2026–27 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball team

2026–27 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball
2026–27 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Head coach	Matthew Graves (3rd season);
Associate head coach	Mark Slessinger
Assistant coaches	Byron Jones; Isaiah Tisdale; Jake Odum; Bradley Feig;
Home arena	Hulman Center
	Seasons ← 2025–26 2027–28 →

The 2026–27 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball team will represent Indiana State University during the 2026–27 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Sycamores, led by third-year head coach Matthew Graves, will play their home games at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Indiana as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).

2026–27 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Belmont	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Bradley	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Drake	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Evansville	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Illinois State	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Indiana State	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Murray State	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Northern Iowa	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Southern Illinois	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
UIC	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Valparaiso	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–

† 2027 MVC tournament winner

Previous season

The Sycamores finished the 2025–26 season 11–21, 4–16 in MVC play to finish in 10th place.^[1] They lost in the opening round of the MVC tournament to Valparaiso.^[2]

Offseason

Departures

Indiana State departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Sterling Young	0	G	6'1"	175	Senior	Queens, NY	Graduated
Jayan Walker	2	G	6'6"	200	Sophomore	Raleigh, NC	Transferred to Alcorn State^[3]
Bruno Alocen	4	G	6'6"	180	Sophomore	Barcelona, Spain	Transferred to Valparaiso^[4]
Zyair Greene	5	G	6'3"	200	GS	Atlanta, GA	Transfer portal
Jo Van Buggenhout	6	G	6'2"	195	Junior	Antwerp, Belgium	Transfered to Sacred Heart^[3]^[5]
Hunter Harding	7	C	7'1"	255	Sophomore	Toronto, Ontario	Transferred to Elon^[3]^[6]
Camp Wagner	8	G	6'6"	190	Junior	Dallas, TX	Transferred to UC San Diego
Sivert Wærstad Nordheim	9	G	6'6"	190	Freshman	Oslo, Norway	Transferred to Barry
Enel St. Bernard	10	F	6'6"	215	Junior	Harford Village, Grenada	Transferred to Sam Houston^[7]
Caden Huttenlocker	12	G	6'2"	185	RS-Junior	Elletsville, IN	Transfer portal^[8]
Cooper Bean	13	G	6'3"	190	Sophomore	Noblesville, IN	Transferred to Truman State
Ian Scott	23	F	6'7"	220	Senior	Plainfield, IN	Transfer portal
Derek Vorst	35	C	6'10"	250	Junior	Luckey, OH	Transferred to Cleveland State^[9]

Incoming transfers

On April 9, 2026, EJ McQuillan became the first commit of the 2026–27 season. The 6'4" senior guard transferred from LSUA, where he averaged 20.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game last season.^[10]

On April 20, 2026, Jackson Cooper, a 6'7" forward announced his commitment to the Sycamores. The Portland, Oregon native led Oregon Tech of the NAIA in scoring with 17.7 points and 5.8 assists.^[11]^[12]

Indiana State incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school	Years remaining	Date eligible
Jackson Cooper	35	F	6'7"		Senior	Portland, OR	Oregon Tech	1	October 1, 2026
Karmani Gregory	7	G	6'1"	175	Senior	Palmetto, FL	South Carolina Upstate	1	October 1, 2026
EJ McQuillan	1	G	6'4"		Senior	Port Allen, LA	LSUA	1	October 1, 2026
Maguire Mitchell	13	G	6'5"	185	Sophomore	Zionsville, IN	IU Indy	3	October 1, 2026
Duce Paschal	9	G	6'5"	185	Sophomore	Portland, OR	Weber State	3	October 1, 2026
Greyson Pritzl	12	G	6'4"	205	Senior	West Allis, WI	Lander	1	October 1, 2026
Chance Puryear	5	F	6'7"	210	Sophomore	Dallas, TX	SMU	3	October 1, 2026
Aleksa Vlajic	15	F	6'10"	225	Sophomore	Belgrade, Serbia	Buffalo	3	October 1, 2026
Meechie White	2	G	6'1"	175	Senior	Louisville, KY	Eastern Illinois	1	October 1, 2026

Recruiting classes

2026 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Alessio Calamita Forward		FC Bayern Munich	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Apr 24, 2026
Alessio Calamita Forward	Recruit ratings: No ratings found

2027 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2027)
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
			N/A	N/A
	Recruit ratings: No ratings found

Roster

2026–27 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	1	EJ McQuillan	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sr	Port Allen HS/LSUA	Port Allen, LA
G	2	Meechie White	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sr	Male HS/Eastern Illinois	Louisville, KY
G	3	EJ Hazelett	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Kankakee	Indianapolis, IN
F	5	Chance Puryear	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	Carter HS/SMU	Dallas, TX
G	7	Karmani Gregory	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sr	Southeast HS/USC Upstate	Palmetto, FL
G	9	Duce Paschal	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Central Catholic HS/Weber State	Portland, OR
G	12	Greyson Pritzl	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sr	West Allis Central HS/Lander	West Allis, WI
G	13	Maguire Mitchell	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Zionsville High School/IU Indy	Zionsville, IN
F	15	Aleksa Vlajic	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	So	Hoosac School/Buffalo	Belgrade, Serbia
G	21	Martin Kaupanger	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Annie Wright	Gig Harbor, WA
G	23	Ian Thomas	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	De Smet Jesuit HS	St. Louis, MO
F	32	Kade Speckman	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Fr	Lutheran HS	Denver, CO
F	35	Jackson Cooper	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Sr	Cleveland HS/Oregon Tech	Portland, OR
F	45	Alessio Calamita	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Fr	FC Bayern Munich	Italy

Head coach

Matthew Graves (Butler)

Assistant coach(es)

Mark Slessinger (Aurora)
Byron Jones (Central Oklahoma)
Isaiah Tisdale (East Tennessee State)
Jake Odum (Indiana State)
Bradley Feig (New Orleans)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: July 1, 2026

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	High points
Exhibition Season
October 10, 2026*	at Butler	Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN
October 24, 2026*	Rose–Hulman	Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN
Non-Conference Regular Season
November 2, 2026*	Charlotte	Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN
November 6, 2026*	at Ball State	Worthen Arena Muncie, IN
November 11, 2026*	Milwaukee	Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN
November 14, 2026*	Earlham	Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN
November 20–23, 2026*	vs. Paradise Jam	UVI Sports and Fitness Center St. Thomas, USVI
November 20–23, 2026*	vs. Paradise Jam	UVI Sports and Fitness Center St. Thomas, USVI
November 20–23, 2026*	vs. Paradise Jam	UVI Sports and Fitness Center St. Thomas, USVI
November 28, 2026*	IU Columbus	Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN
December 2, 2026*	SIU Edwardsville	Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN
December 6, 2026*	Southern Indiana	Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN
December 12, 2026*	at Oregon	Matthew Knight Arena Eugene, OR
December 22, 2026*	at Kansas	Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS
Conference Regular Season

Conference Tournament
*	vs. Arch Madness Opening Round	Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Zone.

Sources:^[13]

References

↑ "2025–26 Men's Basketball Standings – Missouri Valley Conference". mvc-sports.com. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
↑ Rush, Nick (March 5, 2026). "Sycamores conclude 2025–26 season with loss to Valparaiso". GoSycamores.com. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
1 2 3 Derek Harper (May 21, 2026). "Three former Sycamores announce new destinations". The Tribune Star. Retrieved May 28, 2026.
↑ "Bruno Alocen to Join Valpo Men's Basketball Program". Valpo Athletics. May 8, 2026. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
↑ Buyse, Peter (May 22, 2026). "Jo Van Buggenhout Joinst Sacred Heart University Basketball Team". USBasket.com. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
↑ "Hunter Harding". Elon Phoenix. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
↑ Derek Harper (April 17, 2026). "St. Bernard headed to Sam Houston State". The Tribune-Star. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
↑ Derek Harper (April 6, 2026). "NCAA transfer portal opens; ISU coach confirms several Sycamores will enter". The Tribune-Star. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
↑ "Cleveland State Men's Basketball Brings In Derek Vorst". CSU Vikings. May 11, 2026. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
↑ "Men's basketball signs NAIA Second Team All-American EJ McQuillan". Indiana State Sycamores. April 9, 2026. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
↑ "Men's basketball signs NAIA Second Team All-American Jackson Cooper". Indiana State Sycamores. April 20, 2026. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
↑ Derek Harper (April 21, 2026). "Jackson Cooper making jump from NAIA Oregon Tech to ISU". The Tribune-Star. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
↑ "2026–27 Basketball Schedule – Indiana State University Athletics". GoSycamores.com. Retrieved July 1, 2026.

[1] "2025–26 Men's Basketball Standings – Missouri Valley Conference". mvc-sports.com. Retrieved July 1, 2026.

[2] Rush, Nick (March 5, 2026). "Sycamores conclude 2025–26 season with loss to Valparaiso". GoSycamores.com. Retrieved July 1, 2026.

[transfers-3] 1 2 3 Derek Harper (May 21, 2026). "Three former Sycamores announce new destinations". The Tribune Star. Retrieved May 28, 2026.

[4] "Bruno Alocen to Join Valpo Men's Basketball Program". Valpo Athletics. May 8, 2026. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

[5] Buyse, Peter (May 22, 2026). "Jo Van Buggenhout Joinst Sacred Heart University Basketball Team". USBasket.com. Retrieved July 1, 2026.

[6] "Hunter Harding". Elon Phoenix. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

[7] Derek Harper (April 17, 2026). "St. Bernard headed to Sam Houston State". The Tribune-Star. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

[InStTransfers-8] Derek Harper (April 6, 2026). "NCAA transfer portal opens; ISU coach confirms several Sycamores will enter". The Tribune-Star. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

[9] "Cleveland State Men's Basketball Brings In Derek Vorst". CSU Vikings. May 11, 2026. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

[10] "Men's basketball signs NAIA Second Team All-American EJ McQuillan". Indiana State Sycamores. April 9, 2026. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

[11] "Men's basketball signs NAIA Second Team All-American Jackson Cooper". Indiana State Sycamores. April 20, 2026. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

[12] Derek Harper (April 21, 2026). "Jackson Cooper making jump from NAIA Oregon Tech to ISU". The Tribune-Star. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

[13] "2026–27 Basketball Schedule – Indiana State University Athletics". GoSycamores.com. Retrieved July 1, 2026.

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