2025–26 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team

2025–26 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball
2025–26 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	3–7 (0–0 MAC)
Head coach	Rashon Burno (5th season);
Assistant coaches	Drew Gladstone; Antwon Jackson; Jacob Kurtz; Eric Rwahwire; Eduardo Fernandez;
Home arena	Convocation Center

2025–26 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Miami (OH)	0	–	0	–	11	–	0	1.000
Buffalo	0	–	0	–	9	–	2	.818
Kent State	0	–	0	–	9	–	2	.818
Akron	0	–	0	–	8	–	3	.727
Bowling Green	0	–	0	–	8	–	3	.727
UMass	0	–	0	–	8	–	3	.727
Eastern Michigan	0	–	0	–	6	–	5	.545
Ohio	0	–	0	–	5	–	6	.455
Toledo	0	–	0	–	5	–	6	.455
Western Michigan	0	–	0	–	5	–	6	.455
Central Michigan	0	–	0	–	4	–	7	.364
Northern Illinois	0	–	0	–	4	–	7	.364
Ball State	0	–	0	–	3	–	8	.273

† 2026 MAC tournament winner As of December 17, 2025

The 2025–26 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team represents Northern Illinois University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Huskies, led by fifth-year head coach Rashon Burno, play their home games at the Convocation Center in DeKalb, Illinois as members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

Previous season

The Huskies finished the 2024–25 season 6–25, 2–16 in MAC play, to finish in last place.^[1] They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament, as only the top eight teams qualify.^[2]

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Dominic Gooden	0	G	6' 5"	180	Junior	Cleveland, OH	Transferred to Minnesota State–Moorhead^[3]
Quentin Jones	1	G	6' 5"	180	Sophomore	Chicago, IL	Transferred to Saint Louis^[4]
Tsvet Sotirov	2	F	6' 9"	210	RS Freshman	Rolling Meadows, IL	Transferred to Georgia Southern^[5]
Joe Munden Jr.	3	G	6' 4"	199	Graduate Student	Harlem, NY	Graduated
Oluwasegun Durosinmi	4	F	6' 9"	243	Senior	Lagos, Nigeria	Graduated
Kailon Nicholls	5	G	6' 0"	160	Sophomore	Toronto, ON	Transferred to Angelo State^[6]
Nasir Muhammad	7	G	6' 2"	186	Sophomore	Brooklyn, NY	Transferred to Albany^[7]
Jayden Mott	11	F	6' 8"	210	Freshman	Midwest City, OK	Transferred to Central Connecticut^[8]
Peyton Ackerman	12	G	5' 10"	150	RS Sophomore	Oklahoma City, OK	Transferred to Oklahoma City
James Dent Jr.	14	G	6' 5"	170	Senior	Springfield, IL	Transferred to Middle Tennessee^[9]
Ethan Butler	15	F	6' 7"	220	Junior	Toronto, ON	Transferred to Charlotte^[10]
Leo Amari IV	20	G	6' 2"	170	Sophomore	Sherman Oaks, CA	Transferred to Evansville
David Mack	21	G	5' 10"	160	Freshman	Los Angeles, CA	Transferred to Cerritos
Steven Tipton	22	G	6' 2"	183	Junior	Brookfield, WI	Transferred to Western Illinois
Mo Sall	23	G	6' 5"	185	Junior	Downers Grove, IL	Transferred to Roosevelt
Quaran McPherson	24	G	6' 4"	197	RS Junior	South Jamaica, NY	Transferred to UAB^[4]

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Gianni Cobb	0	G	6' 0"	150	Sophomore	Chicago, IL	Columbia
Makhai Valentine	1	G	6' 3"	190	Sophomore	Munhall, PA	Missouri State
Daemar Kelly	3	G	6' 5"	195	Junior	Pittsburgh, PA	St. Francis (PA)
JJ Taylor	4	F	6' 8"	196	Junior	Chicago, IL	Central Florida
Hassan 'Tre' Washington	7	F	6' 8"	240	Junior	Providence, RI	Monroe University
Jao Ituka	10	G	6' 1"	196	Junior	Gaithersburg, MD	Jacksonville State
Isaiah Washington	11	G	6' 5"	185	RS Freshman	Fayetteville, NC	UNC Greensboro
Lataevyon Taylor	15	G	6' 0"	160	Sophomore	Chicago, IL	Western Oklahoma State
Jaylen Wharton	23	F	6' 9"	200	RS Junior	Plant City, FL	South Florida

Preseason

On October 21, 2025 the MAC released the preseason coaches poll. Northern Illinois was picked to finish last in the MAC regular season.^[11]

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 (2), Kent State (1), Ohio (1), UMass (1) ^[11]

