2026-27 Season

[Zippy87]

The season is near and there's a lot of excitement around the program. There's a lot of questions, too, as we officially enter the Dustin Ford era. 

 

1. Will Evan Mahaffey and/or Kamrin Oriol be eligible?

 

It doesn't look good for Evan IMO. Unless the NCAA allows a blanket waiver for players from his class (unlikely) or the Ohio Supreme Court reverses course (also unlikely), he will probably run out of options to play. Oriol seems like a more optimistic case, although that could change quickly based on continued legal action from the NCAA. 

 

2. How does the program transition fron Groce to Ford?

 

Groce was here nine seasons and clearly had a ton of success, especially the last few years. Ford has been here the whole time, too, and was regarded as one of the top assistants around. He loses a lot in Johnson, Scott, Lyles, Hardman Eric Mahaffey (and maybe Evan Mahaffey), but brought in some good talent in the portal. With so much roster transition everywhere in the MAC, coaching may be the ultimately separater.

 

3. What does the rotation look like? 

 

It's impossible to predict until we know if Mahaffey and/or Oriol can play. Staveskie and Pence will play big roles. Burton and Barre will patrol the paint. Beyond that, there's a lot that we'll have to wait and see shake out once the team gets going. 

[csims0917]

I'm very intrigued to see our pace of play. I think we will look a lot closer to the slower more physical side based on Ford's preference and the bigger lineup.

[Hilltopper]

Run and gun. Think hockey type line changes.