2025–26 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball team

The 2025–26 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball team represented East Carolina University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Pirates, led by fourth-year head coach Michael Schwartz, played their home games at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, North Carolina as eleventh-year members of the American Conference.

2025–26 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball
Conference	American Conference
Record	11–20 (6–12 American)
Head coach	Michael Schwartz (4th season)
Assistant coaches	Riley Davis Josh Giardina I.J. Poole Michael Perry
Home arena	Williams Arena

2025–26 American Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
South Florida †	15	–	3		.833			25	–	9		.735
Wichita State	13	–	5		.722			24	–	12		.667
Tulsa	13	–	5		.722			30	–	8		.789
UAB	11	–	7		.611			20	–	12		.625
Charlotte	9	–	9		.500			17	–	17		.500
North Texas	9	–	9		.500			19	–	14		.576
Florida Atlantic	9	–	9		.500			18	–	15		.545
Memphis	8	–	10		.444			13	–	19		.406
Tulane	8	–	10		.444			18	–	15		.545
Temple	8	–	10		.444			16	–	16		.500
Rice	7	–	11		.389			13	–	18		.419
East Carolina	6	–	12		.333			11	–	20		.355
UTSA	1	–	17		.056			5	–	25		.167
† 2026 American tournament winner

Previous season

The Pirates finished the 2024–25 season 19–14, 10–8 in AAC play to finish in a tie for fifth place. As a No. 6 seed in the AAC tournament they defeated UTSA in the second round before falling to UAB in the quarterfinals.

Preseason

On October 9, 2025, the American Conference released their preseason poll. East Carolina was picked to finish tenth in the conference.

Preseason rankings

American Conference Preseason Poll

Place	Team	Votes
1	Memphis	143 (11)
2	South Florida	128 (2)
3	Tulane	122
4	UAB	98
5	Wichita State	93
6	Florida Atlantic	80
7	North Texas	77
8	Tulsa	74
9	Temple	65
10	East Carolina	53
11	UTSA	32
12	Rice	27
13	Charlotte	22
(#) first-place votes

Source:

Preseason All-American Conference Teams

Preseason All-American Teams

Team	Player	Year	Position
First	Jordan Riley	Senior	Guard

Source:

Roster

2025–26 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Jayshayne Woodard 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 181 lb (82 kg) Sr Indian River State College Harlem, New York G 1 Jake Baker 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 174 lb (79 kg) Fr Cannon School Concord, North Carolina G 2 Isaiah Mbeng 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 183 lb (83 kg) So William & Mary Potomac, Maryland G 3 Daithi Quinn 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Fr Tabor Academy Quincy, Massachusetts G 4 Tybo Bailey 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 187 lb (85 kg) So Winston-Salem Christian School Winston-Salem, North Carolina G 5 Corey Caulker 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Eastern Florida State College Sterling, Virginia G 6 Ladontae Felton 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) RS Fr South Aiken High School Aiken, South Carolina C 7 Giovanni Emejuru 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 262 lb (119 kg) Sr George Mason Leicester, England G 10 Paddy D'Arcy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 189 lb (86 kg) Fr Adelaide 36ers Adelaide, Australia F/C 11 Vito Perkovic 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Hamilton Heights Christian Academy Zadar, Croatia G 12 Jordan Riley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Temple Brentwood, New York F 23 Reid Cason 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 239 lb (108 kg) So Kingston High School Kingston, Oklahoma G/F 24 Trevion LaBeaux 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 209 lb (95 kg) Sr Indian Hills Community College Waterloo, Iowa F 33 Eli DeLaurier 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 238 lb (108 kg) RS So Providence Shipman, Virginia F 35 Grant Smith 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 207 lb (94 kg) Sr Quincy College Richmond, Virginia F 43 Luke Davis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 224 lb (102 kg) GS New Orleans Winterville, North Carolina	Head coach Michael Schwartz (Texas) Assistant coach(es) Riley Davis (Texas) Josh Giardina (Marymount) I.J. Poole (Texas) Michael Perry (Richmond) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 7, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Georgia Southern	W 92–89	1–0	22 – Riley	9 – Emejuru	8 – Mbeng	Williams Arena (3,259) Greenville, NC
November 8, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Richmond	L 72–87	1–1	20 – Emejuru	13 – Emejuru	4 – Caulker	Robins Center (4,632) Richmond, VA
November 13, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Elizabeth City State	W 71–70	2–1	23 – Emejuru	11 – DeLaurier	4 – Tied	Williams Arena (4,238) Greenville, NC
November 18, 2025* 7:00 pm, FloCollege		at UNC Wilmington	L 60−85	2−2	19 – Riley	6 – Cason	3 – Mbeng	Trask Coliseum (5,220) Wilmington, NC
November 21, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Charleston Southern	L 65−77	2−3	18 – Emejuru	12 – Emejuru	3 – Tied	Williams Arena (3,327) Greenville, NC
November 25, 2025* 1:00 pm, FS2/BTN		vs. No. 11 Michigan State Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division	L 56–89	2–4	13 – Riley	8 – Emejuru	4 – Caulker	Suncoast Credit Union Arena (3,500) Fort Myers, FL
November 27, 2025* 12:00 pm, FS1		vs. St. Bonaventure Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division	L 58–67	2–5	28 – Riley	11 – Emejuru	2 – Caulker	Suncoast Credit Union Arena (1,342) Fort Myers, FL
December 2, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Maryland Eastern Shore	W 68–56	3–5	18 – Riley	8 – Davis	5 – Riley	Williams Arena (2,883) Greenville, NC
December 6, 2025* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		UNC Greensboro	L 78–82	3–6	25 – Riley	12 – Emejuru	4 – Caulker	Williams Arena (2,973) Greenville, NC
December 11, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Appalachian State	L 54–67	3–7	26 – Riley	8 – Emejuru	3 – Tied	Williams Arena (3,168) Greenville, NC
December 14, 2025* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Buffalo	W 73–70	4–7	31 – Riley	11 – Davis	4 – Caulker	Williams Arena (2,579) Greenville, NC
December 17, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Presbyterian	W 74–53	5–7	24 – Riley	7 – Emejuru	5 – Caulker	Williams Arena (2,663) Greenville, NC
December 22, 2025* 8:00 pm, ACCN		at No. 12 North Carolina	L 51–99	5–8	21 – Emejuru	14 – Emejuru	6 – Mbeng	Dean Smith Center (20,479) Chapel Hill, NC
American regular season
December 31, 2025 12:00 pm, ESPNU		Tulane	L 70−79	5−9 (0−1)	21 – Riley	9 – Emejuru	4 – Bailey	Williams Arena (2,992) Greenville, NC
January 7, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Temple	L 67–75	5–10 (0–2)	29 – Riley	9 – Emejuru	6 – Mbeng	Liacouras Center (2,128) Philadelphia, PA
January 11, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+		UAB	L 85–87 OT	5–11 (0–3)	30 – Riley	12 – Emejuru	9 – Mbeng	Williams Arena (3,296) Greenville, NC
January 14, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at South Florida	L 71–82	5–12 (0–4)	25 – Riley	10 – Tied	4 – Caulker	Yuengling Center (3,790) Tampa, FL
January 18, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Charlotte	L 70–73	5–13 (0–5)	23 – Riley	6 – Emejuru	6 – Caulker	Williams Arena (3,574) Greenville, NC
January 21, 2026 7:30 pm, ESPN+		at Wichita State	L 60–77	5–14 (0–6)	15 – Riley	11 – Emejuru	3 – Tied	Charles Koch Arena (5,588) Wichita, KS
January 24, 2026 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at North Texas	W 63–59	6–14 (1–6)	15 – Riley	16 – Emejuru	6 – Caulker	The Super Pit (2,420) Denton, TX
January 28, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPNU		Rice	L 77–83	6–15 (1–7)	37 – Riley	6 – Emejuru	9 – Caulker	Williams Arena (4,107) Greenville, NC
February 1, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Florida Atlantic	W 76–75	7–15 (2–7)	35 – Riley	9 – Riley	6 – Caulker	Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161) Boca Raton, FL
February 7, 2026 12:00 pm, ESPNU		Temple	L 73–81	7–16 (2–8)	32 – Riley	14 – Emejuru	3 – Tied	Williams Arena (4,010) Greenville, NC
February 11, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		UTSA	W 88–72	8–16 (3–8)	19 – Riley	12 – Emejuru	6 – Mbeng	Williams Arena (3,008) Greenville, NC
February 14, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Rice	W 85–75	9–16 (4–8)	22 – Riley	7 – Emejuru	4 – Tied	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,789) Houston, TX
February 18, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Wichita State	L 89–92 2OT	9–17 (4–9)	40 – Riley	14 – DeLaurier	5 – Mbeng	Williams Arena (3,150) Greenville, NC
February 21, 2026 12:00 pm, ESPN2		at Charlotte	L 56–68	9–18 (4–10)	20 – Riley	12 – Emejuru	2 – Tied	Dale F. Halton Arena (3,583) Charlotte, NC
February 25, 2026 8:00 pm, ESPN+		at UTSA	W 82–81	10–18 (5–10)	27 – Riley	6 – Tied	6 – Caulker	Convocation Center (1,037) San Antonio, TX
March 1, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Memphis	W 84–68	11–18 (6–10)	31 – Riley	12 – Riley	11 – Caulker	Williams Arena (4,195) Greenville, NC
March 5, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPNU		Tulsa	L 66–93	11–19 (6–11)	26 – Riley	9 – Davis	6 – Riley	Williams Arena (3,782) Greenville, NC
March 8, 2026 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at UAB	L 83–90	11–20 (6–12)	19 – Gardner	14 – Emejuru	5 – Caulker	Bartow Arena (4,123) Birmingham, AL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources: