# 2024–25 Colorado State Rams men's basketball team

The 2024–25 Colorado State Rams men's basketball team represents Colorado State University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Rams are led by 7th-year head coach Niko Medved and play their home games for the 59th season at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colorado. They participate as members of the Mountain West Conference for the 26th season.

## Previous season

The Rams finished the 2023–24 season 25–11, 10–8 in Mountain West play to finish in a tied for 6th place. They defeated San Jose State in the first round of the Mountain West Tournament and Nevada in the quarterfinals before losing to New Mexico in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 10 seed in the Midwest Region where they defeated Virginia in the first four before losing to Texas in the first round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Joel Scott | 1 | F | 6'7" | 225 | GS Senior | Monument, CO | Graduated |
| Taviontae Jackson | 2 | G | 6'2" | 165 | Sophomore | Las Vegas, NV | Transferred to Southern Utah |
| Josiah Strong | 3 | G | 6'4" | 195 | GS Senior | Brooklyn Park, MN | Graduated |
| Isaiah Stevens | 4 | G | 6'0" | 185 | GS Senior | Allen, TX | Graduated/undrafted in 2024 NBA draft; signed with the Miami Heat |
| Jack Payne | 11 | F | 6'6" | 195 | Freshman | Boise, ID | Transferred to Idaho |
| Patrick Cartier | 12 | F | 6'8" | 220 | GS Senior | Brookfield, WI | Graduated |
| Javanté Johnson | 13 | G | 6'6" | 215 | Senior | Colorado Springs, CO | Transferred to California Baptist |
| Joe Palmer | 20 | F | 6'4" | 190 | GS Senior | Faribault, MN | Graduated |
| Cam Lowe | 22 | G | 6'5" | 182 | Freshman | Monument, CO | Walk-on; transferred to Black Hills State |
| Kyle Evans | 32 | F | 6'10" | 200 | Sophomore | Aliso Viejo, CA | Transferred to UC Irvine |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Jaylen Crocker-Johnson | 8 | F | 6'8" | 230 | Sophomore | San Antonio, TX | Little Rock |
| Keshawn Williams | 11 | G | 6'4" | 175 | GS Senior | Chicago Heights, IL | Southern Illinois |
| Bowen Born | 13 | G | 5'11" | 170 | GS Senior | Norwalk, IA | Northern Iowa |
| Nikola Djapa | 23 | F | 7'0" | 230 | Sophomore | Belgrade, Serbia | LIU |
| Ethan Morton | 25 | G | 6'7" | 215 | GS Senior | Butler, PA | Purdue |
| Charlie Dortch | 30 | F | 6'9" | 235 | Freshman | Fort Collins, CO | Walk-on; Fort Lewis |

### 2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jaden Steppe #34 PF | Tualatin, OR | Tualatin High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Sep 25, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Jonathan Mekonnen SF | Saint Paul, MN | Eastview Senior High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jul 27, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Darnez Slater PG | Corona, CA | Eleanor Roosevelt High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Jul 11, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Kyle Jorgensen C | Minneapolis, MN | Washburn High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | N/A | Jun 26, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: – Rivals: – ||||||
| 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: "Colorado State Commit List for 2024". Rivals.com. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. "ESPN – Colorado State Rams Basketball Recruiting 2024". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2025 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2025) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Docker Tedeschi SF | Benton, IL | Benton Consolidated High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Jun 25, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: – Rivals: – |||||||
| 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: "Colorado State Commit List for 2025". Rivals.com. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. "ESPN – Colorado State Rams Basketball Recruiting 2025". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "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 |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 30, 2024* 7:00 p.m. | | Adams State | W 90–74 | | 23 – Clifford | 7 – Clifford | 6 – Clifford | Moby Arena (3,417) Fort Collins, CO |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 4, 2024* 7:30 p.m., MW Network | | North Dakota | W 82−56 | 1−0 | 20 – Clifford | 14 – Clifford | 7 – Born | Moby Arena (4,060) Fort Collins, CO |
| November 8, 2024* 7:30 p.m., MW Network | | Tennessee State | W 87–79 $^{OT}$ | 2–0 | 31 – Clifford | 13 – Clifford | 5 – Evans | Moby Arena (4,866) Fort Collins, CO |
| November 12, 2024* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Denver | W 74–65 | 3–0 | 19 – Lake | 9 – Clifford | 3 – Tied | Moby Arena (4,000) Fort Collins, CO |
| November 16, 2024* 2:00 p.m., SECN+ | | vs. No. 25 Ole Miss | L 69–84 | 3–1 | 21 – Lake | 7 – Clifford | 5 – Clifford | Landers Center (1,652) Southaven, MS |
| November 22, 2024* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | UC Riverside Acrisure Invitational campus site game | L 75–77 $^{OT}$ | 3–2 | 21 – Crocker-Johnson | 7 – Tied | 6 – Morton | Moby Arena (4,713) Fort Collins, CO |
| November 28, 2024* 4:30 p.m., TruTV | | vs. Washington Acrisure Invitational semifinals | L 67–73 | 3–3 | 13 – Clifford | 9 – Clifford | 3 – Tied | Acrisure Arena (435) Thousand Palms, CA |
| November 29, 2024* 12:00 p.m., TruTV | | vs. TCU Acrisure Invitational 3rd place game | W 76–72 $^{OT}$ | 4–3 | 25 – Clifford | 12 – Clifford | 6 – Clifford | Acrisure Arena (835) Thousand Palms, CA |
| December 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Loyola Marymount | W 83–54 | 5–3 | 19 – Clifford | 17 – Clifford | 6 – Clifford | Moby Arena (4,247) Fort Collins, CO |
| December 7, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Colorado Rocky Mountain Showdown | L 55–72 | 5–4 | 18 – Lake | 8 – Clifford | 2 – Tied | CU Events Center (9,143) Boulder, CO |
| December 14, 2024* 5:30 p.m., Baller TV | | vs. VCU Jack Jones Classic | L 68–76 | 5–5 | 14 – Williams | 10 – Clifford | 4 – Clifford | Lee's Family Forum Henderson, NV |
| December 17, 2024* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Radford | W 78–68 | 6–5 | 16 – Tied | 10 – Clifford | 7 – Lake | Moby Arena (3,931) Fort Collins, CO |
| Mountain West regular season |||||||||
| December 21, 2024 3:00 p.m., MW Network | | at Nevada | W 66–64 | 7–5 (1–0) | 16 – Tied | 12 – Clifford | 5 – Morton | Lawlor Events Center Reno, NV |
| December 28, 2024 2:00 p.m., MW Network | | New Mexico | L 68–76 | 7–6 (1–1) | 17 – Clifford | 9 – Crocker-Johnson | 6 – Clifford | Moby Arena (4,772) Fort Collins, CO |
| December 31, 2024 3:00 p.m., MW Network | | at San Jose State | W 72–50 | 8–6 (2–1) | 22 – Clifford | 10 – Clifford | 5 – Evans | Provident Credit Union Event Center (1,425) San Jose, CA |
| January 7, 2025 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Fresno State | W 91–64 | 9–6 (3–1) | 20 – Crocker-Johnson | 9 – Clifford | 7 – Evans | Moby Arena (3,095) Fort Collins, CO |
| January 11, 2025 2:00 p.m., MW Network | | UNLV | W 84–62 | 10–6 (4–1) | 22 – Tied | 6 – Lake | 7 – Clifford | Moby Arena (3,912) Fort Collins, CO |
| January 14, 2025 9:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at San Diego State | L 60–75 | 10–7 (4–2) | 15 – Lake | 6 – Clifford | 2 – Tied | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| January 18, 2025 2:00 p.m., MW Network | | at Wyoming Border War | W 79–63 | 11–7 (5–2) | 23 – Clifford | 11 – Clifford | 5 – Clifford | Arena-Auditorium (4,941) Laramie, WY |
| January 22, 2025 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Boise State | W 75–72 | 12–7 (6–2) | 20 – Clifford | 7 – Clifford | 7 – Clifford | Moby Arena (5,244) Fort Collins, CO |
| January 25, 2025 5:00 p.m., MW Network | | at Fresno State | W 69–64 | 13–7 (7–2) | 24 – Clifford | 8 – Clifford | 7 – Clifford | Save Mart Center (5,223) Fresno, CA |
| January 28, 2025 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Air Force | W 79–58 | 14–7 (8–2) | 22 – Clifford | 11 – Clifford | 8 – Evans | Moby Arena (4,367) Fort Collins, CO |
| February 5, 2025 8:30 p.m., FS1 | | at New Mexico | L 65–87 | 14–8 (8–3) | 17 – Mbemba | 10 – Clifford | 5 – Clifford | The Pit (13,436) Albuquerque, NM |
| February 8, 2025 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | San Diego State | W 68–63 | 15–8 (19–3) | 21 – Clifford | 13 – Clifford | 2 – Tied | Moby Arena (8,083) Fort Collins, CO |
| February 11, 2025 9:00 p.m., FS1 | | at Utah State | L 85–93 | 15–9 (9–4) | 24 – Clifford | 16 – Clifford | 6 – Morton | Smith Spectrum (9,130) Logan, UT |
| February 15, 2025 2:00 p.m., MW Network | | Wyoming Border War | W 88–53 | 16–9 (10–4) | 22 – Clifford | 11 – Clifford | 7 – Morton | Moby Arena (8,083) Fort Collins, CO |
| February 18, 2025 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Nevada | W 79–71 | 17–9 (11–4) | 22 – Clifford | 10 – Mbemba | 5 – Tied | Moby Arena (4,720) Fort Collins, CO |
| February 22, 2025 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at UNLV | W 61–53 | 18–9 (12–4) | 14 – Tied | 14 – Clifford | 5 – Tied | Thomas & Mack Center (5,817) Paradise, NV |
| February 25, 2025 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | at Air Force | W 77–55 | 19–9 (13–4) | 20 – Evans | 9 – Clifford | 5 – Clifford | Clune Arena (2,180) Colorado Springs, CO |
| March 1, 2025 2:00 p.m., FS1 | | Utah State | W 93–66 | 20–9 (14–4) | 26 – Clifford | 6 – Clifford | 9 – Clifford | Moby Arena (7,155) Fort Collins, CO |
| March 4, 2025 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | San Jose State | W 83–56 | 21–9 (15–4) | 15 – Clifford | 6 – Clifford | 7 – Evans | Moby Arena (6,021) Fort Collins, CO |
| March 7, 2025 8:00 p.m., FS1 | | at Boise State | W 83–73 | 22–9 (16–4) | 36 – Clifford | 6 – Morton | 3 – Clifford | ExtraMile Arena (12,061) Boise, ID |
| Mountain West tournament |||||||||
| March 13, 2025 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | (2) | vs. (7) Nevada Quarterfinals | W 67–59 | 23–9 | 25 – Clifford | 14 – Clifford | 4 – Tied | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV |
| March 14, 2025 9:00 p.m., CBSSN | (2) | vs. (3) Utah State Semifinals | W 83–72 | 24–9 | 26 – Clifford | 11 – Clifford | 6 – Clifford | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV |
| March 15, 2025 3:00 p.m., CBSSN | (2) | vs. (5) Boise State Final | W 69–56 | 25–9 | 24 – Clifford | 6 – Clifford | 4 – Evans | Thomas & Mack Center (4,675) Paradise, NV |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 21, 2025 12:00 p.m., TBS | (12) | vs. (5) No. 16 Memphis First Round | | | | | | Climate Pledge Arena Seattle, WA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest region. All times are in Mountain Time. |||||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | |