2025–26 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team

2025–26 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball
2025–26 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	4–9 (0–2 OVC)
Head coach	Chad Boudreau (3rd season);
Assistant coaches	Bryan Martin; Kris Glover; Chuck Ruffing; Solon Ellis;
Home arena	Western Hall

2025–26 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Lindenwood	2	–	0	1.000	8	–	5	.615
Morehead State	2	–	0	1.000	5	–	7	.417
UT Martin	1	–	1	.500	9	–	4	.692
SIU Edwardsville	1	–	1	.500	8	–	5	.615
Tennessee State	1	–	1	.500	7	–	5	.583
Southeast Missouri State	1	–	1	.500	6	–	7	.462
Tennessee Tech	1	–	1	.500	6	–	7	.462
Eastern Illinois	1	–	1	.500	4	–	8	.333
Little Rock	1	–	1	.500	4	–	9	.308
Western Illinois	0	–	2	.000	4	–	9	.308
Southern Indiana	0	–	2	.000	3	–	9	.250

† 2026 OVC tournament winner As of December 23, 2025

The 2025–26 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team represents Western Illinois University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Leathernecks, led by third-year head coach Chad Boudreau, play their home games at Western Hall in Macomb, Illinois, as second-year members of the Ohio Valley Conference.

Previous season

The Leathernecks finished the 2024–25 season 12–19, 6–14 in OVC play, to finish in tenth place.^[1] They failed to qualify for the OVC tournament, as onlt the top eight teams make it.^[2]

Preseason

On October 14, 2025, the OVC released their preseason polls. Western Illinois was picked to finish 11th (last) in the conference.^[3]

Preseason rankings

ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll
Place	Team	Votes
1	Little Rock	188 (12)
2	Southeast Missouri State	177 (6)
3	SIU Edwardsville	163 (1)
4	Tennessee State	135 (1)
T-5	Lindenwood	100
T-5	Morehead State	100
7	Tennessee Tech	80
8	UT Martin	79
9	Southern Indiana	67 (2)
10	Eastern Illinois	63
11	Western Illinois	57
(#) first-place votes

Source:^[3]

Players to Watch

Each OVC team selected two "Players to Watch" for their team.

Players to Watch
Player	Position	Year
Lucas Lorenzen	Guard	Junior
Antwaun Massey	Forward	Senior

Source:^[3]

Roster

2025–26 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Tyran Cook	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Indiana State	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
F	1	Jack Riley	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jr	Northern Oklahoma-Tonkowa	Delafield, Wisconsin
G	2	Marcus Pigram	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jr	Gulf Coast State College	Chicago, Illinois
G	3	Lucas Lorenzen	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jr	Dordt	Milford, Iowa
F	5	Karyiek Dixon	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Sr	Emporia State	London, England
G	10	Jake Edwards	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Winfield Mount Union High School	Winfield, Iowa
F	11	Ifiok Peter	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	RS So	Cal State Monterey Bay	Las Vegas, Nevada
F	12	Isaiah Griffin	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	GS	Idaho State	Raleigh, North Carolina
G	13	Makai Kvamme	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Fr	DePaul College Prep	Chicago, Illinois
G	14	Steven Tipton	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	Sr	Northern Illinois	Brookfield, Wisconsin
F	15	Francis Okwuosah	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	GS	William Woods	Powder Springs, Georgia
F	22	Goanar Biliew	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	GS	Bradley	Denison, Iowa
G/F	23	Danny Stephens	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	RS Fr	Missouri	Bowen, Illinois
F	45	Antwaun Massey	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Southern Illinois	Olathe, Kansas
F	50	Nick Hittle	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	GS	Southern Indiana	Indianapolis, Indiana

Head coach

Chad Boudreau (Hannibal–LaGrange)

Assistant coach(es)

