The 2025–26 Ohio University Bobcats men's basketball team represented Ohio University for the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bobcats were led by seventh-year head coach Jeff Boals, who was a 1995 graduate of Ohio University. They play their home games at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio, as a member of the Mid-American Conference.
They finished the 2025–26 season 15–17, 9–9 in MAC play, to finish tied for 5th place. The Bobcats struggled to a 1–6 record to open the season. They qualified for the MAC tournament as the 6th seed where they lost in the quarterfinals to Kent State This was Ohio's first losing season in Boals' tenure at Ohio and the first since the 2018–19 season.
Previous season
The Bobcats were picked to win the conference but finished with a 16–16 record. They posted a disappointing 6–6 record entering 2025 prior to the start of league play. They finished tied for fourth in the MAC with a 10–8 conference record and lost their January matchup in the MAC-SBC challenge. With a first round loss to Toledo, they failed to reach the MAC tournament semifinals for the first time since 2020 when the tournament was cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic.
Offseason
Departures DeparturesNameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReasonElmore James1G6'3"205JuniorCleveland, OhioTransferred to Ball StateAJ Brown3G6'4"210RS SophomoreOrlando, FloridaTransferred to FloridaShereef Mitchell4G6'1"175Grad. StudentOmaha, NebraskaGraduated, Exhausted EligibilityBen Nicol7F6'7"208RS-FreshmanCharleston, West VirginiaTransferred to Charleston (WV)Ben Estis*14G6'1"185RS SophomoreSouthlake, TexasTransferred to Trinity (TX)AJ Clayton23F6'8"225SeniorRoseville, OhioGraduated, Exhausted EligibilityVic Searls35F6'9"240Grad. StudentHilliard, OhioGraduated, Exhausted Eligibility
Walk-on in 2024–25
Incoming transfers Incoming TransfersNameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReasonJavan Simmons1F6'7"235SophomoreGahanna, OHTransferred from Toledo. Will have two years of eligibility remaining.Dior Conners3G6'3"183JuniorColumbus, OHTransferred from Appalachian State. Will have one year of eligibility remaining.Carter Reese11G6'3"200SophomoreWesterville, OHTransferred from Ohio Northern. Will have three years of eligibility remaining.Jalen Breath22F6'8"225JuniorOklahoma City, OKTransferred from UNC Greensboro. Will have one year of eligibility remaining.
Recruiting class
Preseason On October 21, 2025 the MAC released the preseason coaches poll. Ohio was picked to finish fourth in the MAC regular season. Ohio received zero first place votes but did receive one vote to win the MAC Tournament.
Preseason rankings MAC preseason pollPredicted finishTeamVotes (1st place)1st place 1. Akron 143 11 2. Miami 133 2 3. Kent State 122 -- 4. Ohio 108 -- 5. UMass 98 -- 6. Toledo 95 -- 7. Bowling Green 73 -- 8. Ball State 62 -- 9. Eastern Michigan 52 -- 10. Western Michigan 46 -- 11. Buffalo 37 -- 12. Central Michigan 31 -- 13. Northern Illinois 14 -- MAC Tournament Champions: Akron (8), Miami (2), Kent State (1), Ohio (1), UMass (1)
Source
Preseason All-MAC Preseason All-MAC teamsTeamPlayerPositionYear1stJackson PaveletzkeGSr.2ndJavon SimmonsGR-Jr. Source
Roster
Support staff
2025-26 Ohio Bobcats support staff Jake Ness – Director of Basketball Operations Keith Williams - Graduate Assistant Sara Legarsky – Senior Director of Athletics Communications Derek Lutz – Staff Athletic Trainer Jessica Arquette – Ohio Athletics Sports DietitianSource:
Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style="|Exhibition
!colspan=9 style="|Regular season
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Source
Statistics Team Statistics Through March 12, 2026
Scoring 2492 2515 Scoring Average 77.88 78.59 Field goals – Att 884–1916 879–1905 3-pt. Field goals – Att 224–728 238–656 Free throws – Att 500–708 519–713 Rebounds 1076 1156 Assists 432 427 Turnovers 348 378 Steals 196 192 Blocked Shots 114 86 Source
Player statistics MinutesScoringTotal FGs3-point FGsFree-ThrowsReboundsPlayerGPGSTotAvgPtsAvgFGFGAPct3FG3FAPctFTFTAPctOffDefTotAvgAPFTO StlBlkJackson Paveletzke3131113736.753617.31723670.46931980.3161612000.8051579943.01634670270Javan Simmons313184027.146915.11633040.5366300.2001372000.68581951765.75089521924Aidan Hadaway3232101931.846014.41853810.486441460.30146660.697601782387.46891612523JJ Kelly312682626.62668.61042000.52024730.32934440.77335831183.81876282726Ajay Sheldon323098930.92417.5772160.356661780.37121300.7001365782.4617537483Dior Conners31335811.51294.2391220.32025910.27526330.788929381.2224118161Kiir Kuany3112768.91093.544830.5307290.24114190.7371032421.45379912Jalen Breath28137413.41043.737700.529010.00030720.4173251833.0105621613Jesse Burris24023910.0813.429800.36314490.2869100.900920291.25231254Elijah Elliott13528021.5534.117570.2985220.22714220.636441453.526241593Ayden Evans110918.3252.310220.455160.167460.66748121.1311335Jordan Fisher50224.4193.87140.500150.200460.6670220.413120Total32-6451-249277.988419160.4612247280.3085007080.70627268395529.8432572348196114Opponents32-6451-251578.687919050.4612386560.3635197130.728357799115636.142761637819286 Legend GP Games played GS Games started Avg Average per game FG Field-goals made FGA Field-goal attempts Off Offensive rebounds Def Defensive rebounds A Assists TO Turnovers Blk Blocks Stl Steals High Team high Source
Awards and honors Weekly Awards Weekly Award Honors MAC player of the week Jackson Paveletzke G January 12
All-MAC Awards Postseason All-MAC teamsAll-MAC 2nd TeamJackson PaveletzkeGSr.All-MAC Honorable MentionJavan SimmonsFR-Jr. Source
References