| MEAC tournament | |||||||||||
| March 11–14, 2026 TBD |
vs. | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA
| |||||||||
References
- ^ "Second-Seeded Sc State Downs Coppin State 68-63 to Advance in Meac Tournament". March 12, 2025.
- ^ "SC State Stays in the Hunt for Championship Glory". March 14, 2025.
- ^ "#2 Bulldogs Fall Short in MEAC Finals to Spartans". March 15, 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.
- ^ Nunn, Joshua (December 1, 2025). "South Carolina State vs Chicago State Predictions, Picks, Odds for Monday, December 1". Action Network Inc. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
- ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". South Carolina State University Athletics. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ "South Carolina State Bulldogs 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 7, 2025.