# 2024–25 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball team

The 2024–25 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball team represented East Carolina University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Pirates, led by third year head coach Michael Schwartz, played their home games at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum as tenth-year members of the American Athletic Conference.

## Previous season

The Pirates finished the 2023–24 season 15–18, 7–11 in AAC play to finish in tie for eighth place. As a No. 8 seed in the AAC tournament they defeated Tulsa in the second round before falling to South Florida in the quarterfinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Bobby Pettiford Jr. | 0 | G | 6'0" | 196 | Junior | Durham, NC | Transferred to High Point |
| Kalib LaCount | 1 | G | 5'8" | 148 | Sophomore | Los Angeles, CA | Transferred to Cal Poly Humboldt |
| Ezra Ausar | 2 | F | 6'8" | 247 | Sophomore | Atlanta, GA | Transferred to Utah |
| Logan Bourgeois | 5 | G | 6'1" | 154 | Freshman | Fleury-les-Aubrais, France | Transferred |
| Brandon Johnson | 6 | F | 6'8" | 222 | Junior | Raleigh, NC | Transferred to Miami (FL) |
| Quentin Diboundje | 7 | G | 6'5" | 221 | Junior | Montpellier, France | Transferred to Rhode Island |
| Valentino Pinedo | 11 | F | 6'7' | 228 | Sophomore | Madrid, Spain | Transferred to St. Francis (PA) |
| Jaden Walker | 21 | G | 6'5" | 200 | Junior | Lawrenceville, GA | Transferred |
| Ta'Korrie Faison | 23 | G/F | 6'5" | 224 | Freshman | Goldsboro, NC | Transferred to Mount Olive |
| Benjamin Bayela | 25 | G | 6'6" | 200 | Senior | Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt, France | Graduate transferred to Jacksonville State |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Jayshayne Woodard | 0 | G | 6'7" | | Junior | Harlem, NY | Indian River State College |
| Julien Soumaoro | 2 | G | 5'11" | 175 | Senior | Bronx, NY | Gardner–Webb |
| Yann Farell | 4 | F | 6'6" | 210 | Junior | Libreville, Gabon | St. Bonaventure |
| Jordan Riley | 12 | G | 6'4" | 200 | Senior | Brentwood, NY | Temple |
| C. J. Walker | 14 | F | 6'8" | 205 | GS Senior | Sanford, FL | UCF |
| Trevion LaBeaux | 24 | F | 6'5" | 215 | Junior | Waterloo, IA | Indian Hills CC |

### 2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Tybo Bailey #53 SG | Winston-Salem, NC | Winston-Salem Christian School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | May 24, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Ladontae Felton CG | Aiken, SC | South Aiken High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Oct 6, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Reid Cason C | Kingston, OK | Kingston High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Jul 15, 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: "East Carolina 2024 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 23, 2023. "2024 East Carolina Pirates Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 23, 2023. "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 23, 2023. "2024 East Carolina Pirates Basketball 24/7 Sports Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved August 23, 2023. ||||||

### 2025 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2025) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jordan Vick #67 PG | Bailey, NC | Southern Nash High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Sep 25, 2022 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 |||||||
| 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: "East Carolina 2025 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 23, 2024. "2025 East Carolina Pirates Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 23, 2024. "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 23, 2024. "2025 East Carolina Pirates Basketball 24/7 Sports Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved August 23, 2024. |||||||

