The 2025–26 Akron Zips men's basketball team represented the University of Akron during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Zips, led by ninth-year head coach John Groce, played their home games at the James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio as members of the Mid-American Conference.

Akron finished the regular season 26–5. Their 17–1 record MAC play was good for second place. Their only conference loss was to Miami who finished the regular season unbeaten and ranked 20th. Their 34–2 conference record over two seasons set set a new mark for best record over a two year span. Eighth seed UMass upset Miami in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament. Akron capitalized and defeated Buffalo, Kent State and Toledo on consecutive nights in Rocket Arena to win the tournament and earn a spot in the 2026 NCAA tournament. This was Akron's third straight MAC tournament championship and their 7th overall. They lost to Texas Tech in the first round.

The team ended the season with a school record setting 31 consecutive James A. Rhodes Arena home game win streak, surpassing the 30-game streak established by the 2014–15 (2 wins), 2015–16 (15) and 2016–17 teams (13). Conference rival Miami also ended its season with an active 31-game home win streak.

Previous season The Zips won the MAC with a 17–1 record and the MAC tournament As a 13 seed, they lost their first round matchup in the NCAA tournament to Arizona.

Offseason

Departures Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departureIsaiah Gray 13 G 6'3" 220 Senior Brooklyn, New York GraduatedSeth Wilson 14 G 6'2" 220 Senior Lorain, Ohio GraduatedEvan Wilson 20 G 6'2" 195 Senior Noblesville, Indiana GraduatedJosiah Harris 22 G/F 6'7" 210 Junior Canton, Ohio Transferred to Cleveland StateJames Okonkwo 32 F 6'8" 240 Senior Maidenhead, England Transferred to UtahNate Johnson 34 G 6'3" 205 Junior Liberty Township, Ohio Transferred to Kansas State

Incoming transfers Incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school Cody Head 9 SG 6'3" 170 Junior Cleveland, Ohio Arkansas State Evan Mahaffey 12 SF 6'6" 200 Senior Cincinnati, Ohio Ohio State

Recruiting class

Preseason On October 21, 2025, the MAC released the preseason coaches poll. Akron was picked to finish first in the MAC regular season and received 11 of the 13 first place votes.

Preseason rankings MAC preseason pollPredicted finishTeamVotes (1st place) 1 Akron 143 (11) 2 Miami (OH) 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 (OH) (2), Kent State (1), Ohio (1), UMass (1)

Source

Preseason All-MAC Preseason All-MAC teamsTeamPlayerPositionYearFirstTavari JohnsonGuardSeniorSecondEvan MahaffeyWingSeniorSecondShammah ScottGuardGraduate Student Source

Roster

Schedule and results

!colspan=12 style=""| Regular season

!colspan=9 style=""|

!colspan=9 style=""|

Sources:

References