2025–26 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team

2025–26 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball
ConferenceMid-American Conference
Record6–7 (0–1 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Jeff Rutter
  • Manny Dosanjh
  • Tyler Kelly
  • Thomas Kithier
  • Sam Little
Home arenaUniversity Arena
2025–26 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Miami (OH) 1 0   1.000 13 0   1.000
Buffalo 1 0   1.000 11 2   .846
Kent State 1 0   1.000 10 2   .833
Bowling Green 1 0   1.000 10 3   .769
Akron 1 0   1.000 9 3   .750
Northern Illinois 1 0   1.000 5 7   .417
Toledo 0 0   6 6   .500
UMass 0 1   .000 9 4   .692
Eastern Michigan 0 1   .000 6 7   .462
Ohio 0 1   .000 6 7   .462
Western Michigan 0 1   .000 6 7   .462
Central Michigan 0 1   .000 4 9   .308
Ball State 0 1   .000 3 9   .250
2026 MAC tournament winner
As of December 22, 2025

The 2025–26 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team represents Western Michigan University during the 2025-26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Broncos, led by fourth-year head coach Dwayne Stephens, play their home games at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Michigan as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

Previous season

The Broncos finished the 2024-25 season 12–20, 9–9 in MAC play, to finish in a tie for sixth place.[1] As the 6th seed in the MAC Tournament, they would lose 3rd seed Kent State in the Quarterfinals.

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Donovan Williams 0 G 6' 5" 220 Graduate student Rockford, IL Graduated
Marquese Josephs 1 G 6' 1" 200 Sophomore Toronto, ON Transferred to Saginaw Valley State
Chansey Willis Jr. 2 G 6' 2" 190 Junior Detroit, MI Transferred to Minnesota
JaVaughn Hannah 4 G 6' 4" 205 Junior Mount Clemens, MI Transferred to San Jose State
Brandon Muntu 7 G 6' 4" 190 RS Junior Calgary, AB Transferred to Tennessee Tech
Hutch Ward 12 F 6' 7" 210 Sophomore Kalamazoo, MI Left team
Seryee Lewis 15 F 6' 9" 240 RS Sophomore Chicago, IL Transferred to Prairie View A&M
Owen Lobsinger 20 F 6' 9" 225 Senior Flint, MI Graduated
Markhi Strickland 22 G/F 6' 6" 210 RS Junior Miami, FL Transferred to North Dakota State
Josh Thomas 23 G/F 6' 6" 185 RS Freshman Lincolnshire, IL Transferred to Saginaw Valley State
Jack Stefanski 33 F 6' 6" 205 RS Junior Frankfort, MI Transferred to Saginaw Valley State

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school
Trey Lewis 1 G 6' 6" 200 RS Junior Ferndale, MI Purdue Fort Wayne
Jalen Griffith 2 G 5' 10" 150 Junior Chicago, IL Navarro
Hudson Ward 8 F 6' 7" 220 Sophomore Leduc, AB Penn State
Justice Williams 11 G 6' 4" 185 RS Senior Philadelphia, PA Robert Morris
Jayden Brewer 12 G 6' 6" 160 Senior Indianapolis, IN FIU
Declan Peterson 22 C 6' 11" 250 Senior Bentley, AB Calgary

Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown School Height Weight Commit date
Sharod Barnes
G
Ypsilanti, MI St. Mary's Preparatory 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg)  
Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (N/A)
Brady Swartz
G/F
Grand Rapids, MI Northview High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg)  
Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (N/A)
Camden Thompson
G
Whitehall, MI Whitehall Senior High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg)  
Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (N/A)
Carson Vis
G
Byron Center, MI South Christian High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg)  
Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (N/A)
Overall recruit ranking:
  • 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 Team Ranking". Rivals.

Preseason

On October 21, 2025, the MAC released the preseason coaches poll. Western Michigan was picked to finish tenth in the MAC regular season.[2]

Preseason rankings

MAC preseason poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Akron 143 (11)
2 Miami (OH) 133 (2)
3 Kent State 122
4 Ohio 108
5 UMass 98
6 Toledo 95
7 Bowling Green 73
8 Ball State 62
9 Eastern Michigan 52
10 Western Michigan 46
11 Buffalo 37
12 Central Michigan 31
13 Northern Illinois 14

MAC Tournament Champions: Akron (8), Miami (OH) (2), Kent State (1), Ohio (1), UMass (1)

Source[2]

Roster

2025–26 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Sharod Barnes 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Orchard Lake St. Mary's Ypsilanti, MI
G 1 Trey Lewis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr Purdue Fort Wayne Ferndale, MI
G 2 Jalen Griffith 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Jr Navarro College Chicago, IL
G 3 EJ Ryans 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Northview High School Grand Rapids, MI
G/F 4 Brady Swartz 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Northview High School Grand Rapids, MI
G 7 Carson Vis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Grand Rapids South Christian Byron Center, MI
F 8 Hudson Ward 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Penn State Leduc, AB
G 9 Nicholas Errica 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Fr Luiss Roma Cremona, Italy
F 10 Max Burton 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Jr Williamston High School Williamston, MI
G 11 Justice Williams 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Sr Robert Morris Philadelphia, PA
G 12 Jayden Brewer 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Sr FIU Indianapolis, IN
C 22 Declan Peterson 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Sr Calgary Bentley, AB
G 23 Camden Thompson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Whitehall Senior High School Whitehall, MI
F 24 Michael Sulaka 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS So De La Salle High School Macomb, MI
F 52 Junior Sileu 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Fr AZ Compass Prep Douala, Cameroon
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: November 21, 2025

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 29, 2025*
7:00 p.m.
Kalamazoo W 80–39 
   -     -     -  University Arena 
Kalamazoo, MI
Regular season
November 3, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Coastal Carolina
MAC–SBC Challenge
W 76–71  1–0
 15  Griffith   8  Brewer   7  Burton  University Arena (1,443)
Kalamazoo, MI
November 6, 2025*
7:00 p.m.
Northwood L 81–85  1–1
 24  Brewer   12  Brewer   3  tied  University Arena (1,222)
Kalamazoo, MI
November 9, 2025*
12:30 p.m., FloHoops
at Campbell L 82–91  1–2
 19  Griffith   6  tied   7  Griffith  Gore Arena (1,392)
Buies Creek, NC
November 12, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Purdue Fort Wayne W 83–71  2–2
 26  Brewer   12  Brewer   6  Griffith  University Arena (1,123)
Kalamazoo, MI
November 16, 2025*
2:00 p.m., SLN
at South Dakota L 78–83  2–3
 20  Brewer   10  tied   4  tied  Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,234)
Vermillion, SD
November 20, 2025*
8:00 p.m., BTN
at Ohio State L 58–91  2–4
 20  Swartz   9  Swartz   3  Ryans  Value City Arena (8,294)
Columbus, OH
November 23, 2025*
3:00 p.m., ESPN+
Mount St. Mary's W 83–60  3–4
 30  Griffith   6  Swartz   5  Burton  University Arena (1,284)
Kalamazoo, MI
November 29, 2025*
3:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Valparaiso L 55–84  3–5
 18  Dease   9  Tupuola   3  tied  Athletics–Recreation Center (1,107)
Valparaiso, IN
December 3, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Southern Indiana W 88–74  4–5
 26  Brewer   10  Brewer   4  tied  University Arena (1,029)
Kalamazoo, MI
December 6, 2025*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
at SIU Edwardsville W 83–73  5–5
 28  Griffith   7  tied   10  Griffith  First Community Arena (1,497)
Edwardsville, IL
December 14, 2025*
3:00 p.m., BTN
at Iowa L 51–91  5–6
 11  tied   7  Ward   5  Griffith  Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,341)
Iowa City, IA
December 20, 2025
1:00 p.m., ESPN+
Buffalo L 71–88  5–7
(0–1)
 18  Griffith   7  Brewer   6  Ryans  University Arena (1,403)
Kalamazoo, MI
December 22, 2025*
1:00 p.m., ESPN+
Defiance W 94–57  6–7
 16  Griffith   8  Brewer   6  Griffith  University Arena (1,171)
Kalamazoo, MI
December 30, 2025
6:30 p.m., ESPN+
at Toledo       Savage Arena 
Toledo, OH
January 6, 2026
7:00 p.m.
at Miami (OH)       Millett Hall 
Oxford, OH
January 10, 2026
1:00 p.m., ESPN+
Eastern Michigan       University Arena 
Kalamazoo, MI
January 13, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
UMass       University Arena 
Kalamazoo, MI
January 17, 2026
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Akron       James A. Rhodes Arena 
Akron, OH
January 20, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Bowling Green       University Arena 
Kalamazoo, MI
January 24, 2026
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Central Michigan       University Arena 
Kalamazoo, MI
January 27, 2026
8:00 p.m.
at Northern Illinois       Convocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
February 3, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Ohio       Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
February 7, 2026
TBD
MAC–SBC Challenge
      TBD 
TBD
February 11, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Toledo       University Arena 
Kalamazoo, MI
February 14, 2026
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Eastern Michigan       George Gervin GameAbove Center 
Ypsilanti, MI
February 17, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Akron       University Arena 
Kalamazoo, MI
February 21, 2026
ESPN+
at Central Michigan       McGuirk Arena 
Mount Pleasant, MI
February 24, 2026
7:00 p.m.
at Bowling Green       Stroh Center 
Bowling Green, OH
February 28, 2026
2:30 p.m., ESPN+
Miami (OH)       University Arena 
Kalamazoo, MI
March 3, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Ball State       University Arena 
Kalamazoo, MI
March 6, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Kent State       MAC Center 
Kent, OH
MAC tournament
March 12–14, 2026
vs.        Rocket Arena 
Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Sources:[3][4]

References

  1. ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "MAC Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, All-MAC Teams". getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference. October 21, 2025. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  3. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Western Michigan University Athletics. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  4. ^ "Western Michigan Broncos Schedule 2025-26". ESPN. Retrieved November 18, 2025.