The Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team will enter the 2025-26 campaign looking for a bounce back season with a roster filled with a mix of veteran experience, talented incoming first-year players, and a group of transfer players who could make an immediate impact.
After reaching the NCAA Tournament in each of the previous three seasons, including University Athletic Association Championships in 2023 and 2024, the Spartans finished the 2024-25 season with a 9-16 overall record, including a 5-9 mark in league games. CWRU averaged 80.2 points per game and made 10.4 three-point shots per contest, the 18th-most among all NCAA Division III teams. The Spartans finished the year shooting 42.5% from the floor and 32.5% from three-point range, while allowing 85.7 points per contest on 49.1% shooting overall and 39.8% from long range.
The Spartans will have some holes to fill in their lineup following the departure of their top-three scorers from last year's team, including D3hoops.com All-Region Third Team guard Sam Trunley (who set program records for points in a season and a game) and All-UAA Honorable Mention forward Umar Rashid. However, eight players from last year's roster are set to return, including three with starting experience, along with three upperclass transfers and a large incoming class of 12 first-year players.
Leading the way for the returners is senior guard Anand Dharmarajan, who emerged as a scoring option late in the season, starting the final seven games of the season and averaging 11.6 points per game during the stretch, including a career-high 27-point output in the season finale against Carnegie Mellon and 20 points in an 83-79 win over the 24th-ranked University of Chicago on February 16. Among the top returners in the front court are seniors Aaron Rucker, who appeared in 21 games, including 10 starts, and averaged 1.8 points and 1.5 rebounds, and Andrew Fox, who played in 21 games with five starts and 3.0 points and 3.3 rebounds.
Adding to the team's depth are sophomore guard Matthew Ellis, sophomore forward Nolan Demski, and junior guard Drey Fox, who each provided a boost off the bench for the team last year. Ellis contributed 6.5 points last season and collected 20 steals in 21 games off the bench, while Demski added 2.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in his 17 games. Fox saw action in 23 games in a reserve role, averaging 2.8 points and giving the team a hot-shooting hand off the bench.
Two additional players - junior forward Ethan Nowak and sophomore guard Henry Stowell - missed last season due to injury, but are back for the 2025-26 campaign and will be looking to make an impact.
Transfer guards Ethan Edwards and Julian Scott and forward Logan Brown are names that Spartan fans will likely become familiar with as the season goes on as well. Edwards, a graduate student, comes to CWRU with significant experience in the UAA after playing at Brandeis where he averaged 9.6 points, 1.8 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game during his three years as a Judge. Scott appeared in 37 games over two seasons for Division I Colgate, averaging 1.7 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game. Brown arrived at CWRU after a two-year career at Haverford where he played in 40 games (29 starts) and averaged 8.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.
Looking to make an impact during their first year of college competition are forwards James Campbell IV, James Claypool, Luke Levan, Nitish Sankaranthi, Will Taylor, and Alex Vincent, and guards Luca Asanaka, Drew Bartolai, Gideon Greenberg, Anestis Hadjustamoulou, Simon Moschin, and Shaym Patel.
CWRU will open its season at home on November 8 against Houghton with a road game at Penn State Behrend to follow on November 11. From there, CWRU will take part in a pair of early-season tournaments, facing Waynesburg and either Mount Union or Muhlenberg at the Omni Ink Waynesburg Tip-Off Tournament on November 14 and 15, and Washington and Jefferson and Trinity (Texas) at the Great Lakes Invitational on November 21 and 22. Additional non-conference games include home matchups against Saint Vincent (Nov. 30) and Kalamazoo (Dec. 30) and road games at Hiram (Dec. 10), Allegheny (Dec. 13), and La Roche (Jan. 7).
UAA play for the Spartans will kick off on January 10 at Carnegie Mellon, before the team faces a gauntlet of preseason top-25 opponents in #11 Chicago (Jan. 16) and #5 WashU (Jan. 18) at home, and #3 Emory in Atlanta (Jan. 23). CWRU will play road games at Rochester (Jan. 25), NYU (Jan. 30), and Brandeis (Feb. 1) and then host NYU (Feb. 6) and Brandeis (Feb. 8) the following week. CWRU will travel to Chicago (Feb. 13) and WashU (Feb. 15) before concluding its regular-season schedule with three-straight home games against Emory (Feb. 20), Rochester (Feb. 22), and Carnegie Mellon (Feb.28).
