2025–26 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team

2025–26 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball
2025–26 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	7–6 (1–1 MVC)
Head coach	Eric Henderson (1st season);
Assistant coaches	Rob Klinkefus; Tramel Barnes; Billy Brown; Warren Niles; Gavin Block;
Home arena	Knapp Center; (Capacity: 6,424)

2025–26 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Belmont	2	–	0	1.000	12	–	1	.923
Illinois State	2	–	0	1.000	10	–	3	.769
Murray State	2	–	0	1.000	10	–	3	.769
Bradley	2	–	0	1.000	9	–	4	.692
Northern Iowa	1	–	0	1.000	9	–	3	.750
Drake	1	–	1	.500	7	–	6	.538
Valparaiso	0	–	1	.000	6	–	6	.500
Indiana State	0	–	2	.000	7	–	6	.538
Southern Illinois	0	–	2	.000	6	–	7	.462
UIC	0	–	2	.000	4	–	8	.333
Evansville	0	–	2	.000	4	–	9	.308

† 2026 MVC tournament winner As of December 22, 2025

The 2025–26 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represents Drake University in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by Eric Henderson in his first season as head coach, will play their home games at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).

The Bulldogs will debut their third head coach in three years, after previous head coach Ben McCollum left the team after just one season to take the head coach position at Iowa.^[1] On March 28, Drake named South Dakota State's Eric Henderson as the team's new head coach.^[2]

Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2024-25 season 27–3, 17-3 in MVC play to finish in first place. In the MVC tournament, they defeated Southern Illinois, Belmont, and Bradley to win the tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 11 seed in the West region, where they upset Missouri in the first round, earning Drake's first NCAA tournament win since 1971. In the second round, they lost to No. 3 seed Texas Tech.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Cam Manyawu	3	F	6'8"	230	So	Kansas City, MO	Transferred to Iowa
Isaiah Jackson	4	G	6'3"	180	GS	Independence, MO	Graduated
Tavion Banks	6	G/F	6'7"	200	Jr	Kansas City, MO	Transferred to Iowa
Kael Combs	11	G	6'4"	190	So	Nixa, MO	Transferred to Iowa
Bennett Stirtz	14	G	6'4"	180	Jr	Liberty, MO	Transferred to Iowa
Mitch Mascari	22	G	6'5"	200	GS	Geneva, IL	Graduated
Isaia Howard	23	G	6'5"	200	Fr	Plattsburg, MO	Transferred to Iowa
Nate Ferguson	24	F	6'8"	220	RS Sr	Lemont, IL	Graduated
Joey Matteoni	44	F	6'8"	215	Fr	Overland Park, KS	Transferred to Iowa
Daniel Abreu	54	F	6'6"	220	GS	Springfield, MO	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Braden Appelhans	0	G	6'6"	190	RS Jr	Blue Springs, MO	New Mexico
Owen Larson	1	G	6'1"	190	So	Estherville, IA	South Dakota State
Jalen Quinn	3	G	6'3"	190	Sr	Tuscola, IL	Loyola Chicago
Wilguens Jr. Exacte	7	F	6'6"	230	Jr	Montreal, QC	Bowling Green
Okku Federiko	8	F	6'9"	210	So	Helsinki, FI	South Carolina
Jaehshon Thomas	22	G	6'3"	185	Sr	Aurora, IL	Charlotte
Isaiah Carr	24	C	6'11"	235	Sr	Las Cruces, NM	Denver

2025 Recruiting Class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Griffen Goodbary PF	Sioux Falls, SD	Sioux Falls Christian	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	250 lb (110 kg)	Nov 14, 2024
Griffen Goodbary PF	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
LJ Rush PG	Wendell, NC	1 of 1 Academy	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	168 lb (76 kg)	-
LJ Rush PG	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Bryson Bahl SF	Papillion, NE	Papillion-La Vista South	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Apr 2, 2025
Bryson Bahl SF	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Heri Bukinga F/C	Goma, DRC	DME Academy	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	-
Heri Bukinga F/C	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Overall recruit ranking: 247Sports: 242 On3: - ESPN: -
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. Retrieved October 28, 2025.

