2025–26 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

2025–26 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball
2025–26 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball
Conference	Mountain West Conference
Record	5–6 (1–0 MW)
Head coach	Josh Pastner (1st season);
Associate head coach	Scott Garson (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Anthony Wilkins (1st season); Justin Hawkins (1st season);
Home arena	Thomas & Mack Center ; (Capacity: 17,923)

2025–26 Mountain West Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Utah State	1	–	0	1.000	10	–	1	.909
New Mexico	1	–	0	1.000	10	–	2	.833
Nevada	1	–	0	1.000	9	–	3	.750
Grand Canyon	1	–	0	1.000	8	–	4	.667
San Diego State	1	–	0	1.000	7	–	4	.636
UNLV	1	–	0	1.000	5	–	6	.455
Colorado State	0	–	1	.000	9	–	3	.750
Wyoming	0	–	1	.000	9	–	3	.750
Boise State	0	–	1	.000	8	–	4	.667
Fresno State	0	–	1	.000	6	–	6	.500
San Jose State	0	–	1	.000	5	–	7	.417
Air Force	0	–	1	.000	3	–	9	.250

† 2026 Mountain West tournament winner As of December 22, 2025

The 2025–26 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represents the University of Nevada, Las Vegas during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Runnin' Rebels, led by first-year head coach Josh Pastner, play their home games at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada as a member of the Mountain West Conference.

Previous season

The Runnin' Rebels finished the 2024–25 season 18–15, 11–9 in Mountain West play to finish sixth in the conference. As the 6-seed in the Mountain West Tournament they would defeat 11-seed Air Force in the First Round before falling to 3-seed Utah State in the Quarterfinals 58–70 to end the year.^[1] Two days following the conclusion of the season, Kevin Kruger was relieved of his duties as head coach after four seasons.^[2]^[3]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Isaiah Cottrell	0	F	6'11"	245	Junior	Las Vegas, NV	Transferred to Southern Utah
Jalen Hill	1	F	6'6"	230	Graduate	Las Vegas, NV	Out of eligibility
James Evans Jr.	2	G	6'4"	190	Freshman	Wichita, KS	Transferred to Cal State Northridge
Luke Naser	3	G	6'0"	200	Freshman	Las Vegas, NV	Transferred to Xavier
Rob Whaley Jr.	5	F	6'7"	260	Senior	Farmington, UT	Transferred to Kent State
Jaden Henley	10	G	6'7"	215	Junior	Ontario, CA	Transferred to Grand Canyon
Dedan Thomas Jr.	11	G	6'1"	170	Sophomore	Las Vegas, NV	Transferred to LSU
Brooklyn Hicks	13	G	6'3"	185	Sophomore	Seattle, WA	Transferred to Montana
Jailen Bedford	14	G	6'4"	180	Senior	Austin, TX	Transferred to Virginia Tech
Jace Whiting	15	G	6'3"	190	Junior	Burley, ID	Transferred to Weber State
Julian Rishwain	20	G	6'5"	200	Graduate	Los Angeles, CA	Out of eligibility
Pape N'Diaye	22	F	7'0"	215	Freshman	Ivory Coast	Transferred to Xavier
Faris Mucharbach	31	G	6'9"	200	Freshman	Las Vegas, NV	Departed program
Jeremiah Cherry	45	G	6'11"	280	Junior	San Diego, CA	Transferred to Sacramento State

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous college
Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn	0	G	6'1"	185	Junior	Lafayette, IN	Illinois
Ladji Dembele	1	F	6'8"	255	Junior	Newark, NJ	Iowa
Kimani Hamilton	2	F	6'8"	225	Senior	Jackson, MS	High Point
Howie Fleming Jr.	3	G	6'5"	237	Senior	Louisville, KY	UTRGV
Al Green	7	G	6'3"	185	Senior	Sacramento, CA	Louisiana Tech
Jalen Cunningham	13	F	6'2"	185	Sophomore	Las Vegas, NV	Cabrillo College
Naas Cunningham	24	F	6'7"	175	Freshman	West Orange, NJ	Alabama
Emmanuel Stephen	34	C	7'0"	230	Sophomore	Lagos, Nigeria	Arizona
Myles Che	77	G	6'3"	190	Junior	Walnut, CA	UC Irvine

2025 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Mason Abittan SG	Henderson, NV	Coronado HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Nov 14, 2024
Mason Abittan SG	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (NR)
Walter Brown C	Leithfield, New Zealand	Canterbury Rams (NZ)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Aug 8, 2025
Walter Brown C	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (NR)
Tyrin Jones SF	Layton, UT	Layton Christian Academy	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Nov 14, 2024
Tyrin Jones SF	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (NR)
Issac Williamson CG	Eastvale, CA	Eleanor Roosevelt HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Apr 15, 2025
Issac Williamson CG	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (NR)
Overall recruit ranking: Scout: – Rivals: –
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2025 UNLV Basketball Recruiting Commits". Scout. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout. "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals.

