GLENVILLE, W.Va. – Glenville State Men's Basketball will open up the 2025-26 season tomorrow (Nov. 14) at the Earl Lloyd Classic at West Virginia State University in Institute. The Pioneers will take on Claflin on Friday evening before finishing the weekend with Livingstone on Saturday (Nov. 15) afternoon.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Friday, November 14 | 5:30 p.m. | Walker Convocation Center
Glenville State vs Claflin
Watch Live on MEC.TV | Live Stats
 
Saturday, November 15 | 2 p.m. | Walker Convocation Center
Glenville State vs Livingstone
Watch Live on MEC.TV | Live Stats
 
THE OPPONENTS
CLAFLIN
2024-25 Season
The Panthers went (20-10, 11-5 CIAA) in 2024-25, losing in the opening round of the CIAA Tournament before beating Central State and Virginia Union at the Black College Invitational Championship to end the season.
 
Quick Look at The Panthers
The Panthers lost their top five scorers from a season ago, but do return Michael Shuler, who averaged 7.4 PPG and 2.3 RPG a year ago. The new-look squad ran by head coach Brion Dunlap, is preseason picked No. 2 in the CIAA and looking to get a major contribution out of their highly-touted transfer Xavier Tubbs-Matthews. He was a CIAA All-Rookie selection and All-CIAA during his two seasons at Elizabeth City State. Matthews is a Preseason All-CIAA selection as well.
 
LIVINGSTONE
2024-25 Season
The Blue Bears are coming off of a (12-16, 4-12 CIAA) finish last year, a season that saw LU start out (6-0). Their season came to an end at the CIAA Tournament against Bowie State in the opening round.
 
Quick Look at The Blue Bears
Livingstone returns their leading scorer from a year ago in Jamal Cannady Jr., who averaged 16.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.1 APG and 1.1 SPG for the Blue Bears. LU also has the luxury of bringing back their No. 2 and No. 3 scorers from 2024-25 as well, as James Nipper (11.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.5 SPG) and Teon Tiller (10.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.9 SPG) return. The James Stinson-led Blue Bears featured one player on the All-CIAA Preseason Team with Nipper and were picked 10^th in the CIAA.
 
THE PIONEERS
GLENVILLE STATE
2024-25 Season
The Pioneers notched 17 wins with 10 conference victories in 2024-25, going (17-13, 10-10 MEC) and advancing into the MEC Tournament Semifinals before falling to Fairmont State. GSU landed two on the All-MEC teams, including returner Ammar Maxwell.
 
Look at The Pioneers
The 2025-26 Pioneers were picked 4^th in the MEC Preseason Coaches Poll, their highest since joining the league in 2013. Bob Bolen returns many key pieces for this year's squad, with Maxwell being the forefront as the sophomore guard was All-MEC Second Team in 2024-25 after posting 14.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.3 APG and 1.1 SPG on 56% shooting from the field and 41% from behind the arc. Another pair of sophomores who had stellar freshman campaigns return in Don Colon-Lewis (10.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.2 APG) and Elijah Redfern (9.9 PPG, 2.4 APG, 2.2 RPG).
 
"Those three had tremendous years for freshmen," said head coach Bob Bolen on the Pioneer Coaches Show. "I can't remember the last time in the MEC three freshmen contributed that much."
 
The trio is accompanied by big man Prince Mosengo, who flirted with double-double averages last season. The 6-foot-8, redshirt junior comes back in the blue and white after averaging 9.4 PPG and 8.2 RPG in 2024-25. "He had a dominant season last year and he's even better this year," added Bolen.
 
Corey Boulden looks to take a leap after developing another season in Bolen's system. The South Harrison native appeared in 12 games last year. Former Alderson Broaddus transfer Rye Gadd is on the floor again for GSU after missing the whole 2024-25 campaign due to a preseason knee injury. "Corey Boulden has really put the time in and really developed. Then you add Rye Gadd back into the mix. We feel really good about what we brought back from last year."
 
Coach Bolen did bring in nine newcomers, including seven transfers. Those around the MEC will remember former Alderson Broaddus and Central Missouri transfer Jalen Knott, who won the 2022 MEC Freshman of the Year award in 2022 while playing for the Battlers. "Jalen Knott is explosive, he's a leader, he has experience. He's a fantastic player. We're really excited about Jalen."
 
Two more former in-conference players also joined the Pioneers in Fairmont State transfer Callum Crossman and West Liberty import Garrison Kisner. Crossman, who stands at 6-foot-9, played two seasons for the Falcons, where he played in 39 games while Kisner spent two years at WLU but redshirted in 2023-24. Last season, Kisner appeared in 23 games and averaged 3.9 PPG in 10 minutes per game. The 6-foot-7 forward is another stretch player that excites Bolen for this season.
 
"Crossman, at 6-9, is super athletic and Garrison can shoot the ball and has a lot of experience," said Bolen. "That's two big guys that we feel really good about."
 
The Pioneers extended their player pool to the junior college ranks, where they landed a pair of transfers with Garrett College guard Gavin Jackson and Calhoun CC guard Joshua Vedrine. Jackson averaged double figures (16.3 PPG) last season while Vedrine logged 9.4 PPG on 51% shooting from the field. "Josh is our most athletic player and Gavin can shoot the cover off the ball."
 
The first look at the 2025-26 Pioneers can be seen on the Mountain East Conference Digital network, starting with Claflin at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow (Nov. 14).

MEDIA
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