Preseason

The Bulldogs entered the season as the defending Arch Madness champions and were picked to finish sixth in the conference for the upcoming season.^[3] Senior transfers Jalen Quinn, Isaiah Carr, and Jaehshon Thomas were named to the 2025-26 MVC Men's Basketball "Players to Watch" list.^[4]

On October 11, the Bulldogs traveled to Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas to take on the Wichita State Shockers in a non-traditional scrimmage. There was no official score kept, and although fans could attend and watch the event, no winner or loser was declared. Drake coach Eric Henderson stated that fans "[Shouldn't] read too much into [the result]. Both teams had moments where they were pretty good, and we both learned a lot about our teams."^[5]

Roster

2025–26 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Braden Appelhans	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS Jr	New Mexico	Blue Springs, MO
G	1	Owen Larson	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	South Dakota State	Estherville, IA
F	2	Griffen Goodbary	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Fr	Sioux Falls Christian	Sioux Falls, SD
G	3	Jalen Quinn	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	Loyola Chicago	Tuscola, IL
F	7	Wilguens Jr. Exacte	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Jr	Bowling Green	Montreal, QC
F	8	Okku Federiko	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	South Carolina	Helsinki, FI
G	10	Eli Shetlar	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS So	Indiana State	Wichita, KS
G	11	LJ Rush	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	1 of 1 Academy	Wendell, NC
G	20	Bryson Bahl	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Papillion-La Vista South	Papillion, NE
G	21	Andrew Alia	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS Jr	St Joseph	Kenosha, WI
G	22	Jaehshon Thomas	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Charlotte	Aurora, IL
C	24	Isaiah Carr	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Sr	Denver	Las Cruces, NM
C	32	Heri Bukinga	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Fr	DME Sports Academy	Goma, DRC

Head coach

Eric Henderson (Wayne State (NE))

Assistant coach(es)

Rob Klinkefus (Buena Vista)
(Drake)
Tramel Barnes (Southwest Minnesota State)
Billy Brown (North Dakota)
Warren Niles (Oral Roberts)
Gavin Block (Ohio)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 19, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-Conference Regular Season
November 3, 2025* 3:00 pm, YouTube	vs. Northern Arizona Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon	W 77–71	1–0	20 – Quinn	12 – Exacte	4 – Exacte	Sanford Pentagon (1,420) Sioux Falls, SD
November 6, 2025* 6:30 pm, ESPN+	Robert Morris	L 79–81	1–1	20 – Quinn	15 – Federiko	3 – Quinn	Knapp Center (3,142) Des Moines, IA
November 10, 2025* 6:30 pm, ESPN+	Simpson (IA)	W 89–51	2–1	15 – Appelhans	8 – Exacte	5 – Quinn	Knapp Center (3,164) Des Moines, IA
November 14, 2025* 6:30 pm, ESPN+	SIUE	L 59–61	2–2	12 – Tied	8 – Federiko	3 – Tied	Knapp Center (3,234) Des Moines, IA
November 17, 2025* 6:00 pm, FloSports	at Charleston	W 71–62	3–2	17 – Quinn	9 – Shetlar	4 – Exacte	TD Arena (4,786) Charleston, SC
November 21, 2025* 6:30 pm, ESPN+	Buena Vista	W 98–52	4–2	16 – Federiko	7 – Exacte	6 – Federiko	Knapp Center (3,277) Des Moines, IA
November 28, 2025* 8:30 pm, CBSSN	vs. LSU Emerald Coast Classic semifinals	L 62-71	4−3	20 – Quinn	6 – Tied	5 – Goodbary	Raider Arena (1,800) Niceville, FL
November 29, 2025* 4:00 pm, CBSSN	vs. Georgia Tech Emerald Coast Classic Consolation Game	W 84-74	5−3	31 – Quinn	8 – Federiko	7 – Quinn	Raider Arena (1,500) Niceville, FL
December 2, 2025* 6:30 pm, MC22/ESPN+	Western Illinois	W 108-57	6−3	30 – Appelhans	8 – Shetlar	6 – Quinn	Knapp Center (2,760) Des Moines, IA
December 5, 2025* 6:30 pm, MC22/ESPN+	UAB	L 69–74	6−4	26 – Quinn	6 – Quinn	2 – Tied	Knapp Center (3,560) Des Moines, IA
December 13, 2025* 1:00 pm, MC22/ESPN+	North Dakota State	L 94-99	6−5	24 – Quinn	6 – Tied	6 – Quinn	Knapp Center (3,056) Des Moines, IA
Conference Regular Season
December 18, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Murray State	L 72–81	6–6 (0–1)	19 – Quinn	8 – Larson	3 – Larson	CFSB Center (4,377) Murray, KY
December 21, 2025 3:00 pm, ESPN+	at Evansville	W 66–65	7–6 (1–1)	18 – Thomas	7 – Shetlar	2 – Tied	Ford Center (4,207) Evansville, IN
December 29, 2025 8:00 pm, Gray Media/ESPN+	Illinois State						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
January 4, 2026 TBD	Indiana State						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
January 7, 2026 8:00 pm, Gray Media/ESPN+	at Bradley						Carver Arena Peoria, IL
January 10, 2026 TBD	Belmont						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
January 14, 2026 7:00 pm	at Southern Illinois						Banterra Center Carbondale, IN
January 17, 2026 TBD	at UIC						Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL
January 21, 2026 TBD	Murray State						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
January 24, 2026 TBD	at Indiana State						Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN
January 28, 2026 6:30 pm, MC22/ESPN+	Evansville						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
January 31, 2026 5:00 pm, CBSSN	Bradley						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
February 3, 2026 8:00 pm, Gray Media/ESPN+	at Belmont						Curb Event Center Nashville, TN
February 6, 2026 TBD	at Illinois State						CEFCU Arena Normal, IL
February 9, 2026 6:30 pm, MC22/ESPN+	Valparaiso						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
February 12, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+	UIC						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
February 15, 2026 TBD	at Northern Iowa Rivalry						McLeod Center Cedar Falls, IA
February 18, 2026 TBD	Southern Illinois						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
February 25, 2026 7:00 pm	at Valparaiso						Athletics-Recreation Center Valparaiso, IN
March 1, 2026 TBD	Northern Iowa Rivalry						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
Conference Tournament
March 2026 TBD	vs. TBD Arch Madness						Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[6]

