# 2024–25 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team

The 2024–25 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team represents Louisiana Tech University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team, led by third-year head coach Talvin Hester, play their home games at Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, Louisiana as a members of Conference USA.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2023–24 season 22–10, 12–4 in C-USA play to finish in second place. They lost in the quarterfinals to Middle Tennessee of the C-USA tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Tahlik Chavez | 1 | G | 6'2" | 160 | Senior | Arlington, TX | Graduated |
| Dravon Mangum | 2 | F | 6'8" | 205 | GS Senior | Roxboro, NC | Graduated |
| Tyler Henry | 3 | G | 6'4" | 186 | Senior | Brooklyn, NY | Graduated |
| Jordan Turner | 5 | G/F | 6'8" | 195 | Senior | Houston, TX | Graduate transferred to D'Youville |
| Jaylin Henderson | 11 | G | 6'3" | 175 | Junior | Wichita, KS | Transferred to Portland State |
| Alex Vertus | 21 | G | 6'3" | 205 | Junior | Coral Springs, CO | Left the team |
| Isaiah Crawford | 22 | F | 6'6" | 220 | Senior | Fort Worth, TX | Graduated/undrafted in 2024 NBA draft; signed with the Sacramento Kings |
| Terri Miller | 34 | F | 6'8" | 250 | Junior | Fresno, CA | Transferred to Portland State |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Amaree Abram | 1 | G | 6'4" | 195 | Junior | Port Arthur, TX | Georgia Tech |
| William Jeffress | 2 | F | 6'7" | 205 | Junior | Erie, PA | Pittsburgh |
| Al Green | 5 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Junior | Elk Grove, CA | San Diego City College |
| Kaden Cooper | 11 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Sophomore | Ada, OK | Oklahoma |
| Sean Elkinton | 33 | C | 6'8" | | Junior | Crosby, TX | St. Edward's |

### 2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| A.J. Bates #36 SG | Katy, TX | Seven Lakes High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jul 11, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Landren Blocker #64 SF | Little Rock, AR | Little Rock Christian Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Nov 10, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| 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. ||||||

