The 2025–26 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team represented Northern Illinois University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Huskies, led by fifth-year head coach Rashon Burno, played their home games at the Convocation Center in DeKalb, Illinois as members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). They finished the season 9–21, 4–14 in MAC play, to finish in a three way tie for last place. They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament.
On March 8, 2026, the school announced it had parted ways with head coach Rashon Burno. On March 17, the school named Northern Michigan head coach Matt Majkrzak the team's new head coach.
Previous season The Huskies finished the 2024–25 season 6–25, 2–16 in MAC play, to finish in last place. They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament.
Offseason
Departures Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure Dominic Gooden 0 G 6' 5" 180 Junior Cleveland, OH Transferred to Minnesota State–Moorhead Quentin Jones 1 G 6' 5" 180 Sophomore Chicago, IL Transferred to Saint Louis Tsvet Sotirov 2 F 6' 9" 210 RS Freshman Rolling Meadows, IL Transferred to Georgia Southern Joe Munden Jr. 3 G 6' 4" 199 Graduate Student Harlem, NY Graduated Oluwasegun Durosinmi 4 F 6' 9" 243 Senior Lagos, Nigeria GraduatedKailon Nicholls5G6' 0"160SophomoreToronto, ONTransferred to Angelo State Nasir Muhammad 7 G 6' 2" 186 Sophomore Brooklyn, NY Transferred to AlbanyJayden Mott11F6' 8"210FreshmanMidwest City, OKTransferred to Central ConnecticutPeyton Ackerman12G5' 10"150RS SophomoreOklahoma City, OKTransferred to Oklahoma City James Dent Jr. 14 G 6' 5" 170 Senior Springfield, IL Transferred to Middle Tennessee Ethan Butler 15 F 6' 7" 220 Junior Toronto, ON Transferred to CharlotteLeo Amari IV20G6' 2"170SophomoreSherman Oaks, CATransferred to EvansvilleDavid Mack21G5' 10"160FreshmanLos Angeles, CATransferred to Cerritos Steven Tipton22G6' 2"183JuniorBrookfield, WITransferred to Western IllinoisMo Sall23G6' 5"185JuniorDowners Grove, ILTransferred to Roosevelt Quaran McPherson 24 G 6' 4" 197 RS Junior South Jamaica, NY Transferred to UAB
Incoming transfers Incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous schoolGianni Cobb0G6' 0"150SophomoreChicago, ILColumbiaMakhai Valentine1G6' 3"190SophomoreMunhall, PAMissouri StateDaemar Kelly3G6' 5"195JuniorPittsburgh, PASt. Francis (PA) JJ Taylor 4 F 6' 8" 196 Junior Chicago, IL Central FloridaHassan 'Tre' Washington7F6' 8"240JuniorProvidence, RIMonroe UniversityJao Ituka10G6' 1"196JuniorGaithersburg, MDJacksonville StateIsaiah Washington11G6' 5"185RS FreshmanFayetteville, NCUNC GreensboroLataevyon Taylor15G6' 0"160SophomoreChicago, ILWestern Oklahoma StateJaylen Wharton23F6' 9"200RS JuniorPlant City, FLSouth Florida
Preseason On October 21, 2025 the MAC released the preseason coaches poll. Northern Illinois was picked to finish last in the MAC regular season.
Preseason rankings MAC preseason poll 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 3113Northern Illinois14
MAC Tournament Champions: Akron (8), Miami (2), Kent State (1), Ohio (1), UMass (1)
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style=|Exhibition
!colspan=9 style=|Regular season
Sources:
References