# 2024–25 Sam Houston Bearkats men's basketball team

The 2024–25 Sam Houston Bearkats men's basketball team represented Sam Houston State University in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bearkats, led by second-year head coach Chris Mudge, played their home games at the Bernard Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville, Texas as second-year members of the Conference USA.

## Previous season

The Bearkats finished the 2023–24 season 21–12, 13–3 in C-USA play to win the Conference USA championship. They defeated FIU in the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament before losing to UTEP in the semifinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Owen McGlashan | 0 | G/F | 6'7" | 210 | GS Senior | Marlton, NJ | Graduated |
| Davon Barnes | 2 | G | 6'5" | 215 | Junior | Memphis, TN | Transferred to Ole Miss |
| Anthony Wrzeszcz | 4 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Sophomore | Gdynia, Poland | Transferred to McMaster |
| Bryce Cook | 11 | G | 5'7" | 160 | Freshman | Arlington, TX | Transferred to Texas A&M–Kingsville |
| Jaden Ray | 13 | G | 5'10" | 165 | Senior | Midwest City, OK | Graduated |
| Kinglsey Ijeoma | 14 | F | 6'8" | 200 | Junior | Houston, TX | Transferred to Livingstone College |
| Lewis Rowe | 21 | F | 6'10" | 250 | Junior | Adelaide, Australia | Transferred to St. Edward's |
| Derrick Brown | 24 | G | 6'0" | 175 | Junior | Houston, TX | Walk-on; transferred |
| Souleymane Doumbia | 31 | C | 6'11" | 230 | Senior | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Brennen Burns | 0 | G | 5'10" | 175 | Senior | Bethany, OK | Southeastern Oklahoma State |
| Dorian Finister | 2 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Junior | New Orleans, LA | Kansas State |
| Kalifa Sakho | 34 | F | 6'11" | 220 | Senior | Rouen, France | Utah State |
| Josiah Hammons | 57 | G | 6'2" | 180 | Senior | Chicago, IL | Incarnate Word |

### 2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jaxson Ford #31 PF | Prosper, TX | Link Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Oct 22, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Erik Taylor CG | Orlando, FL | The Rock School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Jul 20, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Cheikh Ndiaye C | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Prestige Worldwide Sports Academy | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | May 27, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, 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: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 25, 2024. ||||||

