2025–26 USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball team

2025–26 USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball
ConferenceBig South Conference
Record6–6 (0–0 Big South)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Cavel Witter
  • Nashad Mackey
  • Vince Fritz
  • Jon D'Angelo
Home arenaG. B. Hodge Center
2025–26 Big South men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
High Point 0 0   10 3   .769
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 19, 2025

The 2025–26 USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball team represents the University of South Carolina Upstate during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by second-year head coach Marty Richter, play their home games at the G. B. Hodge Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina as members of the Big South Conference.

Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2024–25 season 6–26, 2–14 in Big South play, to finish in last place.[1] They were defeated by Gardner–Webb in the first round of the Big South tournament.[2]

Preseason

On October 15, 2025, the Big South Conference released their preseason coaches poll. USC Upstate was picked to finish last in the conference.[3]

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:[3]

Preseason All-Big South Teams

Preseason All-Big South Second Team
Player Year Position
Karmani Gregory RS Junior Guard

Source:[4]

Roster

2025–26 USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Tyler Smith 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 152 lb (69 kg) Jr Trinity Valley Community College Chicago, Illinois
G 1 Karmani Gregory 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Jr Florida SouthWestern Palmetto, Florida
G 2 Isaiah Skinner 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 191 lb (87 kg) RS Sr Mt. San Jacinto College Hemet, California
G 4 Carmelo Adkins 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So PHHoenix Prep Lubbock, Texas
G 5 TJ Lewis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Fr Blythewood High School Blythewood, South Carolina
G 6 Kanye Jones 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 186 lb (84 kg) RS Jr Buffalo Orlando, Florida
C 7 Coen Collier 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 226 lb (103 kg) Jr Salt Lake Community College Holladay, Utah
F 8 Nic Book 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 216 lb (98 kg) So Westfield High School Christchurch, New Zealand
G 9 Mason Bendinger 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Salt Lake Community College Salt Lake City, Utah
F 10 Breylin Garcia 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 217 lb (98 kg) Sr Daytona State La Romana, Dominican Republic
G/F 11 Learic Davis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Jr Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin
F 12 Jafeth Martinez 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 238 lb (108 kg) Jr Florida SouthWestern Roatán, Honduras
G 21 CJ Rich 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 174 lb (79 kg) Jr Spring Valley High School Columbia, South Carolina
G 24 Chico Johnson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS So Drake Toledo, Ohio
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: October 22, 2025

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025*
10:30 pm, ESPN+
at California Baptist L 75–87  0–1
Fowler Events Center (4,386)
Riverside, CA
November 5, 2025*
9:00 pm, MW Network
at Fresno State W 67–66  1–1
Save Mart Center (2,722)
Fresno, CA
November 8, 2025*
12:00 pm, ESPN+
Southern Virginia W 105-46  2–1
G. B. Hodge Center (302)
Spartanburg, SC
November 12, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Bob Jones W 114–53  3–1
G. B. Hodge Center (373)
Spartanburg, SC
November 15, 2025*
7:00 pm, FloCollege
at UNC Wilmington L 60–73  3–2
Trask Coliseum (5,220)
Wilmington, NC
November 19, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Tennessee Tech L 84–88  3–3
G. B. Hodge Center (471)
Spartanburg, SC
November 21, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at West Georgia L 64–72  3–4
The Coliseum (522)
Carrollton, GA
November 25, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
North Carolina Central W 82–67  4–4
G. B. Hodge Center (357)
Spartanburg, SC
November 29, 2025*
2:00 pm, B1G+
at Nebraska L 63–72  4–5
Pinnacle Bank Arena (14,107)
Lincoln, NE
December 3, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Coastal Carolina W 85–78 OT 5–5
G. B. Hodge Center (717)
Spartanburg, SC
December 6, 2025*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Western Carolina W 78–67  6–5
G. B. Hodge Center (419)
Spartanburg, SC
December 13, 2025*
2:00 pm, The CW
at No. 14 North Carolina L 62–80  6–6
Dean Smith Center (17,759)
Chapel Hill, NC
December 16, 2025*
6:00 pm
at South Carolina State SHM Memorial Center 
Orangeburg, SC
December 17, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Southern Wesleyan G. B. Hodge Center 
Spartanburg, SC
December 20, 2025*
1:00 pm, ESPN+
at Youngstown State Beeghly Center 
Youngstown, OH
Big South regular season
December 31, 2025
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Radford G. B. Hodge Center 
Spartanburg, SC
January 3, 2026
2:00 pm
at Presbyterian Templeton Center 
Clinton, SC
January 10, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Winthrop G. B. Hodge Center 
Spartanburg, SC
January 14, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Charleston Southern Buccaneer Field House 
North Charleston, SC
January 17, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at High Point Qubein Center 
High Point, NC
January 21, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+
UNC Asheville G. B. Hodge Center 
Spartanburg, SC
January 24, 2026
2:00 pm
at Gardner–Webb Paul Porter Arena 
Boiling Springs, NC
January 29, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Longwood G. B. Hodge Center 
Spartanburg, SC
February 4, 2026
6:30 pm
at UNC Asheville Kimmel Arena 
Asheville, NC
February 7, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Charleston Southern G. B. Hodge Center 
Spartanburg, SC
February 12, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+
High Point G. B. Hodge Center 
Spartanburg, SC
February 14, 2026
3:00 pm
at Longwood Joan Perry Brock Center 
Farmville, VA
February 19, 2026
6:30 pm
at Winthrop Winthrop Coliseum 
Rock Hill, SC
February 21, 2026
4:30 pm, ESPN+
Presbyerian G. B. Hodge Center 
Spartanburg, SC
February 26, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Radford Dedmon Center 
Radford, VA
February 28, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Gardner–Webb 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:[5][6]

References

  1. ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  2. ^ "Selden's 18 lead Gardner-Webb past South Carolina Upstate 83-63 in Big South Conference Tournament". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "High Point Earns Top Spot in 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  4. ^ "Big South Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Honors". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  5. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of South Carolina - Upstate. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  6. ^ "South Carolina Upstate Spartans 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 22, 2025.