### 2025 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2025) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jaylen Fenner SF | Humble, TX | Atascocita High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Oct 3, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A |||||||
| 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. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 4, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | LSU–Alexandria | W 77–50 | 1–0 | 17 – Cooper | 9 – Cooper | 8 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (2,050) Ruston, LA |
| November 9, 2024* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UT Arlington C-USA/WAC Alliance | W 92–77 | 2–0 | 28 – Batcho | 10 – Jeffress | 11 – Newman Jr. | College Park Center (3,195) Arlington, TX |
| November 13, 2024* 5:00 p.m., MSG+ | | vs. UMass Icons of the Game | W 76–66 | 3–0 | 19 – Abram | 6 – Tied | 12 – Newman Jr. | Nassau Coliseum Uniondale, NY |
| November 18, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Mississippi College | W 105–67 | 4–0 | 38 – Batcho | 8 – Tied | 14 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (1,582) Ruston, LA |
| November 25, 2024* 2:00 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Southern Illinois Gulf Coast Showcase | W 85–79 $^{OT}$ | 5–0 | 19 – Green | 12 – Cooper | 5 – Newman Jr. | Hertz Arena (613) Estero, FL |
| November 26, 2024* 2:00 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Richmond Gulf Coast Showcase | W 65–62 | 6–0 | 16 – Cooper | 9 – Tied | 8 – Newman Jr. | Hertz Arena (451) Estero, FL |
| November 27, 2024* 11:00 a.m., FloSports | | vs. Eastern Kentucky Gulf Coast Showcase | W 78–69 | 7–0 | 19 – Batcho | 10 – Cooper | 4 – Newman Jr. | Hertz Arena (268) Estero, FL |
| November 30, 2024* 10:30 a.m., ESPN+ | | Southern | L 70–73 | 7–1 | 22 – Batcho | 9 – Ree | 8 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (2,257) Ruston, LA |
| December 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 16 Memphis | L 71–81 | 7–2 | 18 – Green | 9 – Cooper | 11 – Newman Jr. | FedExForum (10,543) Memphis, TN |
| December 8, 2024* 3:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Louisiana | W 69–58 | 8–2 | 19 – Batcho | 11 – Batcho | 7 – Newman Jr. | Cajundome (1,187) Lafayette, LA |
| December 13, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Georgia Southern | W 77–63 | 9–2 | 25 – Cooper | 8 – Tied | 11 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (1,831) Ruston, LA |
| December 16, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Grand Canyon C-USA/WAC Alliance | W 74–66 | 10–2 | 25 – Newman Jr. | 9 – Cooper | 9 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (2,173) Ruston, LA |
| December 21, 2024* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Rust | W 108–60 | 11–2 | 27 – Batcho | 11 – Tied | 20 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, LA |
| Conference USA regular season |||||||||
| January 2, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UTEP | L 60–70 | 11–3 (0–1) | 14 – Cooper | 8 – Batcho | 7 – Newman Jr. | Don Haskins Center (4,692) El Paso, TX |
| January 4, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at New Mexico State | L 48–78 | 11–4 (0–2) | 12 – Elkinton | 4 – Tied | 6 – Newman Jr. | Pan American Center (4,004) Las Cruces, NM |
| January 9, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | FIU | W 81–64 | 12–4 (1–2) | 21 – Green | 8 – Cooper | 13 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (1,635) Ruston, LA |
| January 11, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Liberty | W 79–74 | 13–4 (2–2) | 27 – Newman Jr. | 12 – Batcho | 8 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (2,373) Ruston, LA |
| January 16, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville State | L 61–63 | 13–5 (2–3) | 19 – Batcho | 10 – Cooper | 8 – Newman Jr. | Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,317) Jacksonville, AL |
| January 18, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Kennesaw State | L 76–78 | 13–6 (2–4) | 23 – Batcho | 7 – Batcho | 7 – Newman Jr. | Convocation Center (1,707) Kennesaw, GA |
| January 23, 2025 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Western Kentucky | W 77–67 | 14–6 (3–4) | 18 – Batcho | 9 – Crawford | 5 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (1,894) Ruston, LA |
| January 25, 2025 5:30 p.m., ESPNU | | Middle Tennessee | W 75–69 | 15–6 (4–4) | 25 – Batcho | 13 – Cooper | 8 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (2,414) Ruston, LA |
| February 1, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Sam Houston | W 66–61 $^{OT}$ | 16–6 (5–4) | 22 – Newman Jr. | 10 – Batcho | 8 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (3,141) Ruston, LA |
| February 6, 2025 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Liberty | L 53–77 | 16–7 (5–5) | 18 – Green | 7 – Bates | 6 – Newman Jr. | Liberty Arena (3,152) Lynchburg, VA |
| February 8, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at FIU | W 82–71 | 17–7 (6–5) | 20 – Abram | 8 – Ree | 7 – Bates | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (745) Miami, FL |
| February 13, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kennesaw State | L 47–69 | 17–8 (6–6) | 11 – Green | 5 – Green | 4 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (1,814) Ruston, LA |
| February 15, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Jacksonville State | L 68–70 | 17–9 (6–7) | 19 – Batcho | 13 – Cooper | 4 – Crawford | Thomas Assembly Center (3,140) Ruston, LA |
| February 20, 2025 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Middle Tennessee | W 85–74 | 18–9 (7–7) | 23 – Newman Jr. | 11 – Cooper | 6 – Newman Jr. | Murphy Center (3,505) Murfreesboro, TN |
| February 22, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Western Kentucky | L 63–64 | 18–10 (7–8) | 21 – Abram | 7 – Crawford | 5 – Newman Jr. | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,123) Bowling Green, KY |
| March 1, 2025 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Sam Houston | W 90–66 | 19–10 (8–8) | 20 – Bates | 9 – Batcho | 9 – Bates | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,438) Huntsville, TX |
| March 6, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | New Mexico State | L 55–67 | 19–11 (8–9) | 13 – Green | 10 – Tied | 5 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (1,659) Ruston, LA |
| March 8, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UTEP | W 76–58 | 20–11 (9–9) | 20 – Green | 13 – Cooper | 5 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (1,955) Ruston, LA |
| Conference USA tournament |||||||||
| March 13, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (6) | vs. (3) Middle Tennessee Quarterfinals | L 75–77 $^{2OT}$ | 20–12 | 28 – Green | 14 – Cooper | 7 – Newman Jr. | Von Braun Center (3,108) Huntsville, AL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||||||
Source