Roster

2025–26 UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Illinois	Lafayette, Indiana
F	1	Ladji Dembele	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Jr	Iowa	Newark, New Jersey
F	2	Kimani Hamilton	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Sr	High Point	Jackson, Mississippi
G	3	Howie Fleming Jr.	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	RS Sr	UTRGV	Louisville, Kentucky
F	6	Tyrin Jones	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Layton Christian Academy	Las Vegas, Nevada
G	7	Al Green	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Louisiana Tech	Sacramento, California
G	8	Mason Abittan	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Coronado HS	Las Vegas, Nevada
F	10	Jacob Bannarbie	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	RS So	Hillcrest Prep	Anchorage, Alaska
G	12	Issac Williamson	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Fr	Eleanor Roosevelt HS	Moreno Valley, California
F	13	Jalen Cunningham	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	RS So	Cabrillo College	Las Vegas, Nevada
F	22	Walter Brown	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sr	Canterbury Rams	Christchurch, New Zealand
F	24	Naas Cunningham	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	RS Fr	Alabama	West Orange, New Jersey
C	34	Emmanuel Stephen	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	So	Arizona	Lagos, Nigeria
G	77	Myles Che	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	UC Irvine	Walnut, California
F		Xavier Brumfield	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	RS Fr	SoCal Academy	New Orleans, Louisiana

Head coach

Josh Pastner (Arizona)

Assistant coach(es)