Roster

2025–26 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Gianni Cobb	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	150 lb (68 kg)	So	Columbia	Chicago, IL
G	1	Makhai Valentine	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Missouri State	Munhall, PA
G	2	Carlos Coronado	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Fr	Supreme Academy	Coolidge, AZ
G	3	Daemar Kelly	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jr	Saint Francis (PA)	Pittsburgh, PA
F	4	JJ Taylor	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	Jr	Central Florida	Chicago, IL
G	6	Taj Walters	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Fr	Moravian Prep	Bronx, NY
F	7	Hassan 'Tre' Washington	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Jr	Monroe University	Providence, RI
F	8	Ladji Kante	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	–	Marseille, France
G	10	Jao Ituka	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	Jr	Jacksonville State	Gaithersburg, MD
G	11	Isaiah Washington	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	RS Fr	UNC Greensboro	Fayetteville, NC
G	15	Lataevyon Taylor	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	So	Western Oklahoma	Chicago, IL
G/F	16	Isaiah Stewart	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Big Tyme Prep	Rockwall, TX
G	21	Max Laskey	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	IMG Academy	Birmingham, MI
F	23	Jaylen Wharton	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Jr	South Florida	Plant City, FL
G	25	Dylan Ducommun	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	–	Geneva, Switzerland
F	96	Gustav Winther	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	–	Roskilde, Denmark

Head coach

Rashon Burno (DePaul)

Assistant coach(es)

Drew Gladstone (DePaul)
Antwon Jackson (Pikeville)
Jacob Kurtz (Florida)
Eric Rwahwire (UC Riverside)
Eduardo Fernandez (UTEP)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 29, 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* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	ULM MAC-SBC Challenge	W 102–82	1–0	19 – Ituka	10 – Winther	10 – Cobb	Convocation Center (1,071) Dekalb, IL
November 7, 2025* 7:30 p.m., BTN	at No. 24 Wisconsin	L 72–97	1–1	17 – Taylor	5 – Ituka	3 – Cobb	Kohl Center (15,222) Madison, WI
November 10, 2025* 8:00 p.m., Mountain West Network	at Grand Canyon	L 59–88	1–2	12 – Kelly	4 – Valentine	3 – Kelly	Global Credit Union Arena (7,008) Phoenix, AZ
November 13, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Benedictine	W 117–62	2–2	18 – Kelly	7 – Valentine	5 – Cobb	Convocation Center (876) DeKalb, IL
November 18, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Northern Iowa Acrisure Series on-campus game	L 57–70	2–3	12 – Ducommun	5 – Valentine	7 – Ducommun	McLeod Center (3,283) Cedar Falls, IA
November 21, 2025* 7:00 p.m., Marquee Sports Network	at Loyola Chicago Acrisure Series on-campus game	W 76–59	3–3	24 – Ducommun	10 – Walters	6 – Ducommun	Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,862) Chicago, IL
November 25, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Austin Peay Acrisure Series on-campus game	L 59–77	3–4	12 – Cobb	4 – Kelly	2 – Cobb	F&M Bank Arena (1,833) Clarksville, TN
November 29, 2025* 2 p.m., ESPN+	Bellarmine	Canceled due to inclement weather^[12]					Convocation Center Dekalb, IL
December 2, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Lindenwood	L 64–99	3–5	17 – Valentine	5 – Cobb	4 – Ducommun	Convocation Center (824) DeKalb, IL
December 6, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Bradley	L 55–84	3–6	17 – Ducommun	8 – Winther	3 – Cobb	Carver Arena (5,750) Peoria, IL
December 13, 2025* 12:00 p.m., FloCollege	at Elon	L 79–85	3–7	17 – Valentine	10 – Valentine	5 – Kelly	Schar Center (1,092) Elon, NC
December 16, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	East-West						Convocation Center DeKalb, IL
December 20, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Central Michigan						Convocation Center DeKalb, IL
December 30, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Buffalo						Convocation Center DeKalb, IL
January 3, 2026 12:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Kent State						M.A.C. Center Kent, OH
January 6, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Toledo						Convocation Center DeKalb, IL
January 13, 2026 5:30 p.m., ESPN+	at Eastern Michigan						George Gervin GameAbove Center Ypsilanti, MI
January 17, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	UMass						Convocation Center DeKalb, IL
January 20, 2026 6:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Ohio						Convocation Center Athens, OH
January 24, 2026 1 p.m., ESPN+	at Ball State						Worthen Arena Muncie, IN
January 27, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Western Michigan						Convocation Center DeKalb, IL
January 31, 2026 2:30 p.m., ESPN+	at Miami						Millett Hall Oxford, OH
February 7, 2026* TBA, ESPN+	at TBA MAC–SBC Challenge						TBA TBA
February 11, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Bowling Green						Convocation Center DeKalb, IL
February 14, 2026 3:45 p.m., ESPN+	at Central Michigan						McGuirk Arena Mount Pleasant, MI
February 17, 2026 5:30 p.m., ESPN+	at Buffalo						Alumni Arena Buffalo, NY
February 21, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Ohio						Convocation Center DeKalb, IL
February 24, 2026 6:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Toledo						Savage Arena Toledo, OH
February 28, 2026 3:00 p.m., ESPN+	Ball State						Convocation Center DeKalb, IL
March 3, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Kent State						Convocation Center DeKalb, IL
March 6, 2026 6:00 p.m, ESPN+	at Akron						James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH
MAC Tournament
March 12, 2026† TBA, TBA	vs. TBA Quarterfinals						Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Sources:^[13]^[14]

References

^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
^ Fenbers, Robert (March 12, 2025). "Mid-American Conference basketball tournament 2025 schedule, results, TV, ticket info". Cleveland.com. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
^ Eric, Peterson (May 19, 2025). "Dragons men add 3rd D-I transfer, a former junior college scoring ace". InForum. Archived from the original on May 21, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
^ ^a ^b "2025 Northern Illinois Basketball Transfer Portal". On3. Archived from the original on November 30, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
^ "Men's Basketball Signs Transfer Forward Tsvet Sotirov". Georgia Southern University Athletics. May 6, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
^ Harris, Paul (August 22, 2025). "Angelo State Rams Add 5 More Players to Signing Class". sanangelolive.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
^ Shinder, Adam (April 16, 2025). "Northern Illinois transfer Nasir Muhammad commits to UAlbany". Times Union. Archived from the original on April 17, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
^ Gullo, Rob (May 22, 2025). "CCSU Men's basketball adds Northern Illinois transfer Mott". New Britain Herald. Archived from the original on May 25, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
^ "MTSU Men's Basketball signs guard James Dent Jr". Shelbyville Times-Gazette. July 10, 2025. Archived from the original on August 11, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
^ CStandard (May 8, 2025). "Ethan Butler Is A Veteran Voice Who Can Make An Impact For Charlotte Men's Basketball". Collegiate Standard. Archived from the original on May 19, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
^ ^a ^b "MAC Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll & Teams". Mid-American Conference. October 21, 2025. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
^ "Men's Basketball Game vs. Bellarmine Canceled". NIU Athletics. November 27, 2025. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". NIU Athletics. Archived from the original on November 30, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
^ "Northern Illinois Huskies Schedule 2025-26". ESPN. Retrieved November 29, 2025.

[1] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved November 30, 2025.

[2] Fenbers, Robert (March 12, 2025). "Mid-American Conference basketball tournament 2025 schedule, results, TV, ticket info". Cleveland.com. Retrieved November 30, 2025.

[3] Eric, Peterson (May 19, 2025). "Dragons men add 3rd D-I transfer, a former junior college scoring ace". InForum. Archived from the original on May 21, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.

[:0-4] "2025 Northern Illinois Basketball Transfer Portal". On3. Archived from the original on November 30, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.

[5] "Men's Basketball Signs Transfer Forward Tsvet Sotirov". Georgia Southern University Athletics. May 6, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.

[6] Harris, Paul (August 22, 2025). "Angelo State Rams Add 5 More Players to Signing Class". sanangelolive.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.

[7] Shinder, Adam (April 16, 2025). "Northern Illinois transfer Nasir Muhammad commits to UAlbany". Times Union. Archived from the original on April 17, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.

[8] Gullo, Rob (May 22, 2025). "CCSU Men's basketball adds Northern Illinois transfer Mott". New Britain Herald. Archived from the original on May 25, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.

[9] "MTSU Men's Basketball signs guard James Dent Jr". Shelbyville Times-Gazette. July 10, 2025. Archived from the original on August 11, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.

[10] CStandard (May 8, 2025). "Ethan Butler Is A Veteran Voice Who Can Make An Impact For Charlotte Men's Basketball". Collegiate Standard. Archived from the original on May 19, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.

[poll-11] "MAC Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll & Teams". Mid-American Conference. October 21, 2025. Retrieved November 13, 2025.

[12] "Men's Basketball Game vs. Bellarmine Canceled". NIU Athletics. November 27, 2025. Retrieved November 29, 2025.

[13] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". NIU Athletics. Archived from the original on November 30, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.

[14] "Northern Illinois Huskies Schedule 2025-26". ESPN. Retrieved November 29, 2025.

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Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball
Venues	Chick Evans Field House (1956–2002) Convocation Center (2002–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 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