2025–26 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

2025–26 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
2025–26 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	12–19 (7–11 MAC)
Head coach	Michael Lewis (4th season);
Associate head coach	Scott Combs (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Justin Brown (2nd season); Buzzy Caruthers (2nd season); John Clancy (1st season);
Home arena	Worthen Arena
	Seasons ← 2024–25 2026–27 →

The 2025–26 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represented Ball State University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by fourth-year head coach Michael Lewis, played their home games at Worthen Arena in Muncie, Indiana as members of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the 2025–26 season 12–19, 7–11 in MAC play, to finish in a three-way tie for 7th place.^[1] They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament due to tiebrakers.

2025–26 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Miami (OH)	18	–	0	1.000	32	–	2	.941
Akron †	17	–	1	.944	29	–	6	.829
Kent State	14	–	4	.778	24	–	10	.706
Toledo	11	–	7	.611	19	–	15	.559
Bowling Green	9	–	9	.500	18	–	14	.563
Ohio	9	–	9	.500	15	–	17	.469
Buffalo	7	–	11	.389	17	–	15	.531
UMass	7	–	11	.389	17	–	16	.515
Ball State	7	–	11	.389	12	–	19	.387
Central Michigan	6	–	12	.333	10	–	21	.323
Western Michigan	4	–	14	.222	10	–	21	.323
Northern Illinois	4	–	14	.222	9	–	21	.300
Eastern Michigan	4	–	14	.222	10	–	21	.323

† 2026 MAC tournament winner

Previous season

The Cardinals finished the 2024–25 season 14–17, 7–11 in MAC play, to finish in a tie for ninth place.^[2] They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament, as only the top eight teams qualify.^[3]

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Jermahri Hill	1	G	6'5"	185	Junior	Bessemer, Alabama	Transferred to George Mason
Ethan Brittain-Watts	2	G	6'1"	205	Graduate Student	Indianapolis, Indiana	Exhausted eligibility
Mickey Pearson Jr.	3	F	6'8"	205	Senior	Lincoln, Alabama	Entered the transfer portal
Juanse Gorosito	4	G	6'1"	190	Junior	Ceres Santa Fe, Argentina	Transferred to San Diego
Payton Sparks	5	C	6'10"	265	Senior	Winchester, Indiana	Entered the transfer portal
Jurica Zagorsak	12	G	6'8"	235	Sophomore	Zadar, Croatia	Left team; signed with KK Samobor
TJ Burch	22	G	6'1"	170	Freshman	Dallas, Texas	Transferred to Wright State
Jeremiah Hernandez	33	G	6'5"	192	Graduate Student	Chicago, Illinois	Exhausted eligibility
Ben Hendriks	34	C	6'10"	248	Senior	Mississauga, Ontario	Graduated
Zane Doughty	54	C	6'9"	242	Sophomore	Indianapolis, Indiana	Left due to personal reasons

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Elmore James IV	1	G	6'3"	210	Senior	Cleveland, Ohio	Ohio
Davion Hill	2	G	6'2"	225	Sophomore	Williamsport, Pennsylvania	Northwest Florida State College
Juwan Maxey	3	G	6'0"	175	Senior	Detroit, Michigan	Youngstown State
Kayden Fish	4	F	6'6"	245	Sophomore	Kansas City, Missouri	Iowa State
Armoni Zeigler	5	G	6'4"	200	Junior	Amityville, New York	Saint Peter's
Cam Denson	7	F	6'7"	215	Graduate Student	Compton, California	Long Beach State
Devon Barnes	13	G	6'1"	180	Senior	Hinesville, Georgia	UTEP

2025 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Preston Copeland PF	Raleigh, North Carolina	Combine Academy	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Oct 25, 2024
Preston Copeland PF	Recruit ratings: 247Sports: (NR)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals.

Preseason

On October 21, 2025, the MAC released their preseason poll. Ball State was picked to finish eighth in the conference.^[4]

Preseason rankings

MAC Preseason Poll
Place	Team	Votes
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
(#) first-place votes

Source:^[4]

Preseason All-MAC Teams

No players were named to either the First or Second Preseason All-MAC Teams.^[4]

Roster

2025–26 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	0	Jai Anthoni Bearden	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	RS Fr	Sunnyslope High School	Phoenix, Arizona
G	1	Elmore James IV	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sr	Ohio	Cleveland, Ohio
G	2	Davion Hill	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	RS So	Northwest Florida State College	Williamsport, Pennsylvania
G	3	Juwan Maxey	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sr	Youngstown State	Detroit, Michigan
F	4	Kayden Fish	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	RS So	Iowa State	Kansas City, Missouri
G	5	Armoni Zeigler	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Saint Peter's	Amityville, New York
F	7	Cam Denson	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	GS	Long Beach State	Compton, California
G	11	Kody Clancy	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Scottsburg High School	Scottsburg, Indiana
G	13	Devon Barnes	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	UTEP	Hinesville, Georgia
G	20	Joey Hart	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jr	Kentucky	Linton, Indiana
F	23	Easton Foster (W)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Monroe Central High School	Parker City, Indiana
F	24	Mason Jones	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jr	Valparaiso High School	Valparaiso, Indiana
F	34	Preston Copeland	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Fr	Combine Academy	Clayton, North Carolina
G	45	Alex Farley (W)	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	177 lb (80 kg)	Fr	Clinton Prairie High School	Rossville, Indiana

Head coach

Michael Lewis (Indiana)

Assistant coach(es)

Scott Combs (Austin Peay)
Justin Brown (Southwest Baptist)
Buzzy Caruthers (Hampton)
John Clancy (Concordia–Chicago)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: December 19, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 27, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Purdue Fort Wayne	L 70–84	–	18 – Barnes	7 – James IV	4 – Hill	Gates Sports Center (1,263) Fort Wayne, IN
Regular season
November 3, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Louisiana MAC-SBC Challenge	W 75–64	1–0	16 – Hill	8 – Hill	5 – Zeigler	Worthen Arena (2,582) Muncie, IN
November 7, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Mansfield	W 84–54	2–0	20 – Zeigler	9 – Zeigler	4 – Hill	Worthen Arena (2,605) Muncie, IN
November 11, 2025* 8:30 p.m., BTN	at No. 24 Wisconsin	L 55–86	2–1	17 – James IV	5 – Hill	5 – Barnes	Kohl Center (13,909) Madison, WI
November 15, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Little Rock	L 62−68	2−2	15 – Zeigler	5 – Zeigler	4 – Jones	Worthen Arena (3,015) Muncie, IN
November 22, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Indiana State	L 52−70	2−3	14 – Barnes	9 – Denson	3 – Zeigler	Hulman Center (4,718) Terre Haute, IN
November 28, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	vs. Monmouth Lafayette Classic	L 73–80	2–4	21 – Hill	6 – Copeland	6 – Jones	Kirby Sports Center (574) Easton, PA
November 29, 2025* 4:30 p.m., ESPN+	at Lafayette Lafayette Classic	L 37–55	2–5	11 – Maxey	8 – Zeigler	1 – Tied	Kirby Sports Center (1,079) Easton, PA
November 30, 2025* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+	vs. Le Moyne Lafayette Classic	W 96–85	3–5	27 – Maxey	16 – Copeland	5 – Maxey	Kirby Sports Center (347) Easton, PA
December 3, 2025* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Evansville	L 52–64	3–6	17 – Zeigler	10 – Jones	3 – Hill	Ford Center (4,186) Evansville, IN
December 9, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	South Dakota State	L 64–68	3–7	18 – Hart	9 – Fish	5 – Zeigler	Worthen Arena (2,412) Muncie, IN
December 14, 2025* 2:00 p.m., FloCollege	at Campbell	L 64–69	3–8	15 – Hart	10 – Zeigler	2 – Tied	Gore Arena (1,139) Buies Creek, NC
December 20, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Miami (OH)	L 77–86	3–9 (0–1)	20 – James IV	8 – Zeigler	4 – Barnes	Worthen Arena (3,503) Muncie, IN
December 29, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Earlham	W 93–30	4–9	18 – Copeland	11 – Jones	5 – Tied	Worthen Arena (2,309) Muncie, IN
January 3, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Buffalo	L 72–85	4–10 (0–2)	20 – Barnes	6 – Hill	5 – Jones	Alumni Arena (2,485) Amherst, NY
January 6, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Eastern Michigan	L 52–74	4–11 (0–3)	15 – Zeigler	5 – Jones	4 – Zeigler	Worthen Arena (2,354) Muncie, IN
January 10, 2026 3:30 p.m., ESPN+	at UMass	L 71–79	4–12 (0–4)	22 – Hill	7 – Hill	6 – Zeigler	Mullins Center (4,010) Amherst, MA
January 13, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Akron	L 77–87	4–13 (0–5)	30 – Zeigler	7 – Denson	3 – Hill	James A. Rhodes Arena (1,934) Akron, OH
January 16, 2026 8:30 p.m., CBSSN	Ohio	W 76–71	5–13 (1–5)	28 – Zeigler	7 – Tied	4 – Tied	Worthen Arena (2,505) Muncie, IN
January 20, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Central Michigan	W 68–67	6–13 (2–5)	17 – Tied	7 – Zeigler	4 – Tied	McGuirk Arena (2,202) Mount Pleasant, MI
January 24, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Northern Illinois	W 58–53	7–13 (3–5)	18 – Tied	8 – Hill	3 – Hill	Worthen Arena (4,105) Muncie, IN
January 31, 2026 12:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Toledo	L 55–73	7–14 (3–6)	14 – Fish	9 – Zeigler	3 – Zeigler	Savage Arena (4,076) Toledo, OH
February 3, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Bowling Green	L 52–77	7–15 (3–7)	15 – Hill	6 – Denson	3 – Barnes	Stroh Center (1,771) Bowling Green, OH
February 7, 2026* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Louisiana–Monroe MAC-SBC Challenge	W 73–68	8–15	17 – Fish	10 – Jones	4 – Hill	Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,521) Monroe, LA
February 11, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Buffalo	L 53–63	8–16 (3–8)	14 – Hill	5 – Fish	3 – Tied	Worthen Arena (2,460) Muncie, IN
February 14, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Kent State	L 68–75	8–17 (3–9)	17 – Hill	8 – Hill	4 – Zeigler	Worthen Arena (3,418) Muncie, IN
February 17, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Ohio	L 57–69	8–18 (3–10)	17 – Barnes	10 – Copeland	3 – Zeigler	Convocation Center (4,164) Athens, OH
February 20, 2026 6:30 p.m., CBSSN	Akron	L 65–78	8–19 (3–11)	18 – Hill	11 – Hill	4 – Zeigler	Worthen Arena (2,680) Muncie, IN
February 24, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	UMass	W 74–73 ^OT	9–19 (4–11)	26 – Hill	9 – Copeland	5 – Zeigler	Worthen Arena (2,396) Muncie, IN
February 28, 2026 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Northern Illinois	W 79–43	10–19 (5–11)	17 – Hill	6 – Tied	7 – Hill	Convocation Center (1,887) DeKalb, IL
March 3, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Western Michigan	W 74–71 ^OT	11–19 (6–11)	28 – Zeigler	10 – Jones	8 – Zeigler	University Arena (1,206) Kalamazoo, MI
March 6, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Central Michigan	W 85–69	12–19 (7–11)	25 – Hill	7 – Zeigler	7 – Zeigler	Worthen Arena (2,815) Muncie, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:^[5]^[6]

References

↑ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Standings". ESPN. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
↑ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
↑ "Everything you need to know before the 2025 MAC Tournament". WOUB Public Media. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
1 2 3 "MAC Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, All-MAC Teams". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
↑ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
↑ "Ball State Cardinals 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 19, 2025.

[1] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Standings". ESPN. Retrieved March 12, 2026.

[2] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved December 19, 2025.

[3] "Everything you need to know before the 2025 MAC Tournament". WOUB Public Media. Retrieved December 19, 2025.

[poll-4] 1 2 3 "MAC Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, All-MAC Teams". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved December 19, 2025.

[5] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved December 19, 2025.

[6] "Ball State Cardinals 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 19, 2025.

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