# 2024–25 Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks men's basketball team

The 2024–25 Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Louisiana at Monroe during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Warhawks, led by 15th-year head coach Keith Richard, played their home games at Fant–Ewing Coliseum in Monroe, Louisiana, as members of the Sun Belt Conference.
On December 20, 2024, Richard announced his retirement effective at the end of the season.

## Previous season

The Warhawks finished the 2023–24 season 11–19, 6–12 in Sun Belt play to finish in twelfth place. They were defeated by Coastal Carolina in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Savion Gallion | 1 | G | 6'4" | 192 | Senior | Washington, D.C. | Graduated |
| Tyreke Locure | 3 | G | 6'0" | 167 | Senior | New Orleans, Louisiana | Graduated |
| Nika Metskhvarishvili | 4 | F | 6'8" | 240 | Senior | Tbilisi, Georgia | Transferred to Charlotte |
| Edwin Litolff | 22 | F | 6'7" | 189 | Sophomore | Livingston, Louisiana | |
| Johnnie Williams IV | 23 | G | 6'5" | 180 | Junior | Sarasota, Florida | Entered the transfer portal |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Ta'Zir Smith | 3 | G | 6'3" | 182 | Sophomore | Woodbridge, Virginia | Pearl River Community College |
| Coltie Young | 24 | G | 6'3" | 210 | Senior | Starkville, Mississippi | Jackson State |

### Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Micah Caster G | Jackson, Alabama | Jackson High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Renars Sondors F | Riga, Latvia | Marupe SC | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 189 lb (86 kg) |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A 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. ||||||

## Preseason
### Preseason Sun Belt Conference poll

The Warhawks were picked to finish in last place in the conference's preseason poll.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team (1st place Votes) |
| 1 | Arkansas State - 193 (12) |
| 2 | James Madison - 170 (1) |
| 3 | Troy - 155 (1) |
| 4 | Louisiana - 144 |
| 5 | Southern Miss - 133 |
| 6 | App State - 122 |
| 7 | Texas State - 89 |
| T8 | Georgia Southern - 85 |
| T8 | Old Dominion - 85 |
| 10 | Marshall - 79 |
| 11 | South Alabama - 78 |
| 12 | Georgia State - 75 |
| 13 | Coastal Carolina - 34 |
| 14 | ULM - 28 |