Player statistics

Individual player statistics
			Minutes		Scoring		Total FGs			3-point FGs			Free-Throws			Rebounds
Player	GP	GS	Tot	Avg	Pts	Avg	FG	FGA	Pct	3FG	3FGA	Pct	FT	FTA	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Avg	A	Stl	Blk	TO
Alia, Andrew	10	9	303	30.3	61	6.1	21	47	.447	15	30	.500	4	5	.800	8	23	31	3.1	14	11	2	6
Applehans, Braden	10	0	216	21.6	100	10.0	35	79	.443	26	56	.464	4	6	.667	4	17	21	2.1	8	3	3	7
Carr, Isaiah	9	1	94	10.4	29	3.2	11	20	.550	0	1	.000	7	10	.700	7	18	25	2.8	7	3	8	4
Exacte, Wilguens Jr.	10	10	236	23.6	91	9.1	33	76	.434	7	28	.250	18	27	.667	15	43	58	5.8	23	6	6	17
Federiko, Okku	10	10	242	24.2	123	12.3	45	73	.616	5	20	.250	28	40	.700	25	42	67	6.7	14	4	15	12
Goodbary, Griffen	10	0	127	12.7	36	3.6	13	28	.464	3	11	.273	7	11	.636	9	24	33	3.3	14	2	4	5
Larson, Owen	1	0	11	11.0	3	3.0	1	4	.250	1	3	.333	0	0		0	1	1	1.0	1	0	0	0
Quinn, Jalen	10	10	328	32.8	183	18.3	62	130	.477	11	34	.324	48	57	.842	9	37	46	4.6	38	13	1	18
Shetlar, Eli	10	0	217	21.7	59	5.9	20	53	.377	14	43	.326	5	7	.714	4	36	40	4.0	12	10	3	4
Thomas, Jaehshon	10	10	252	25.2	111	11.1	39	94	.415	16	40	.400	17	21	.810	2	21	23	2.3	19	10	2	9
Total	10				796	79.6	280	604	.464	98	266	.368	138	184	.750	99	283	382	38.2	150	62	44	88
Opponents	5				326	65.2	124	330	.376	43	139	.309	35	54	.648	65	140	205	41.0	62	31	10	59

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	Avg	Average per game
FG	Field-goals made	FGA	Field-goal attempts	Off	Offensive rebounds
Def	Defensive rebounds	A	Assists	TO	Turnovers
Blk	Blocks	Stl	Steals	High	Team high

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

^ Wingert, Kelby (March 25, 2025). ": Ben McCollum leaves Drake for Iowa basketball job". KCCI. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
^ "Drake turns to SDSU's Henderson as next coach". ESPN.com. March 28, 2025. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
^ "MVC Preseason Power Rankings". msn.com. October 4, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
^ "2025-26 MVC Men's Basketball Players to Watch". mvc-sports.com. October 15, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
^ "Who won the Wichita State-Drake basketball scrimmage? It's complicated". msn.com. October 12, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Drake University Athletics.

[1] Wingert, Kelby (March 25, 2025). ": Ben McCollum leaves Drake for Iowa basketball job". KCCI. Retrieved April 1, 2025.

[2] "Drake turns to SDSU's Henderson as next coach". ESPN.com. March 28, 2025. Retrieved April 1, 2025.

[3] "MVC Preseason Power Rankings". msn.com. October 4, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.

[4] "2025-26 MVC Men's Basketball Players to Watch". mvc-sports.com. October 15, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.

[5] "Who won the Wichita State-Drake basketball scrimmage? It's complicated". msn.com. October 12, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.

[6] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Drake University Athletics.

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[5]

[6]

Drake Bulldogs men's basketball
Venues	The Shed (1907–1909) Alumni Gymnasium (1910–1919) Des Moines Coliseum (1920–1926) Drake Fieldhouse (1927–1957) Veterans Memorial Auditorium (1957–1992) Knapp Center (1992–present)
Rivalries	Northern Iowa
Culture & lore	Iowa "Big Four"
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 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
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics