ELON – Elon will kick off the 2025-26 men's basketball season by welcoming Belmont Abbey to the Schar Center on Wednesday night. Tipoff between the Phoenix and Crusaders is set for 7 p.m. ET with the contest being televised on FloCollege.
GAME INFORMATION
INSIDE THE MATCHUP – ELON vs. BELMONT ABBEY
- Series record: Elon leads, 26-25
- Despite 51 all-time games between the two programs, the Phoenix and Crusaders – members of NCAA Division II – have clashed just once in Elon's NCAA Division I era. Elon won that contest 84-57 on Nov. 18, 2015.
- Elon has won its past six home openers dating back to 2019, including a 3-0 mark under fourth-year head coach Billy Taylor.
STARTING FIVE
1. Veteran Boost
Elon added eight total transfers this past offseason, four of which were graduates
Ja'Juan Carr,
Chandler Cuthrell,
Kacper Klaczek and
Bryson Spell. The veteran quartet has played a combined 302 career college basketball games, giving the Phoenix an instant veteran boost in the rotation. Carr was a 1,000-point scorer in three seasons at the NCAA Division II level with UNC Pembroke while leading the Braves to three straight NCAA DIII Tournament appearances. Both Cuthrell (7.4 points, 5.8 rebounds) and Klaczek (8.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG) averaged career-best figures last season for Purdue Fort Wayne and UAlbany, respectively.
2. The Abbey To The Oaks
Elon's coaching staff has multiple ties to Belmont Abbey, most notably head coach
Billy Taylor, who built a championship contender while winning 49 total games in three seasons as the Crusaders' head coach from 2016-19 including a 23-8 record in 2018-19. Phoenix assistant coaches
Ryan Saunders and
Sean Halloran are also former Crusaders. Saunders spent five years at Belmont Abbey (2015-20), the first four as an assistant coach – including three on Taylor's staff – and the final year as an associate head coach. Halloran was a four-year standout (2018-22) for the Crusaders, playing for both Taylor and Saunders. He finished his Belmont Abbey career as the program's all-time leader in assists (502) and led the program to back-to-back Conference Carolinas Tournament titles (2021-22) before transferring to Elon as graduate student to play for Taylor and Saunders.
3. True Phoenix
Junior forward
Isaac Harrell leads a group of five returners from last season on the Phoenix's 2025-26 roster. Harrell, who played in 32 of 33 games for the Phoenix last year, averaged career highs in points (4.1) and rebounds (4.0) as a sophomore and ended the season with a glimpse of what he's capable of with a career-best 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from 3-point range against Army in the first round of the CBI Tournament. Harrell – who tipped in a game-winning buzzer beater at UNCW as a freshman in 2024 – is joined by returnees
Ned Hull,
Trey O'Neil,
Savion Taylor and
Austin Williams.
4. More New Faces
Five other newcomers – four transfers and one freshman – will play key roles in the Elon rotation early this season. Junior guard
Randall Pettus II, who averaged 6.2 points across 61 games and two seasons for Northern Kentucky, leads a group of underclassman transfers that also includes sophomore
Bryson Cokley (George Mason),
Caleb Middleton (New Hampshire) and redshirt freshman
Iker Garmendia (UIC). Freshman guard
DeMarco Johnson is Elon's lone scholarship rookie and joins the Phoenix after a productive final prep season at the prestigious Oak Hill Academy in Virginia.
5. Nonconference Tests
The Phoenix's revamped roster will get plenty of early challenges and opportunities to gel. In addition to a pair of road games at ACC foes Miami (Nov. 20) and Virginia Tech (Dec. 20), Elon will face four Southern Conference squads – including 2025 league champion Wofford (Dec. 6) – two Sun Belt foes in Marshall (Nov. 12) and Appalachian State (Nov. 24), as well as Atlantic 10 mainstay Richmond (Dec. 17).
UP NEXT
The Phoenix will make the 20-mile drive to Greensboro to face UNCG on Saturday. Tipoff at Fleming Gymnasium is at 4 p.m. ET.
SUPPORT THE PHOENIX
Fans can support Elon Athletics through the
Phoenix Club. To purchase 2025-26 season tickets, visit
TicketMaster.com/ElonTickets.
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Elon men's basketball, follow the Phoenix on X (
@ElonMBasketball) and Instagram (
@ElonMBasketball).