Bryan Martin (Simpson)
Kris Glover (Missouri)
Chuck Ruffing (Concordia–Chicago)
Solon Ellis (UW–Stout)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: December 11, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+	at Radford	L 75–80	0–1	Dedmon Center (1,767) Radford, VA
November 7, 2025* 6:00 pm, B1G+	at Iowa	L 58–77	0–2	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,978) Iowa City, IA
November 11, 2025* 8:30 pm, ESPN+	at Cal State Bakersfield	L 58–74	0–3	Icardo Center (394) Bakersfield, CA
November 14, 2025* 9:30 pm, ESPN+	at California Baptist	L 59–69	0–4	Fowler Events Center (5,088) Riverside, CA
November 17, 2025* 7:30 pm, ESPN+	Coe	W 74–63	1–4	Western Hall (250) Macomb, IL
November 21, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+	Coastal Carolina	L 64–84	1–5	Western Hall (655) Macomb, IL
November 23, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+	North Dakota	L 69–78	1–6	Western Hall (722) Macomb, IL
November 30, 2025* 3:00 pm, ESPN+	St. Ambrose	W 89–73	2–6	Western Hall (368) Macomb, IL
December 2, 2025* 6:30 pm, ESPN+	at Drake	L 57–108	2–7	Knapp Center (2,760) Des Moines, IA
December 6, 2025* 1:00 pm, ESPN+	Hannibal–LaGrange	W 78–47	3–7	Western Hall (428) Macomb, IL
December 13, 2025* 1:00 pm, SLN	at North Dakota	W 69–66 ^OT	4–7	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,528) Grand Forks, ND
OVC regular season
December 18, 2025 7:30 pm, ESPN+	at Lindenwood	L 76–92	4–8 (0–1)	Robert F. Hyland Arena (1,034) St. Charles, MO
December 22, 2025 3:30 pm, ESPN+	SIU Edwardsville	L 61–66	4–9 (0–2)	Western Hall (628) Macomb, IL
January 1, 2026 3:30 pm, ESPN+	at UT Martin			Skyhawk Arena Martin, TN
January 3, 2026 3:30 pm, ESPN+	at Southeast Missouri State			Show Me Center Cape Girardeau, MO
January 8, 2026 7:30 pm, ESPN+	Tennessee State			Western Hall Macomb, IL
January 10, 2026 3:30 pm, ESPN+	Tennessee Tech			Western Hall Macomb, IL
January 13, 2026 7:30 pm, ESPN+	at Eastern Illinois			Groniger Arena Charleston, IL
January 17, 2026 3:30 pm, ESPN+	at Little Rock			Jack Stephens Center Little Rock, AR
January 22, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+	at Morehead State			Ellis Johnson Arena Morehead, KY
January 24, 2026 3:30 pm, ESPN+	at Southern Indiana			Liberty Arena Evansville, IN
January 29, 2026 7:30 pm, ESPN+	Southeast Missouri State			Western Hall Macomb, IL
January 31, 2026 3:30 pm, ESPN+	UT Martin			Western Hall Macomb, IL
February 5, 2026 7:30 pm, ESPN+	at Tennessee Tech			Hooper Eblen Center Cookeville, TN
February 7, 2026 3:30 pm, ESPN+	at Tennessee State			Gentry Center Nashville, TN
February 10, 2026 7:30 pm, ESPN+	Eastern Illinois			Western Hall Macomb, IL
February 12, 2026 7:30 pm, ESPN+	Little Rock			Western Hall Macomb, IL
February 19, 2026 7:30 pm, ESPN+	Southern Indiana			Western Hall Macomb, IL
February 21, 2026 3:30 pm, ESPN+	Morehead State			Western Hall Macomb, IL
February 26, 2026 7:30 pm, ESPN+	at SIU Edwardsville			First Community Arena Edwardsville, IL
February 28, 2026 3:30 pm, ESPN+	Lindenwood			Western Hall Macomb, IL
OVC tournament
March 4–7, 2026	vs.			Ford Center Evansville, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[4]^[5]

References

^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
^ "OVC Basketball Tournament bracket, TV schedule, scores". The Tennessean. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Little Rock Picked as 2025-26 OVC Men's Basketball Favorites". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Western Illinois University Athletics. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
^ "Western Illinois Leathernecks 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 11, 2025.

[1] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved December 11, 2025.

[2] "OVC Basketball Tournament bracket, TV schedule, scores". The Tennessean. Retrieved December 11, 2025.

[poll-3] "Little Rock Picked as 2025-26 OVC Men's Basketball Favorites". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved December 11, 2025.

[4] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Western Illinois University Athletics. Retrieved December 11, 2025.

[5] "Western Illinois Leathernecks 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 11, 2025.

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[5]

Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball
Venues	Peoria Armory / Hewitt Gymnasium (1904–1937) Western Hall (1964–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 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