### 2025 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2025) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jacobe Coleman SG | Dallas, TX | Dynamic Prep | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Sep 2, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Nathan Nguyen PG | Houston, TX | Saint Thomas' Episcopal School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | N/A | Sep 11, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Jacob Walker PG | Cordova, TN | Sunrise Christian Academy | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Sep 26, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Matt Dann C | Oakville, ON | Fort Erie International Academy | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | N/A | Oct 12, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, 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.com. Retrieved October 25, 2024. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 13, 2024* 5:00 p.m. | | vs. Prairie View A&M Charity Exhibition Game | W 94–87 | | – | – | – | Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., MSN | | at Nevada | L 75−91 | 0−1 | 17 – Boykin | 8 – Finister | 4 – Tied | Lawlor Events Center (8,023) Reno, NV |
| November 9, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Tarleton State | W 91–62 | 1–1 | 15 – Tied | 11 – Finister | 8 – Burns | Wisdom Gymnasium (1,487) Stephenville, TX |
| November 12, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 12 Baylor | L 67–104 | 1–2 | 19 – Wilkerson | 4 – Tied | 5 – Boykin | Foster Pavilion (7,500) Waco, TX |
| November 17, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Lamar | W 85–72 | 2–2 | 28 – Wilkerson | 7 – Finister | 11 – Boykin | Montagne Center (1,848) Beaumont, TX |
| November 21, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Trinity (TX) | W 105–78 | 3–2 | 26 – Huefner | 9 – Ford | 5 – Tied | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (785) Huntsville, TX |
| November 27, 2024* 3:00 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Appalachian State Live Oak Bank Holiday Classic | L 63–66 | 3–3 | 22 – Wilkerson | 7 – Finister | 5 – Boykin | Trask Coliseum (2,519) Wilmington, NC |
| November 29, 2024* 3:00 p.m., FloSports | | at UNC Wilmington Live Oak Bank Holiday Classic | L 60–69 | 3–4 | 20 – Wilkerson | 7 – Scroggins | 2 – Tied | Trask Coliseum (3,374) Wilmington, NC |
| November 30, 2024* 11:00 a.m., FloSports | | vs. Colgate Live Oak Bank Holiday Classic | W 82–78 | 4–4 | 17 – Wilkerson | 8 – Finister | 4 – Burns | Trask Coliseum (2,860) Wilmington, NC |
| December 3, 2024* 6:30 p.m., BTN | | at Indiana | L 71–97 | 4–5 | 18 – Wilkerson | 6 – Finister | 4 – Burns | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN |
| December 7, 2024* 4:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Texas Southern | W 87–71 | 5–5 | 26 – Wilkerson | 11 – Sakho | 6 – Burns | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (454) Huntsville, TX |
| December 16, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | St. Thomas (TX) | W 80–54 | 6–5 | 19 – Wilkerson | 17 – Scroggins | 4 – Tied | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (356) Huntsville, TX |
| December 21, 2024* 12:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | at Pittsburgh | L 78–110 | 6–6 | 26 – Huefner | 5 – Huefner | 3 – Wilkerson | Petersen Events Center (7,164) Pittsburgh, PA |
| December 28, 2024* 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Dallas (TX) | W 111–65 | 7–6 | 20 – Huefner | 8 – Huefner | 4 – Tied | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (836) Huntsville, TX |
| Conference USA regular season |||||||||
| January 2, 2025 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at New Mexico State | L 71–75 | 7–7 (0–1) | 16 – Sakho | 13 – Sakho | 6 – Boykin | Pan American Center (3,913) Las Cruces, NM |
| January 4, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UTEP | L 72–81 | 7–8 (0–2) | 18 – Boykin | 8 – Tied | 3 – Wilkerson | Don Haskins Center (5,774) El Paso, TX |
| January 9, 2025 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Liberty | L 68–76 | 7–9 (0–3) | 25 – Wilkerson | 9 – Tied | 5 – Boykin | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (924) Huntsville, TX |
| January 11, 2025 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | FIU | W 81–74 | 8–9 (1–3) | 29 – Wilkerson | 8 – Finister | 3 – Boykin | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (976) Huntsville, TX |
| January 16, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Kennesaw State | L 69–75 $^{OT}$ | 8–10 (1–4) | 29 – Wilkerson | 12 – Sakho | 4 – Burns | Convocation Center (1,788) Kennesaw, GA |
| January 18, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville State | L 62–70 | 8–11 (1–5) | 20 – Hammons | 8 – Sakho | 4 – Tied | Pete Mathews Coliseum (3,185) Jacksonville, AL |
| January 23, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Middle Tennessee | L 75–77 | 8–12 (1–6) | 22 – Boykin | 11 – Sakho | 8 – Boykin | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (987) Huntsville, TN |
| January 25, 2025 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Kentucky | L 66–75 | 8–13 (1–7) | 15 – Huefner | 13 – Huefner | 6 – Boykin | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (847) Huntsville, TN |
| February 1, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Louisiana Tech | L 61–66 $^{OT}$ | 8–14 (1–8) | 17 – Wilkerson | 9 – Finister | 4 – Boykin | Thomas Assembly Center (3,141) Ruston, LA |
| February 6, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at FIU | L 82–85 $^{OT}$ | 8–15 (1–9) | 21 – Wilkerson | 9 – Boykin | 9 – Boykin | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,002) Miami, FL |
| February 8, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPNews | | at Liberty | L 61–64 | 8–16 (1–10) | 23 – Boykin | 9 – Sakho | 5 – Boykin | Liberty Arena (3,355) Lynchburg, VA |
| February 13, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Jacksonville State | W 66–61 | 9–16 (2–10) | 29 – Wilkerson | 6 – Boykin | 5 – Boykin | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (866) Huntsville, TX |
| February 15, 2025 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kennesaw State | W 78–76 | 10–16 (3–10) | 25 – Wilkerson | 5 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,478) Huntsville, TX |
| February 20, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Western Kentucky | W 78–62 | 11–16 (4–10) | 14 – Wilkerson | 10 – Wilkerson | 7 – Wilkerson | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,945) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 22, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Middle Tennessee | L 70–74 | 11–17 (4–11) | 24 – Wilkerson | 6 – Sakho | 4 – Boykin | Murphy Center (4,413) Murfreesboro, TN |
| March 1, 2025 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana Tech | L 66–90 | 11–18 (4–12) | 22 – Wilkerson | 5 – Tied | 3 – Boykin | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,438) Huntsville, TX |
| March 6, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | UTEP | W 89–87 | 12–18 (5–12) | 29 – Wilkerson | 7 – Boykin | 5 – Boykin | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (837) Huntsville, TX |
| March 8, 2025 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | New Mexico State | W 76–69 | 13–18 (6–12) | 32 – Wilkerson | 6 – Sakho | 5 – Wilkerson | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,230) Huntsville, TX |
| Conference USA tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2025 5:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (9) | vs. (8) UTEP First round | L 65–79 | 13–19 | 22 – Wilkerson | 9 – Huefner | 3 – Tied | Von Braun Center (989) Huntsville, AL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||||||
Sources