Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina men's basketball hits the hardwood for the first time in the 2025-26 season for the team's lone exhibition contest on Wednesday, Oct. 29, as the Catamounts host Brevard College with tip-off slated for 7 p.m. on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
Admission to Wednesday's exhibition game is FREE, and gates open at 6 pm. Those with reserved season ticket seats will be able to sit in their reserved seats by showing their tickets at the section when you arrive. All other fans can sit in general admission seating. Wednesday's action is scheduled to be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network with live streaming audio available online at CatamountSports.com beginning at 6:30 p.m. There will be no live stats or ESPN+ video streaming.
Under the direction of second-year head coach Tim Craft, Western Carolina returns eight players from a season ago, including a quartet that were regular starters throughout the 2024-25 season. The team bolstered its roster with eight newcomers, including four transfers and four freshmen.
Redshirt junior Cord Stansberry returns after an impressive debut season with the Catamounts, during which he posted a 91.3% (73-of-80) at the foul line, which would have ranked him seventh nationally if he had met the NCAA minimums. Stansberry poured in 11.2 points per game and made 52 threes for WCU.
Stansberry is joined by classmate and WCU's lone preseason All-Southern Conference selection Marcus Kell, sophomore guard CJ Hyland, and senior forward Vernon Collins as the quartet who saw action in 16 or more games as a starter a season ago. The four regulars for Craft in the starting lineup are joined by redshirt senior Chase McKey, sophomore Fischer Brown, and the redshirt freshman pair of Drew Hollifield and Max Williams.
Craft and his staff welcome a host of new faces to Cullowhee ahead of the 2025-26 season, led by four transfers in the likes of graduate transfer guards Julien Soumaoro (ECU/Gardner-Webb) and Tidjiane Dioumassi (Southern), while sophomore guard Justin Johnson (Arkansas State) and sophomore center Abdulai Fanta Kabba (Denver) round out the group. Four freshmen grace the roster as guards Titian DeRosa (Bethesda, Md.) and Tahlan Pettway (Worcester, Mass.) are joined by forwards Samuel Dada (Lagos, Nigeria) and Tayeshaun Smith (Raleigh, N.C.), who round out the squad for WCU.
Western Carolina's 2025-26 roster features a diverse background of student-athletes, with 10 different states and three countries represented, making it one of the most diverse rosters in the country.
Craft welcomes back his entire staff from his debut season in Cullowhee, led by veteran associate head coach Andre Gray and assistant coaches Andrew Brown, Adam Bullard, and Jackson Simmons.
Wednesday's exhibition opponent, Brevard, finished 12-12 mark a season ago, including a 7-7 record in the USA South Conference in the NCAA Division III ranks. Led by Lee Burgess, who's in his 14th season leading the Brevard basketball program, the Tornados advanced to postseason play for a fourth-consecutive season and secured their third-straight double-digit win total for the first time since a three-season stretch spanning 2008-11. Brevard led the NCAA D-III in field goal percentage (51.5%) and ranked inside the Top 10 nationally with 18.7 assists per game last season.
Three of Brevard's top four leading scorers from a season ago return, including senior KK Horton (11.9 ppg), sophomore Twain Wilson (11.5 ppg), and senior Jadon Carnes (11.3 ppg). Wilson was a USA South Conference Rookie of the Year honoree, shooting 55.6 percent from the floor (99-of-178), including 41 3-pointers. Horton led the squad with a 4.1 rebound per game average while dishing out a team-best 88 assists, while Carnes averaged an impressive 61.7 percent (108-of-175) from the field and dished out 73 helpers.
Western Carolina's regular season opens with a road bout at Big 12 foe Cincinnati on Monday, Nov. 3, before traveling in-state to Duke on Saturday, Nov. 8. WCU opens its home slate on Thursday, Nov. 13, against Voorhees University out of Denmark, S.C. Each home game throughout the 2025-26 season is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live audio coverage from the Catamount Sports Network kicking into full gear after the football season (check listings).
Season tickets for the home portion of the 2025-26 Catamount men's and women's basketball seasons are on sale now through the first-floor Ramsey Center Ticket Office, by phone at (828) 227-2401, and online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets. Options include tickets for men's or women's and an "all-hoops" package for every home game in the Ramsey Center for both squads. Single-game tickets for both squads are also on sale.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount men's basketball and WCU Athletics through our social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@catamountmbb @wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@CatamountMBB @catamounts).
