2025–26 McNeese Cowboys basketball team

The 2025–26 McNeese Cowboys basketball team represented McNeese State University in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cowboys, led by first-year head coach Bill Armstrong, played their home games on-campus at Townsley Law Arena in Lake Charles, Louisiana as members of the Southland Conference.

2025–26 McNeese Cowboys basketball
Southland tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First round
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	28–6 (19–3 Southland)
Head coach	Bill Armstrong (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Robi Coker LeBrent Walker Jeffery Armstrong
Home arena	Townsley Law Arena

2025–26 Southland Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Stephen F. Austin	20	–	2		.909			28	–	6		.824
McNeese †	19	–	3		.864			28	–	6		.824
UT Rio Grande Valley	14	–	8		.636			19	–	14		.576
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	13	–	9		.591			18	–	15		.545
New Orleans	12	–	10		.545			15	–	18		.455
Nicholls	12	–	10		.545			14	–	19		.424
Northwestern State	8	–	14		.364			10	–	22		.313
Houston Christian	8	–	14		.364			12	–	20		.375
Incarnate Word	7	–	15		.318			12	–	19		.387
Lamar	7	–	15		.318			12	–	19		.387
East Texas A&M	6	–	16		.273			11	–	21		.344
Southeastern Louisiana	6	–	16		.273			9	–	22		.290
† 2026 Southland tournament winner

Previous season

The Cowboys finished the 2024–25 season 28–7, 19–1 in Southland play, to finish as Southland regular-season champions. They defeated Northwestern State and Lamar to win the Southland tournament title, earning their second-consecutive bid to the NCAA tournament. In the NCAA tournament, they received the #12 seed in the Midwest Region once again, where they defeated Clemson in the first round, giving them their first NCAA tournament win in program history. They advanced to the second round in the tournament, where they lost to Purdue.

Roster

2025–26 McNeese Cowboys men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown PG 0 T'Johnn Brown 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 164 lb (74 kg) Jr Kimball High School Dallas, TX SG 1 Javohn Garcia 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Sr College of the Sequoias Columbus, OH SG 2 DJ Richards Jr. 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr UTSA Houston, TX G 3 Garwey Dual 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Seton Hall Houston, TX G 6 Larry Johnson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Creighton Savannah, GA F 7 Jerrell Colbert 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Sr SMU Houston, TX G 8 Tyshawn Archie 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Tulsa Houston, TX G 9 JJ Rembert 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Fr Cincinnati Queens, NY G/F 10 Jacolb Fredson-Cole 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS So Oklahoma Bellaire, TX G 11 Brewer Kaleb 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Link Prep Waco, TX F 13 Yanis Ndjonga 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Jr Baylor Yaoundé, Cameroon G 14 Erik Villarreal 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Clear Lake High School Houston, TX F 13 Peitok Machar 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Triton College Sydney, Australia G 23 Carl Cherenfant 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr New Mexico State Pompano Beach, FL	Head coach Bill Armstrong (Baylor) Assistant coach(es) Robi Coker (Fort Payne) LeBrent Walker (Florida A&M) Jeffery Armstrong (Southern Miss) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 28, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 26, 2025* 3:00 p.m.		Grambling State	W 62–56		14 – Tied	11 – Johnson	2 – Tied	Townsley Law Arena  Lake Charles, LA
Regular season
November 3, 2025* 6:30 p.m.		Champion Christian	W 127–65	1–0	30 – Johnson	11 – Ndjonga	6 – Fredson-Cole	Townsley Law Arena (2,587) Lake Charles, LA
November 7, 2025* 9:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Santa Clara	L 67–79	1–1	18 – Johnson	9 – Fredson-Cole	4 – Fredson-Cole	Leavey Center (1,205) Santa Clara, CA
November 10, 2025* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Biblical Studies	W 132–50	2–1	25 – Johnson	9 – Fredson-Cole	11 – Dual	Townsley Law Arena (2,736) Lake Charles, LA
November 14, 2025* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Louisiana	W 88–62	3–1	24 – Johnson	6 – Fredson-Cole	7 – Dual	Townsley Law Arena (4,333) Lake Charles, LA
November 23, 2025* 4:00 p.m., FloCollege		vs. George Washington Cayman Islands Classic	W 92–86	4–1	18 – Garcia	14 – Machar	7 – Dual	John Gray Gymnasium (500) George Town, Cayman Islands
November 24, 2025* 6:30 p.m., FloCollege		vs. Murray State Cayman Islands Classic	W 73–60	5–1	17 – Archie	7 – Machar	6 – Garcia	John Gray Gymnasium  George Town, Cayman Islands
November 25, 2025* 4:00 p.m., FloCollege		vs. Middle Tennessee Cayman Islands Classic	W 72–62	6–1	26 – Garcia	10 – Cherenfant	2 – Tied	John Gray Gymnasium  George Town, Cayman Islands
December 1, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Incarnate Word	L 67–71	6–2 (0–1)	18 – Dual	5 – Dual	1 – Tied	McDermott Center (1,003) San Antonio, TX
December 5, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Northwestern State	W 92–54	7–2 (1–1)	14 – Tied	8 – Johnson	6 – Johnson	Townsley Law Arena (3,255) Lake Charles, LA
December 9, 2025* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Rhode Island	W 66–64	8–2	18 – Archie	6 – Tied	4 – Dual	Ryan Center (3,419) Kingston, RI
December 12, 2025 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		East Texas A&M	W 102–66	9–2 (2–1)	24 – Archie	8 – Johnson	6 – Tied	Townsley Law Arena (3,179) Lake Charles, LA
December 15, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Houston Christian	W 78–68	10–2 (3–1)	22 – Johnson	7 – Colbert	5 – Dual	Sharp Gymnasium (803) Houston, TX
December 29, 2025* 6:00 p.m., B1G+		at No. 2 Michigan	L 71–112	10–3	15 – Dual	7 – Johnson	3 – Dual	Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI
January 2, 2026 6:00 p.m., CBSSN		Lamar Battle of the Border	W 82–70	11–3 (4–1)	21 – Holifield	10 – East	4 – Wilhite	Townsley Law Arena (4,612) Lake Charles, LA
January 5, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Stephen F. Austin	W 66–64	12–3 (5–1)	15 – Patrick	11 – Christmas	5 – Patrick	Townsley Law Arena (2,784) Lake Charles, LA
January 10, 2026 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		Southeastern Louisiana	W 73–61	13–3 (6–1)	13 – Edison	9 – Myles	5 – Pickett	Townsley Law Arena (3,112) Lake Charles, LA
January 12, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Nicholls	W 94–68	14–3 (7–1)	24 – Johnson	10 – Johnson	5 – Tied	Townsley Law Arena (3,073) Lake Charles, LA
January 17, 2026 4:30 p.m., ESPN+		at UT Rio Grande Valley	L 76–79	14–4 (7–2)	23 – Archie	10 – Fredson-Cole	4 – Dual	UTRGV Fieldhouse (2,119) Edinburg, TX
January 19, 2026 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	W 69–53	15–4 (8–2)	17 – Johnson	9 – Johnson	3 – Dual	Dugan Wellness Center (1,038) Corpus Christi, TX
January 24, 2026 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		New Orleans	W 82–63	16–4 (9–2)	26 – Johnson	8 – Johnson	5 – Johnson	Townsley Law Arena (3,236) Lake Charles, LA
January 27, 2026 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Southeastern Louisiana	W 76−66	17–4 (10–2)	20 – Johnson	7 – Ndjonga	3 – Dual	University Center (488) Hammond, LA
January 31, 2026 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Lamar Battle of the Border	W 64–63	18–4 (11–2)	22 – Johnson	12 – Colbert	3 – Archie	Neches Arena (5,714) Beaumont, TX
February 2, 2026 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Stephen F. Austin	L 60–67	18–5 (11–3)	16 – Archie	11 – Colbert	6 – Archie	William R. Johnson Coliseum (5,687) Nacogdoches, TX
February 7, 2026 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		Incarnate Word	W 81–64	19–5 (12–3)	17 – Tied	6 – Fredson-Cole	9 – Dual	Townsley Law Arena (3,554) Lake Charles, LA
February 9, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Houston Christian	W 73–69	20–5 (13–3)	18 – Garcia	5 – Colbert	5 – Archie	Townsley Law Arena (3,094) Lake Charles, LA
February 14, 2026 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		at East Texas A&M	W 97–54	21–5 (14–3)	21 – Garcia	9 – Machar	5 – Dual	The Field House (502) Commerce, TX
February 16, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Northwestern State	W 75–64	22–5 (15–3)	24 – Archie	7 – Machar	2 – Tied	Prather Coliseum (601) Natchitoches, LA
February 21, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPNU		Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	W 70–54	23–5 (16–3)	23 – Johnson	10 – Johnson	5 – Dual	Townsley Law Arena (3,298) Lake Charles, LA
February 23, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		UT Rio Grande Valley	W 75–68	24–5 (17–3)	20 – Johnson	9 – Colbert	5 – Dual	Townsley Law Arena (2,872) Lake Charles, LA
February 28, 2026 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		at New Orleans	W 66–63	25–5 (18–3)	17 – Tied	7 – Johnson	3 – Archie	Lakefront Arena (1,045) New Orleans, LA
March 2, 2026 6:30 p.m., CBSSN		at Nicholls	W 75–65	26–5 (19–3)	25 – Johnson	6 – Johnson	5 – Archie	Stopher Gymnasium (912) Thibodaux, LA
Southland Conference tournament
March 10, 2026 8:30 p.m., ESPN+	(2)	(3) UT Rio Grande Valley Semifinal	W 84–80 3OT	27–5	27 – Johnson	12 – Johnson	10 – Dual	Townsley Law Arena (4,481) Lake Charles, LA
March 11, 2026 4:00 p.m., ESPN2	(2)	(1) Stephen F. Austin Championship	W 76–59	28–5	31 – Garcia	7 – Ndjonga	6 – Dual	Townsley Law Arena (5,272) Lake Charles, LA
NCAA tournament
March 19, 2026* 2:15 pm, TruTV	(12 S)	vs. (5 S) No. 16 Vanderbilt First round	L 68–78	28–6	16 – Dual	6 – Colbert	6 – Dual	Paycom Center (15,677) Oklahoma City, OK
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Central.

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