## 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* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | North Carolina Wesleyan | W 97–70 | 1–0 | 22 – RJ Felton | 12 – Walker | 4 – Tied | Williams Arena (4,294) Greenville, NC |
| November 9, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Coastal Carolina | W 63–59 | 2–0 | 25 – RJ Felton | 11 – RJ Felton | 5 – Hayes | Williams Arena (4,331) Greenville, NC |
| November 12, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Mount Olive | W 110–73 | 3–0 | 24 – Walker | 12 – RJ Felton | 8 – RJ Felton | Williams Arena (4,183) Greenville, NC |
| November 16, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | George Mason | W 78–77 $^{2OT}$ | 4–0 | 27 – RJ Felton | 12 – Walker | 5 – Hayes | Williams Arena (3,916) Greenville, NC |
| November 21, 2024* 4:00 p.m., BallerTV | | vs. Jacksonville State Boardwalk Battle quarterfinals | L 78–86 | 4–1 | 20 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 4 – Hayes | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| November 22, 2024* 1:00 p.m., BallerTV | | vs. Stetson Boardwalk Battle consolation round | W 71–64 | 5–1 | 21 – RJ Felton | 8 – RJ Felton | 2 – Tied | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| November 23, 2024* 1:00 p.m., BallerTV | | vs. UIC Boardwalk Battle 5th place game | W 72–55 | 6–1 | 21 – Tied | 8 – Walker | 4 – Woodard | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| November 29, 2024* 5:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | North Carolina A&T | W 93–69 | 7–1 | 23 – Walker | 6 – LaBeaux | 6 – Tied | Williams Arena (4,260) Greenville, NC |
| December 3, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UNC Wilmington | L 53–67 | 7–2 | 16 – Walker | 7 – Tied | 3 – Soumaoro | Williams Arena (4,515) Greenville, NC |
| December 7, 2024* 2:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | at South Carolina | L 68–75 | 7–3 | 18 – Riley | 6 – Walker | 3 – RJ Felton | Colonial Life Arena (10,997) Columbia, SC |
| December 11, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | North Alabama | L 67–74 | 7–4 | 18 – Walker | 6 – RJ Felton | 4 – Tied | Williams Arena (3,177) Greenville, NC |
| December 17, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | FIU | W 75–64 | 8–4 | 23 – Walker | 10 – Walker | 7 – Hayes | Williams Arena (3,359) Greenville, NC |
| December 21, 2024* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Gardner–Webb | L 79–84 | 8–5 | 19 – RJ Felton | 8 – Riley | 4 – Hayes | Williams Arena (3,672) Greenville, NC |
| AAC regular season |||||||||
| December 31, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at South Florida | L 69–75 | 8–6 (0–1) | 20 – Riley | 8 – RJ Felton | 4 – Hayes | Yuengling Center (3,265) Tampa, FL |
| January 5, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Florida Atlantic | L 76–78 | 8–7 (0–2) | 21 – Walker | 13 – Walker | 4 – Hayes | Williams Arena (3,858) Greenville, NC |
| January 8, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Temple | W 80–79 | 9–7 (1–2) | 23 – RJ Felton | 9 – Walker | 4 – Tied | Williams Arena (3,274) Greenville, NC |
| January 11, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 19 Memphis | L 70–74 | 9–8 (1–3) | 23 – Walker | 13 – RJ Felton | 4 – Hayes | FedExForum (10,863) Memphis, TN |
| January 14, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | North Texas | L 60–69 | 9–9 (1–4) | 30 – RJ Felton | 6 – RJ Felton | 5 – Hayes | Williams Arena (4,033) Greenville, NC |
| January 18, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Wichita State | W 75–72 | 10–9 (2–4) | 28 – Walker | 5 – Woodard | 4 – Tied | Charles Koch Arena (5,826) Wichita, KS |
| January 21, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Tulsa | W 85–76 $^{OT}$ | 11–9 (3–4) | 27 – Riley | 8 – RJ Felton | 5 – RJ Felton | Reynolds Center (2,770) Tulsa, OK |
| January 25, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | South Florida | W 64–55 | 12–9 (4–4) | 15 – Walker | 14 – RJ Felton | 5 – Walker | Williams Arena (4,701) Greenville, NC |
| February 1, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Temple | L 94–98 $^{OT}$ | 12–10 (4–5) | 33 – Walker | 12 – RJ Felton | 4 – Tied | Liacouras Center (4,017) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 5, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Rice | L 60–73 | 12–11 (4–6) | 23 – Walker | 7 – RJ Felton | 4 – RJ Felton | Williams Arena (3,827) Greenville, NC |
| February 8, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at UTSA | W 80–79 | 13–11 (5–6) | 28 – Walker | 10 – Walker | 8 – Hayes | Convocation Center (1,113) San Antonio, TX |
| February 11, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | UAB | W 82–75 | 14–11 (6–6) | 29 – Walker | 7 – Tied | 4 – Riley | Williams Arena (3,863) Greenville, NC |
| February 15, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPNews | | at Charlotte | W 75–59 | 15–11 (7–6) | 23 – RJ Felton | 8 – Riley | 8 – Hayes | Dale F. Halton Arena (4,578) Charlotte, NC |
| February 19, 2025 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Tulane | L 81–86 | 15–12 (7–7) | 19 – Riley | 8 – Riley | 5 – Hayes | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,454) New Orleans, LA |
| February 23, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UTSA | W 96–89 $^{OT}$ | 16–12 (8–7) | 30 – RJ Felton | 8 – Riley | 4 – Tied | Williams Arena (3,898) Greenville, NC |
| March 2, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Charlotte | W 78–76 | 17–12 (9–7) | 27 – RJ Felton | 11 – Riley | 3 – Tied | Williams Arena (5,115) Greenville, NC |
| March 6, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Tulane | W 73–64 | 18–12 (10–7) | 17 – Felton | 7 – Walker | 7 – Hayes | Williams Arena (4,343) Greenville, NC |
| March 9, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Florida Atlantic | L 53–81 | 18–13 (10–8) | 18 – Riley | 6 – RJ Felton | 4 – Woodard | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161) Boca Raton, FL |
| AAC tournament |||||||||
| March 13, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | (6) | vs. (11) UTSA Second round | W 70–65 | 19–13 | 22 – Riley | 12 – Riley | 4 – Hayes | Dickies Arena (4,133) Fort Worth, TX |
| March 14, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | (6) | vs. (3) UAB Quarterfinals | L 77–94 | 19–14 | 31 – RJ Felton | 6 – Tied | 8 – Hayes | Dickies Arena (4,285) Fort Worth, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source