The 2026–27 Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles men's basketball team will represent the University of Southern Indiana during the 2026–27 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Screaming Eagles, led by seventh-year head coach Stan Gouard, will play their home games at the Liberty Arena in Evansville, Indiana, as members of the Ohio Valley Conference.

Previous season USI concluded the season with a 7–23 record (4–16 in the OVC).

Offseason Departures Southern Indiana departuresNameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure 1 G 6'2" 190 Senior Grand Rapids, MI Transferred to Alcorn State 2 G/F 6'4" 190 Senior Milwaukee, WI Graduated 3 F 6'8" 205 Junior Chicago, IL Transferred to NIU 4 G 6'0" 175 Senior Monroe, NJ Transfer portal 5 F 6'8" 205 Senior Chicago, IL Transfer portal 6 F 6'7" 215 Senior Brampton, Ontario Transfer portal 8 G 6'6" 195 Senior Detroit, MI Transfer portal 11 G 6'3" 175 Junior Indianapolis, IN Transferred to Nicholls 13 F 6'11" 220 Junior Milwaukee, WI Transferred to Cal State San Bernardino 15 G 6'5" 210 Junior Chicago, IL Transferred to Alabama State 21 G 6'1" 180 Senior Chicago, IL Transferred to Incarnate Word

Incoming transfers On April 17, 2026, a trio of players committed to play for USI in the 2026–27 season. LA Hayes is a 6'5" guard who averaged 4.1 points per game at UTEP, having previously spent time at Frank Phillips College in the 2024–25 season, where he averaged 17.2 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game, and at Kent State, where he averaged 4.7 ppg across 13 games played. Donovan Hunter is a 6'8" forward who averaged 4 ppg in his single season at Bellarmine. Prior to his time at Bellarmine, Hunter spent two seasons at Kent State. Johann Pautsch is a 6'10" forward who, in his second season at Three Rivers College, averaged 7.7 points and 6 rebounds per game.

On April 26, 2026, 6'2" guard Ari Gooch committed to play for USI after spending one season at UAB, where he averaged 2.2 ppg. Prior to UAB, Gooch spent one season at McLennan Community College, where he averaged 14.2 ppg.

On May 12, 2026, two players committed to the Screaming Eagles. Transfer forward Ebrahim Kaba, in his lone season at Purdue Fort Wayne, Kaba averaged 4 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 12.8 minutes per game across 20 games played. Prior, Kaba spent one season at St. Bonaventure where he utilized his redshirt year. Transfer guard Afan Trnka, in his second season at UT Martin, averaged 6.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game.

On May 22, 2026, 6'2" guard Josh Smith committed to play for USI after spending two seasons at Lee College, where he averaged 14.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

On May 29, 2026, 6'9" forward Didier Maleng committed to the Screaming Eagles. The Congo native averaged 1.7 points and 1.6 rebounds per game at Denver. He previously had spent time at South Plains College, Triton College, and Richard J. Daley College.

On June 1, 2026, 6'5" guard Malachi Knight committed to play for USI after spending one season at West LA where he averaged 17.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game.

Southern Indiana incoming transfersNameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious schoolYears remainingDate eligible TBD G 6'2" 180 Junior Minneapolis, MN UAB 2 October 1, 2026 TBD G 6'5" 185 Senior Cleveland, OH UTEP 1 October 1, 2026 TBD F 6'8" 200 Senior Columbus, OH Bellarmine 1 October 1, 2026 TBD G 6'9" 200 RS Sophomore East Orange, NJ Purdue Fort Wayne 2 October 1, 2026 TBD G/F 6'5" 185 Sophomore Hawthorne, CA West LA 3 October 1, 2026 TBD F 6'9" 225 Senior Kinshasa, Congo Denver 1 October 1, 2026 TBD F 6'10" Sophomore Dusseldorf, Germany Three Rivers 3 October 1, 2026 TBD G 6'2" Junior Baton Rouge, LA Lee 2 October 1, 2026 TBD G/F 6'7" 210 Junior Paris, France Arkansas State 2 October 1, 2026 TBD G 6'2" 180 Senior Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina UT Martin 1 October 1, 2026 TBD G 6'1" 185 Junior Capitol Heights, MD Cal State Fullerton 2 October 1, 2026

Recruiting classes

2026 recruiting class

2027 recruiting class

Roster

Schedule and results

!colspan=12 style=""| Non-conference regular season

!colspan=12 style=""| OVC regular season

Sources:

References