Scott Garson (UC Santa Barbara)
Anthony Wilkins (Kent State)
Justin Hawkins (UNLV)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 21, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 19, 2025* 12:00 p.m., B1G+	at Washington	L 62–77		14 – Gibbs-Lawhorn	6 – Bannarbie	2 – Tied	Alaska Airlines Arena (6,774) Seattle, WA
October 28, 2025* 7:00 p.m., MW Network	Lincoln University (CA)	W 123–59		31 – Gibbs-Lawhorn	14 – Brown	8 – Green	Thomas & Mack Center (4,969) Paradise, NV
Regular season
November 4, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SSSEN/MW Network	UT Martin	L 81–86	0–1	18 – Gibbs-Lawhorn	9 – Jones	4 – Jones	Thomas & Mack Center (5,235) Paradise, NV
November 8, 2025* 6:00 p.m., SSSEN/MW Network	Chattanooga	W 101–69	1–1	25 – N. Cunningham	9 – Hamilton	6 – Fleming Jr.	Thomas & Mack Center (4,896) Paradise, NV
November 11, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SSSEN/MW Network	Montana	L 93–102	1–2	26 – Gibbs-Lawhorn	7 – Jones	6 – Gibbs-Lawhorn	Thomas & Mack Center (5,553) Paradise, NV
November 16, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN	at Memphis	W 92–78	2–2	25 – Tied	12 – Fleming Jr.	6 – Tied	FedExForum (10,927) Memphis, TN
November 20, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SSSEN/MW Network	Saint Joseph's	W 99–85	3–2	20 – Gibbs-Lawhorn	11 – Bannarbie	6 – Fleming Jr.	Thomas & Mack Center (5,006) Paradise, NV
November 24, 2025* 9:00 p.m., TNT	vs. Maryland Players Era Festival Game 1	L 67–74	3–3	17 – Gibbs-Lawhorn	9 – Fleming Jr.	5 – Tied	MGM Grand Garden Arena (3,581) Paradise, NV
November 25, 2025* 9:00 p.m., TNT/TruTV	vs. No. 8 Alabama Players Era Festival Game 2	L 76–115	3–4	25 – Gibbs-Lawhorn	5 – Hamilton	6 – Jones	MGM Grand Garden Arena (2,799) Paradise, NV
November 27, 2025* 1:30 p.m., TruTV	vs. Rutgers Players Era Festival	L 65–80	3–5	13 – Tied	7 – Hamilton	5 – Gibbs-Lawhorn	MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, NV
December 7, 2025* 1:00 p.m., ACCNX	at Stanford	W 75–74	4–5	18 – Stephen	10 – Stephen	3 – Hamilton	Maples Pavilion (3,981) Stanford, CA
December 13, 2025* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+	vs. Tennessee State Jack Jones Classic	L 60–63	4–6	13 – Gibbs-Lawhorn	9 – Hamilton	4 – Hamilton	Lee's Family Forum Henderson, NV
December 20, 2025 4:00 p.m., SSSEN/MW Network	Fresno State	W 84–72	5–6 (1–0)	28 – Gibbs-Lawhorn	7 – Gibbs-Lawhorn	5 – Bannarbie	Thomas & Mack Center (6,113) Paradise, NV
December 29, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SSSEN/MW Network	La Sierra						Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV
January 3, 2026 2:00 p.m., SSSEN/MW Network	Air Force						Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV
January 6, 2026 7:00 p.m., CBSSN	at Wyoming						Arena-Auditorium Laramie, WY
January 9, 2025 7:00 p.m., CBSSN	at Colorado State						Moby Arena Fort Collins, CO
January 13, 2026 8:00 p.m., CBSSN	Boise State						Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV
January 17, 2026 TBD, MW Network	at San Jose State						Provident Credit Union Event Center San Jose, CA
January 20, 2026 8:00 p.m., FS1	at Utah State						Smith Spectrum Logan, UT
January 24, 2026 1:00 p.m., CBS	San Diego State						Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV
January 27, 2026 8:00 p.m., CBSSN	New Mexico						Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV
January 30, 2026 7:00 p.m., CBSSN	at Nevada Rivalry						Lawlor Events Center Reno, NV
February 3, 2026 8:00 p.m., FS1	at Fresno State						Save Mart Center Fresno, CA
February 7, 2026 1:30 p.m., FOX	Grand Canyon						Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV
February 10, 2026 8:00 p.m., FS1	San Jose State						Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV
February 13, 2026 7:00 p.m., FS1	at Boise State						ExtraMile Arena Boise, ID
February 18, 2026 8:00 p.m., CBSSN	Colorado State						Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV
February 21, 2026 TBD, MW Network	at Air Force						Clune Arena Colorado Springs, CO
February 25, 2026 6:00 p.m., CBSSN	at Grand Canyon						Global Credit Union Arena Phoenix, AZ
February 28, 2026 7:00 p.m., CBSSN	Nevada Rivalry						Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV
March 3, 2026 8:00 p.m., CBSSN	Utah State						Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV
March 6, 2026 7:00 p.m., CBSSN	at San Diego State						Viejas Arena San Diego, CA
Mountain West tournament
March 11–14, 2026	vs.						Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time.

Source^[4]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** — = Not ranked
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

References

^ Morales-Smith, Mark (March 14, 2025). "UNLV Men's Basketball Ousted From Mountain West Tournament by Utah State". UNLV Rebels On SI. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
^ Borzello, Jeff (March 15, 2025). "UNLV fires head coach Kruger after four seasons". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
^ Anderson, Mark (March 15, 2025). "UNLV fires coach Kevin Kruger, one of the program's links to its glory-day past". AP News. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
^ "2025–26 Men's Basketball Schedule". unlvrebels.com. Retrieved October 21, 2025.

[1] Morales-Smith, Mark (March 14, 2025). "UNLV Men's Basketball Ousted From Mountain West Tournament by Utah State". UNLV Rebels On SI. Retrieved October 22, 2025.

[2] Borzello, Jeff (March 15, 2025). "UNLV fires head coach Kruger after four seasons". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 22, 2025.

[3] Anderson, Mark (March 15, 2025). "UNLV fires coach Kevin Kruger, one of the program's links to its glory-day past". AP News. Retrieved October 22, 2025.

[4] "2025–26 Men's Basketball Schedule". unlvrebels.com. Retrieved October 21, 2025.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball
Venues	Dula Memorial Center (1958–1960) NSU Gym (1960–1967) Las Vegas Convention Center (1967–1983) Thomas & Mack Center (1983–present)
Culture & lore	Hey Reb! 103–73 1991 Duke game
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 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
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics