PRESQUE ISLE, ME
The UMPI Men's Basketball Team goes into the 2025-26 season ranked second in the North Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. This is the highest UMPI has ranked in the NAC Preseason Poll since joining the NAC in 2018.
The UMPI men's basketball team is coming off a program-record 20–7 season, which included the program's first-ever invitation to the ECAC Tournament and its highest finish in the Maine Coaches Poll, ranking as the third-best team in the state of Maine. The Owls lose key contributors from last season's record-breaking year but return a strong nucleus along with a talented group of newcomers consisting of five transfers and one first-year player.
Returning for the Owls are All-Conference and All-State guard Akhe McMichael (Sr., St. Petersburg, FL), Dwaine Williams (Sr., Fort Lauderdale, FL), and the anticipated return of 2023 Rookie of the Year Doug McCalla (Jr., West Palm Beach, FL), who was having another strong season before suffering a season-ending injury midway through last season. Other returners include James Yamashita (Sr., Tokyo, Japan), who was a key contributor off the bench; Aleix Moreno (Sr., Barcelona, Spain) and Joelle Hodge (Sr., Brooklyn, NY), who both played key minutes late in the year and stepped up in the NAC Playoffs and the ECAC Tournament game against Salisbury; and guards Blake Senal (Jr., Fort Fairfield, ME) and Javier Osowski-Freire (Jr., Madrid, Spain).
Incoming transfers include Yuki Ishibashi (Jr., Asahi, Japan), AJ Creech (Sr., Augusta, GA), Tyson Enget (Jr., Powers Lake, ND), Tariq Martin (Jr., Baltimore, MD), and Stephan Direny (Jr., Brooklyn, NY), giving UMPI a deep and versatile backcourt to help offset the graduation of All-Conference guard Gilbert Jean Mendez and All-State Defensive Team selection Myles Jones. Rounding out UMPI's 2025 recruiting class is 6'8" first-year forward Myreon Phillip (Fr., Pinellas Park, FL).
AssistingCoach Kane this season will be student assistant Eli Smith.
The Owls open their season at home against the University of Maine–Augusta on Friday, November 7 at 6pm at Wieden Gymnasium.
Please note: For UMPI home games, fans are asked to park in guest parking at the CIL or Gentile Parking Lot. Parking spaces around Wieden Hall will be reserved for ADA parking and Game Day Staff/Officials.
