2025–26 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team

2025–26 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Record4–9 (0–0 WAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Will Ryan
  • Donald Williams
  • Shaun Gutting
  • Tennessee Owens
Home arenaAmerica First Event Center
2025–26 WAC men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
California Baptist 0 0   9 3   .750
Utah Valley 0 0   9 3   .750
Tarleton State 0 0   9 4   .692
UT Arlington 0 0   7 4   .636
Abilene Christian 0 0   7 5   .583
Utah Tech 0 0   6 6   .500
Southern Utah 0 0   4 9   .308
† 2026 WAC tournament winner
As of December 19, 2025

The 2025–26 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team represents Southern Utah University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Thunderbirds, led by third-year head coach Rob Jeter, will their home games at America First Event Center in Cedar City, Utah as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

This will be Southern Utah's final season as members of the WAC, as they will be joining the Big Sky Conference, effective July 1, 2026.[1]

Previous season

The Thunderbirds finished the 2024–25 season 12–19, 4–12 in WAC play, to finish in eighth place.[2] They were defeated by Utah Tech in the first round of the WAC tournament.[3]

Preseason

On October 28, 2025, the WAC released their preseason coaches poll. Southern Utah was picked to finish seventh (last) in the conference.[4]

Preseason rankings

WAC Preseason Poll
Place Team Points
1 California Baptist 33 (5)
2 Utah Valley 29 (1)
3 Abilene Christian 27
4 UT Arlington 22 (1)
5 Tarleton State 19
6 Utah Tech 9
7 Southern Utah 8
(#) first-place votes

Source:[4]

Preseason All-WAC Team

No players were named to the Preseason All-WAC Team.[4]

Roster

2025–26 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Isaiah Cottrell 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr UNLV Las Vegas, Nevada
G 1 Elijah Duval 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Fr Orangeville Prep Wilmington, Delaware
G 2 Logan Stephens 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Tulane Decatur, Georgia
G 3 Tanner Hayhurst 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 204 lb (93 kg) Jr College of Southern Idaho Eagle, Idaho
G 4 Lorenzo Abellar 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Sr College of Southern Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada
G 5 Zach Bell 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Jacksonville Barnwell, South Carolina
G 7 Zeplin Kidd 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Fr King's Ridge Christian School Atlanta, Georgia
G 9 Jalen (Roc) Lee 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
So LIU Atlanta, Georgia
G 10 Langston Binns 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Sr Central Lakes College Saint Paul, Minnesota
F 11 Juok Riak 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
So Drury Madison, Wisconsin
G 13 Brayden Johnson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
So Kishwaukee College Tulsa, Oklahoma
G 20 Dylan Jones 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Fairleigh Dickinson Saratoga Springs, Utah
F 23 Chuks Isitua 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 226 lb (103 kg) RS So Fresno State Lagos, Nigeria
F 24 Cale Barclay 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Fr Herriman High School Herriman, Utah
C 25 Kai Burdick 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Sr MiraCosta College Carlsbad, California
F 35 Jaiden Feroah 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 214 lb (97 kg) Sr Holy Cross Draper, Utah
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: November 1, 2025

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 24, 2025*
6:30 pm
Westminster W 79–77 
                  America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Arizona State L 64−81  0−1
 17  Duval   7  Tied   3  Duval  Desert Financial Arena (7,513)
Tempe, AZ
November 8, 2025*
6:30 pm, ESPN+
UT Rio Grande Valley L 72–95  0–2
 24  Feroah   10  Feroah   4  Duval  America First Event Center (1,489)
Cedar City, UT
November 11, 2025*
6:30 pm, ESPN+
Bethesda W 118–60  1–2
 19  Lee   9  Cottrell   8  Duval  America First Event Center (801)
Cedar City, UT
November 15, 2025*
6:00 pm, SLN
at Omaha L 85–90  1–3
 20  Tied   9  Feroah   5  Duval  Baxter Arena (3,515)
Omaha, NE
November 17, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at No. 13 Gonzaga L 50–122  1–4
 10  Duval   5  Cottrell   2  Feroah  McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
November 19, 2025*
9:00 pm, ESPN+
at Washington State L 74–98  1–5
 24  Jones   4  Jones   3  Duval  Beasley Coliseum (2,532)
Pullman, WA
November 22, 2025*
6:30 pm, ESPN+
Nobel W 103–68  2–5
 15  Jones   6  Cottrell   3  Tied  America First Event Center (709)
Cedar City, UT
November 28, 2025*
12:00 pm, ESPN+
at Robert Morris
Urban-Bennett Invitational
L 54–61  2–6
 17  Tied   10  Cottrell   5  Duval  UPMC Events Center 
Moon Township, PA
November 29, 2025*
12:00 pm, ESPN+
vs. Stetson
Urban-Bennett Invitational
W 70–68  3–6
 26  Duval   9  Cottrell   3  Tied  UPMC Events Center (235)
Moon Township, PA
December 1, 2025*
6:30 pm, ESPN+
West Coast Baptist W 124–59  4–6
 26  Jones   8  Burdick   4  Barclay  America First Event Center (565)
Cedar City, UT
December 6, 2025*
3:00 pm, ESPN+
at Oregon State L 70–81  4–7
 27  Feroah   6  Duval   5  Feroah  Gill Coliseum (2,364)
Corvallis, OR
December 13, 2025*
4:00 pm, BTN
at Washington L 69-105  4-8
 18  Duval   9  Duval   6  Duval  Alaska Airlines Arena (5,516)
Seattle, WA
December 18, 2025*
5:00 pm, ESPN+
at Northern Arizona L 57-65  4-9
 12  Bell   11  Feroah   3  Bell, Abellar  Findlay Toyota Court (412)
Flagstaff, AZ
WAC regular season
December 29, 2025
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Utah Tech       Burns Arena 
St. George, UT
January 3, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+
UT Arlington       America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
January 8, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Utah Valley       UCCU Center 
Orem, UT
January 10, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at California Baptist       Fowler Events Center 
Riverside, CA
January 15, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+
Tarleton State       America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
January 17, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+
Abilene Christian       America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
January 21, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+
Utah Valley       America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
January 24, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Utah Tech       Burns Arena 
St. George, UT
January 29, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at UT Arlington       College Park Center 
Arlington, TX
January 31, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Abilene Christian       Moody Coliseum 
Abilene, TX
February 7, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+
Tarleton State       America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
February 12, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+
California Baptist       America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
February 14, 2026
1:00 pm, ESPN+
at UT Arlington       College Park Center 
Arlington, TX
February 19, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Tarleton State       EECU Center 
Stephenville, TX
February 21, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Abilene Christian       Moody Coliseum 
Abilene, TX
February 28, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+
Utah Tech       America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
March 5, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+
Utah Valley       America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
March 7, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+
California Baptist       America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
WAC tournament
March 11–14, 2026
vs.        Orleans Arena 
Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain.

Sources:[5][6]

References

  1. ^ "The Big Sky Conference Welcomes Southern Utah, Utah Tech Starting in 2026". Big Sky Conference. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  2. ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Western Athletic Conference. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  3. ^ "Utah Tech Downs Thunderbirds In WAC Opening Round". KSL Sports. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "California Baptist Voted Top Team In 2025-26 WAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". Western Athletic Conference. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  5. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Southern Utah University Athletics. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  6. ^ "Southern Utah Thunderbirds 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 1, 2025.