WKU Men’s Basketball takes on Kentucky Wesleyan at Diddle Arena Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the first of their two exhibition games.
The Hilltoppers return to action following a 2024-25 season hampered by midseason injuries to forward Babacar Faye and guard Julius Thedford that culminated in a first-round exit in the CUSA tournament.
With the top eight scorers and 92% of the scoring production of last year’s Hilltopper team leaving over the offseason, second-year Head Coach Hank Plona said of the roster, “we’re starting from scratch.”
Graduate senior forward Bryant Selebangue comes in from McNeese, averaging 3.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in 14 minutes a game. Selebangue saw 18 minutes of play time in the Cowboys’ NCAA tournament upset over the Clemson Tigers.
Senior guard Grant Newell transferred in from North Texas. Newell averaged 6.2 points and 3.6 rebounds a game for the Mean Green in just one season.
“Grant Newell will be a very important part of our team,” Head Coach Hank Plona said. “He’s a great teammate and a leader for this team.”
Kentucky Wesleyan is coming off a 22-7 campaign that ended with an upset loss to Malone University in the quarterfinals of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament.
The Panthers have four NABC Honors Court nominees on their roster, including senior forward Faith Huyuk, fifth-year guard Kaeveon Mitchell, senior Alex Tsynkevich, and junior guard Quentin Toles.
“I feel very comfortable with this team,” Plona said. “I feel like this team reminds me of some of the best teams that I’ve coached.”
Tipoff is set for Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT in Diddle Arena.
