Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina's 2025-26 men's basketball season preview concludes with a look at the largest group of the team for this season, with a look at the guards, which features four returners, three transfers, and a pair of freshmen to round out the nine-man group.
WCU turns to redshirt junior Cord Stansberry, along with sophomores CJ Hyland and Fischer Brown, and redshirt freshman Drew Hollifield as the four returners. A trio of transfers led by Julien Soumaoro (ECU/Gardner-Webb), Justin Johnson (Arkansas State), and Tidjiane Dioumassi (Southern) join the fray in the Catamount backcourt, as well as freshman Titian DeRosa (Bethesda, Md.) and Tahlan Pettway (Worcester, Mass.).
Coming in from Pepperdine a season ago, Stansberry put together a strong debut season with the Purple & Gold as he was the lone player to start in all 30 games as the Bermuda Dunes, Calif. native finished with 11.2 points per game and scored 335 points. He eclipsed double figures 19 times, including a career-high 24 points against Bellarmine.
The Catamount sharp shooter was effective from deep with 52 3-pointers, connecting on multiple threes 15 times, including a season-high six against VMI in February. He was also extremely effective at the charity stripe, shooting 91.3% (73-of-80) that included converting all his attempts in 19 games, as he posted a single-season record at the free throw line. Stansberry also dished out 46 helpers and 26 steals throughout the 24-25 season.
Coming to Cullowhee from Grayson High, Hyland had a strong debut season with WCU as he saw action in 27 contests with 20 starts coming through the middle stages of the season. He tallied a season-high 12 points against Bellarmine before adding 10 points against Samford in early January. Hyland picked up 54 assists with a season-high six coming against nationally-ranked Marquette. He was also effective on the defensive end with 20 steals and 55 rebounds.
Brown opened his Catamount career, coming off the bench in 29 games a season ago. He came out of the gates fast with a season-high nine points on a trio of 3-pointers in his debut against Bob Jones. He added a balanced five or more points in nine games, including five times in league play. The Lewistown, Montana native pulled down 62 rebounds including a season-high five boards against Samford, and dished out 24 assists and made 18 threes.
Redshirt freshman Drew Hollifield returns to the Catamount roster after joining the 2024-25 squad midseason from the WCU football team. Although he didn't see action during his time with the squad, Hollifield contributed off the court to help the team. He is a legacy to WCU as his grandfather was a football player at WCU, and is now joined by his cousin Aly as part of the women's program during the 2025-26 season.
Head coach Tim Craft welcomes in a trio of transfers to the backcourt starting with a familiar face. Graduate student Julien Soumaoro, who spent the 24-25 season at East Carolina, was with Craft and staff for three seasons at Gardner-Webb.
The Bronx, N.Y. native appeared in eight games in Greenville, N.C., before receiving a medical waiver that allows him to play this season in Cullowhee. He played in 92 games over three years at Gardner-Webb, where he totaled 768 points, 179 rebounds, and 179 assists. During his 2022-23 season in Boiling Springs, Soumaoro posted a team-best 79.2% at the free-throw line for the Runnin' Bulldogs, while also connecting on a 3-pointer in 24 of 30 games. In 2023-24, Soumaoro averaged 12.7 points per game, including 21 games in double figures with a season-high 27 against Weber State.
A second graduate student enters WCU in Tidjiane Dioumassi, who comes to Cullowhee by way of Southern University, where he spent the past two seasons. He saw action in 40 games, averaging 9.3 points per game during the 2023-24 season before 9.0 points per game in limited time a season ago. Back in 2023-24, Dioumassi was a part of the Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC) regular-season conference championship at Southern. The product of Paris, France, Dioumassi has been an assist machine at the guard position, totaling 209 helpers over the last two seasons, including 169 in his first year at Southern. Dioumassi earned All-SWAC second-team during the 2023-24 postseason honors before garnering preseason first-team honors this past season. In his two years with the Jaguars, he totaled 21 double-figure scoring outputs, including a career-high 30 in last season's opener against North Dakota.
Arkansas State transfer Justin Johnson enters the equation for WCU after spending his lone collegiate season at Arkansas State last year, where he was part of the Sun Belt Conference regular-season title team. He appeared in 16 games in a reserve role, shooting 57.6% (19-of-33) with a career-high 20 points on 8-of-10 field goals against Lane College. He also tallied a career-best eight rebounds and five assists in the same matchup. He scored six in 17 minutes off the bench against Elite 8 opposition, Alabama.
A pair of freshman comes to Cullowhee led by Titian DeRosa (Bethesda, Md.) and Tahlan Pettway (Worcester, Mass.).
DeRosa comes to Cullowhee by way of Whitman High, where he was a 2024-25 first-team All-County selection, while also receiving All-Division selection for MCPS Central. He was honored with second-team All-County defense and was a Montgomery County All-Star game selection. In the playoffs, DeRosa averaged 15 points/game, four rebounds per game, and three assists per game. He was also a sharp-shooter from deep with a 43.5 3-point percentage and averaged 2.8 steals per game on the defensive end.
Pettway comes to Cullowhee off a successful prep career in the New England region, as he picked up several NCAA Division I offers before joining the Catamounts. In 2023, he was a part of a Massachusetts State Championship before spending a season at The MacDuffie School in Granby, Mass. He's looking to follow in the DI footsteps of his older brother, Tanahj, who spent the 2024-25 season at Prairie View A&M.
Following a season at MacDuffie, Pettway decided to go down a different path, transferring to local powerhouse St. Thomas More. While originally intending to play two seasons with the Chancellors of STM, Pettway departed a year early – but his mark was certainly left. The incoming Catamount averaged over 11 points per game in the tournament, and an active stat line of nine points, five rebounds, and five assists in the finale.
The Catamounts open the regular season with a road bout at Big 12 foe Cincinnati on Nov. 3, before traveling in-state to Duke on Nov. 8. WCU opens its home slate on Nov. 13 against Voorhees University out of Denmark, S.C.
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).