## 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* 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Champion Christian | W 111–61 | 1–0 | 16 – Ngopot | 14 – Sondors | 6 – Watson | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,028) Monroe, LA |
| November 6, 2024* 7:00 pm, SECN+/ESPN+ | | at LSU | L 60–95 | 1–1 | 25 – Bolden | 6 – Ngopot | 2 – Tied | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (8,043) Baton Rouge, LA |
| November 8, 2024* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Tulane | L 64–80 | 1–2 | 17 – Tied | 9 – Diedhiou | 5 – Young | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,447) New Orleans, LA |
| November 12, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Rice | L 50–66 | 1–3 | 12 – Tied | 8 – Bolden | 3 – Watson | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,096) Houston, TX |
| November 14, 2024* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Ecclesia | W 110–48 | 2–3 | 18 – Willis | 9 – Sondors | 6 – Tied | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (517) Monroe, LA |
| November 18, 2024* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Southeastern Louisiana | L 67–70 | 2–4 | 19 – Young | 6 – Willis | 4 – Tied | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,190) Monroe, LA |
| November 22, 2024* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northwestern State City of Lights Classic | W 65–63 | 3–4 | 16 – Watson | 6 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Prather Coliseum (388) Natchitoches, LA |
| November 23, 2024* 4:00 pm | | vs. North Alabama City of Lights Classic | L 62–74 | 3–5 | 16 – Bolden | 11 – Ngopot | 5 – Watson | Prather Coliseum (112) Natchitoches, LA |
| November 29, 2024* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Stephen F. Austin | L 60–68 | 3–6 | 15 – Bolden | 5 – Tied | 4 – Bolden | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,336) Monroe, LA |
| December 2, 2024* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | UT Arlington | L 70–84 | 3–7 | 16 – Tied | 11 – Bolden | 2 – Tied | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (947) Monroe, LA |
| December 11, 2024* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | W 89–73 | 4–7 | 28 – Young | 12 – Willis | 11 – Watson | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,032) Monroe, LA |
| December 14, 2024* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UT Arlington | L 68–77 | 4–8 | 18 – Willis | 15 – Bolden | 7 – Bolden | College Park Center (1,369) Arlington, TX |
| December 17, 2024* 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Houston Christian | L 68–74 | 4–9 | 21 – Bolden | 10 – Bolden | 4 – Watson | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,212) Monroe, LA |
| Sun Belt regular season |||||||||
| December 21, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Old Dominion | L 75–80 $^{OT}$ | 4–10 (0–1) | 23 – Wilson | 11 – Willis | 6 – Watson | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,058) Monroe, LA |
| January 2, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Georgia Southern | L 82–90 | 4–11 (0–2) | 20 – Young | 7 – Bolden | 5 – Tied | Hill Convocation Center (1,357) Statesboro, GA |
| January 4, 2025 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Coastal Carolina | L 51–70 | 4–12 (0–3) | 14 – Tied | 5 – Tied | 5 – Bolden | HTC Center (1,457) Conway, SC |
| January 9, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Miss | L 67–84 | 4–13 (0–4) | 17 – Bolden | 10 – Willis | 4 – Watson | Reed Green Coliseum (2,805) Hattiesburg, MS |
| January 11, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Louisiana | L 68–71 | 4–14 (0–5) | 17 – Willis | 9 – Bolden | 5 – Young | Cajundome (2,005) Lafayette, LA |
| January 15, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Troy | L 58–77 | 4–15 (0–6) | 16 – Tied | 8 – Willis | 5 – Watson | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,154) Monroe, LA |
| January 18, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Louisiana | L 60–65 | 4–16 (0–7) | 16 – Bolden | 7 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,514) Monroe, LA |
| January 25, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Appalachian State | L 58–66 | 4–17 (0–8) | 12 – Bolden | 11 – Willis | 5 – Watson | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,505) Monroe, LA |
| January 27, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | South Alabama Rescheduled from January 23 | W 77–66 | 5–17 (1–8) | 27 – Young | 8 – Wilson | 9 – Watson | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,027) Monroe, LA |
| January 30, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at South Alabama | W 62–58 | 6–17 (2–8) | 22 – Watson | 9 – Willis | 5 – Watson | Mitchell Center (2,085) Mobile, AL |
| February 1, 2025 3:33 pm, ESPN+ | | at Troy | L 50–87 | 6–18 (2–9) | 15 – Willis | 10 – Bolden | 3 – Tied | Trojan Arena (3,672) Troy, AL |
| February 5, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Georgia State | L 64–97 | 6–19 (2–10) | 19 – Young | 8 – Diedhiou | 6 – Bolden | GSU Convocation Center (1,441) Atlanta, GA |
| February 13, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Texas State | L 60–72 | 6–20 (2–11) | 20 – Bolden | 8 – Ngopot | 3 – Caster | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,135) Monroe, LA |
| February 15, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Southern Miss | W 81–74 | 7–20 (3–11) | 24 – Bolden | 9 – Willis | 10 – Watson | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,398) Monroe, LA |
| February 19, 2025 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Texas State | L 63–80 | 7–21 (3–12) | 18 – Young | 10 – Willis | 3 – Watson | Strahan Arena (1,691) San Marcos, TX |
| February 22, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Arkansas State | L 70–95 | 7–22 (3–13) | 21 – Willis | 9 – Diedhiou | 4 – Watson | First National Bank Arena (6,273) Jonesboro, AR |
| February 25, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | James Madison | L 79–85 | 7–23 (3–14) | 26 – Watson | 16 – Willis | 3 – Watson | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,483) Monroe, LA |
| February 28, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Arkansas State | L 67–94 | 7–24 (3–15) | 19 – Watson | 14 – Willis | 7 – Watson | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,574) Monroe, LA |
| Sun Belt tournament |||||||||
| March 4, 2025 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | (14) | vs. (11) Louisiana First round | L 69–73 $^{OT}$ | 7–25 | 21 – Bolden | 7 – Willis | 3 – Watson | Pensacola Bay Center (868) Pensacola, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||||||
Sources: