The 2024–25 Horizon League men's basketball season began with practices in September 2024 and ended with the 2025 Horizon League men's basketball tournament in March 2025. This was the 45th season for Horizon League men's basketball.
Head coaches Coaching changes On March 6, 2024, IUPUI (now IU Indy) fired head coach Matt Crenshaw after three seasons. On March 25, the school hired Division II Indianapolis head coach Paul Corsaro to replace Crenshaw. On March 7, 2024, Detroit Mercy fired head coach Mike Davis following a 1–31 season, ending his six-year tenure with the team. On April 3, Michigan State assistant coach Mark Montgomery was named the team's new coach. On March 28, 2024, Wright State head coach Scott Nagy was hired as the head coach at Southern Illinois. That same day, Wright State promoted assistant Clint Sargent to head coach. On March 30, 2024, Youngstown State head coach Jerrod Calhoun was hired as the head coach at Utah State. On April 1, Youngstown State promoted assistant Ethan Faulkner to head coach. On May 12, 2024, Green Bay head coach Sundance Wicks was hired as the head coach at Wyoming after one season with the Phoenix. Two days later, Green Bay named talk radio host and Oklahoma State all-time assists leader Doug Gottlieb as head coach.
Coaches TeamHead coachPrevious jobSeasonOverallrecordHorizonrecordNCAATournaments Cleveland StateDaniyal RobinsonIowa State (asst.)3rd 0 Detroit MercyMark MontgomeryMichigan State (asst.)1st0 Green BayDoug Gottliebnone1st0 IU IndyPaul CorsaroIndianapolis1st0 MilwaukeeBart LundyQueens3rd 0 Northern KentuckyDarrin HornTexas (asst.)6th2 OaklandGreg KampeToledo (asst.)41st1 Purdue Fort WayneJon CoffmanIPFW (asst.)11th0 Robert MorrisAndrew TooleRobert Morris (asst.)15th2 Wright StateClint SargentWright State (asst.)1st0 Youngstown StateEthan FaulknerYoungstown State (asst.)1st0 Notes:
Season number includes 2024–25 season. Records are prior to 2024–25 season.
Preseason Preseason coaches poll 2024–25 Horizon League Preseason Coaches PollRankTeam (First Place Votes)Points1.Milwaukee (15)421Purdue Fort Wayne (14)4213.Northern Kentucky (4)3894.Oakland (5)3455.Wright State (4)3156.Youngstown State (1)2727.Cleveland State2528.Green Bay1719.Robert Morris14810.IU Indy (1)9111.Detroit Mercy79
Preseason All-Horizon League First teamSecond teamTrey Robinson, Northern KentuckyAJ McKee, MilwaukeeSam Vinson, Northern KentuckyErik Pratt, MilwaukeeRasheed Bello, Purdue Fort WayneDQ Cole, OaklandJalen Jackson, Purdue Fort WayneQuinton Morton-Robertson, Purdue Fort WayneBrandon Noel, Wright StateAlex Huibregtse, Wright StatePreseason Player of the Year: Brandon Noel, Wright State
Regular season Player of the Week awards
Week Player of the Week School Freshman of the Week School1Alex HuibregtseWright StateNate JohnsonDetroit Mercy2Rasheed BelloPurdue Fort WayneKeenan GarnerIU Indy3Themus FulksMilwaukeeAntallah Sandlin-ElRobert Morris4DQ ColeOaklandDeSean GoodeIU Indy5EJ FarmerYoungstown StateJe'Shawn StevensonCleveland State6Jamichael StillwellMilwaukeeJe'Shawn Stevenson (2)Cleveland State7Tevin SmithCleveland StateJe'Shawn Stevenson (3)Cleveland State8Alvaro FolgueirasRobert MorrisJe'Shawn Stevenson (4)Cleveland State9Trey RobinsonNorthern KentuckyAndrea HoldenWright State10Rasheed Bello (2)Purdue Fort WayneDeSean Goode (2)IU Indy11Jalen JacksonPurdue Fort WayneRyan KalambayDetroit Mercy12Jalen Jackson (2)Purdue Fort WayneReece RobinsonCleveland State13Chase RobinsonCleveland StateDeSean Goode (3)IU Indy14Alvaro Folgueiras (2)Robert MorrisJe'Shawn Stevenson (5)Cleveland State 15Alvaro Folgueiras (3)Robert Morris Nassim Mashhour OaklandNico GaletteYoungstown State16Kam WoodsRobert MorrisNate Johnson (2)Detroit Mercy
School Cleveland State26 Detroit Mercy03 Green Bay00IU Indy04Milwaukee2010Oakland11 40Robert Morris41Wright State11Youngstown State20
Early season tournaments The following table summarizes the multiple-team events (MTE) or early-season tournaments in which teams from the Horizon League will participate. +TeamTournamentLocationDatesFinishCleveland StateViking InvitationalCleveland, OHNovember 26–29–Detroit MercyJacksonville ClassicJacksonville, FLNovember 26–27N/AGreen BayOhio State MTEEvansville, INColumbus, OHNovember 22–30–IU IndyBulldog BashHuntsville, ALNovember 22–25–MilwaukeeCream City ClassicMilwaukee, WINovember 22–24–Northern KentuckyTwyman-Stokes NKU ClassicHighland Heights, KYNovember 14–19–OaklandDiamond Head ClassicHonolulu, HINovember 22–234thPurdue Fort WayneSunshine SlamDaytona Beach, FLNovember 20–26–Robert MorrisUrban-Bennett InvitationalMoon Township, PANovember 14–17–Wright StateMyrtle Beach InvitationalConway, SCNovember 21–244thYoungstown StateAxe 'Em ClassicNacogdoches, TXNovember 21–23–
Postseason Horizon League tournament
The conference tournament was played from March 4 to March 11, 2025. The first round and quarterfinals were hosted at campus sites, while the semifinals and finals were held at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis, Indiana. Teams were seeded by conference record, with ties broken by record between the tied teams followed by record against the regular-season champion, if necessary. The top five teams received a bye to the quarterfinals and the bracket is re-seeded after every round.
NCAA Tournament As the conference champion, Robert Morris received an automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
Seed Region School First Four First round Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship15EastRobert Morris― lost to (2) Alabama 90–81―――――
College Basketball Invitational Cleveland State accepted a bid to the 2025 College Basketball Invitational after finishing as semifinalists in the conference tournament. School First round Quarterfinals Semifinals FinalsCleveland State − defeated Queens (NC) 88–73 defeated Florida Gulf Coast 72–65 lost to Florida Gulf Coast 79–68
National awards Preseason watchlists Horizon League players were selected to the following preseason award watchlists: HensonRasheed Bello, Purdue Fort WayneAJ McKee, MilwaukeeBrandon Noel, Wright State
Conference awards 2025 Horizon League individual awards Award Recipient(s)Player of the YearAlvaro Folgueiras, Robert MorrisCoach of the YearAndy Toole, Robert MorrisDefensive Player of the YearAmarion Dickerson, Robert MorrisSixth Man of the YearChase Robinson, Cleveland StateFreshman of the YearJe'Shawn Stevenson, Cleveland StateNewcomer of the YearJamichael Stillwell, MilwaukeeSportsmanship AwardJalen Jackson, Purdue Fort WayneReference:
2025 Horizon League all-conference teams First Team Second Team Third Team Defensive Team Freshman TeamTevin Smith, CSUJamichael Stillwell, MKERasheed Bello, PFWJalen Jackson, PFWAlvaro Folgueiras, RMUThemus Fulks, MKEAllen Mukeba, OAKAmarion Dickerson, RMUKam Woods, RMUBrandon Noel, WSUDylan Arnett, CSUTahj Staveskie, CSUTrey Robinson, NKUEJ Farmer, YSUNico Galette, YSUReece Robinson, CSUJe'Shawn Stevenson, CSUNate Johnson, DMUDeSean Goode, IUISolomon Callaghan, WSUDylan Arnett, CSUTevin Smith, CSURasheed Bello, PFWAmarion Dickerson, RMUGabe Dynes, YSU
2025 Horizon LeagueAll-Tournament TeamKam Woods, RMUJosh Omojafo, RMUDJ Smith, RMUNico Galette, YSUAllen Mukeba, OAK Bold denotes MVP
Attendance Average home attendances Note: Figures include conference tournament #TeamCumulativeHighLowAvg.1Wright State1562,2209,6722,4884,1882Northern Kentucky1850,7877,4851,7212,8223Milwaukee1634,3473,5071,3352,1474Youngstown State1630,6392,8431,3031,9155Green Bay1429,8205,2071,5012,1306Oakland1328,0683,0291,3062,1597Cleveland State1825,6982,2694031,4288Robert Morris1822,2214,0686461,2359Purdue Fort Wayne1421,8542,6037701,56110Detroit Mercy1314,7272,0478071,13311IU Indy1714,3533,7165361,025Total169334,7349,6724031,981
References