After an early elimination in the America East quarterfinals, the Binghamton men’s basketball team is looking for another postseason run headed into the 2025-26 season. The Bearcats finished 15-17 last season, with a 7-9 conference record that landed them the No. 5 seed and a game against No. 4 Albany in the quarterfinals, where they were eliminated in a 69-66 loss.

Leading the team is Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders, who is headed into his fifth year with the Bearcats and fielding a radically reshaped roster.

“We obviously added nine new guys to the team, and so it’s just been a process of trying to get a chance to know everybody and see how guys fit, see how lineups fit,” Sanders said. “Trying to play an aggressive style of basketball, trying to be a little bit more aggressive defensively and offensively, trying to push the tempo a little bit.”

Binghamton’s roster has changed significantly compared to this time last year, with nine new faces [HYPERLINK: https://www.bupipedream.com/sports/mens-basketball-adds-nine-new-players-in-offseason-shakeup/168349/] joining the squad in the offseason. Seven transfers and two freshman additions make up the incoming class.

Among those new players is the third-highest rated recruit in program history, with the addition of freshman guard Jayden Kelsey, ranked a three-star recruit by 247sports.com. Most notable of Binghamton’s transfer portal additions is senior center Demetrius Lilley, who was named to the AE preseason all-conference team.

With the new faces comes a new dynamic for the Bearcats for this upcoming season.

“I think the team that we had last year was probably a better shooting team,” Sanders commented. “I think this team is gonna be better defensively than the team last year. We could have less liabilities on defense. I think obviously it’s a better defensive team.”

Returning to the program this year is assistant coach Damani Myers, who worked under Sanders from 2021 through 2023 as a video coordinator. During his time away from the Bearcats, Myers helped lead Army to a 17-win season, including 10 wins in Patriot League play, and the program’s first postseason win in 55 years. He was also part of the Division III Williams College coaching staff the previous year, where they boasted a 23-7 record in his lone season with the program.

In returning to Binghamton, Myers brings more coaching experience, ensuring a smooth transition thanks to his previous experience with the Bearcats.

“It’s been awesome,” Sanders said when asked about Myers’ return. “Obviously, you never like to lose coaches, and Matt Burke had moved on, so we had a spot open. [Myers], when he left, he left with that mentality and the mindset that if something was to open back up. He was leaving to get coaching experience.”

Heading into this season, two of Binghamton’s biggest weaknesses were free throws and turnovers. Last season, Binghamton’s free-throw shooting ranked seventh out of nine teams in the conference at 69.3 percent, while its turnover margin was dead last in the AE at -4.44 with an average of 13.5 turnovers committed per game. Sanders has put an emphasis on both elements of play, hoping to eliminate some of the errors that hurt the program last year.

“I think basketball is simple, it’s a simple game,” Sanders said. “It always comes down to possession and it always comes down to the little things. As much as we focus on so many things around the game, making free throws, it never goes out of style. If you can shoot free throws well, you’re going to have an opportunity to win games, because free baskets are free points.”

The men’s basketball season is set to begin on Monday, Nov. 3, on the road against Syracuse. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York