USI basketball: Who’s new to the Screaming Eagles for the 2025-26 season?

EVANSVILLE — The University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball roster will look much different again this winter.

The Screaming Eagles are more than a month into year six of the Stan Gouard era, the fourth in Division I, with official team workouts. The goal is to find positive momentum following a 10-win season that, while objectively was stronger than the previous year, saw USI fail to qualify for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

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Nearly the entire roster was lost to the transfer portal with 12 new players now inside Liberty Arena for the 2025-26 season. That follows 11 newcomers the year prior. However, postseason basketball is now obtainable with the athletic department achieving full Division I status a year early.

More: USI athletics will officially become a full-time Division I member in 2025-26 school year

The goal right now? Getting everyone on the same page.

“We have to be consistent every day,” Gouard said. “We need the right mindset from a team standpoint. It’s hard to win at this level. We had some talented guys last year, but we didn’t have enough guys who bought into their roles. The big thing this fall is to make sure guys understand the role early. Then make sure we’re consistent with what we expect from each guy.”

Here are Southern Indiana’s departures from last season

• Jack Campion, transferred to SIUE (5.3 ppg, 4.3 apg)

• Ryan Hall, transferred to Lewis (DII) (4.6 ppg)

• Damoni Harrison, transferred to Charlotte (15.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg)

• Alex Horiuk, transferred to Hawaii-Hilo (DII)

• Nick Hittle, transferred to Western Illinois (missed season with foot injury)

• Sam Kodi (4.9 ppg, 1.7 apg)

• Stephen Olowoniyi, transferred to Oregon State (13.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg)

• Jayland Randall, transferred to New Mexico State (15.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg)

• Luther Smith Jr., transferred to Saint Leo (DII)

• Jadyn Shider, transferred to Clark Atlanta (DII)

• Jared Washington, transferred to Clark Atlanta (DII) (6.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg)

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Who are the newcomers?

• Ola Ajiboye, 6-8 senior forward from Tennessee Tech (4.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg)

• Cardell Bailey, 6-6 senior guard from Maryland Eastern Shore (8.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg)

• Amaree Brown, 6-5 junior guard from Oklahoma Panhandle State (17.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg)

• Kaden Brown, 6-1 junior guard from Grand Valley State (13.9 ppg)

• Ahamad Bynum, 6-3 senior guard from UTEP (10.4 ppg)

• Steven Clay, 6-4 senior guard from Morehead State (6.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg)

• Devin Curtis, 6-11 junior forward from California

• Ben Ezeagu, 6-7 senior forward from Appalachian State

• Ismail Habib, 6-1 senior guard from Portland State (8.7 ppg)

• Tolu Samuels, 6-8 junior forwrad from Triton College (9.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg)

• Sheridan Sharp, 6-3 junior guard from Southern Illinois (4.5 ppg, 2.3 apg)

• Trey Thomas, 6-2 senior guard from Bethune-Cookman (16.2 ppg)

The only returners are Braxton Jones, Josiah Dunham and Cayden Gehlhausen. This is the third straight roster overhaul after a trip to the College Basketball Invitational in 2023.

“We brought in some guys this year who can score and some good shooters,” Gouard said. “Brought a few who can control the boards. We got a mix of everything. But I think the biggest emphasis is finding guys who are going to be competitive to help us get to the next level.”

Other preseason notes on the Screaming Eagles

The non-conference schedule for the 2025-26 season is complete according to Director of Athletic Communications Ray Simmons. The only remaining obstacle is finishing contracts between all parties. It wasn’t officially announced until September last year.

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One notable matchup that is public is a trip to Hinkle Fieldhouse against Butler on Nov. 5. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports also reported in June a multi-team event in Daytona Beach that includes USI along with High Point, Incarnate Word and Illinois-Chicago.

Dunham aims to be fully cleared this week from an injury that ended his freshman season. The Evansville Christian graduate averaged 2.5 points and 1.9 rebounds in 26 games. Kevin Missouri also joined the coaching staff last month following two seasons at Frank Phillips College (Texas). He replaced Doug Novsek, who became the Mount Vernon boys basketball coach in May.

“Every year it’s a new program,” Gouard said. “It’s just the world we live in right now with college basketball. It’s been a journey so far. We are 4-5 weeks in. We’re trying to take strides every day.”

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Southern Indiana basketball: Who joined the 2025-26 roster