The Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team will enter the 2026-27 season looking to make a return to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time since the 2023-24 campaign.

The Spartans made the NCAA Tournament each year from 2022 through 2024, winning at least 20 games each campaign and claiming the University Athletic Association Championship in 2023 and 2024 under Head Coach Todd McGuinness. Last year, the Spartans went 12-13, a three-win improvement from the previous campaign, and placed sixth in the UAA with a 4-10 record.

Now, with 16 players set to return from last year's squad, two graduate student transfers looking to make an immediate impact, and seven first-year players aiming to make their presence felt early in their careers, the Spartans will try to take another leap forward to find themselves back atop the conference standings and back in the NCAA postseason.

CWRU was able to tally 12 wins last season despite playing one of the tougher schedules in Division III, with 11 games against teams that would go on to make the NCAA Tournament and seven contests against opponents who were nationally ranked at the time of the game. CWRU finished the year with an 11-3 mark against teams that did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament in 2025-26.

CWRU finished the season third among UAA teams and 63rd among all NCAA Division III teams with 81.8 points per game, while also ranking third in the league and 40th in Division III with 9.8 made three-point shots per contest. The Spartans asserted themselves in the post throughout the year, leading the league with 14.52 offensive rebounds per game (22nd in DIII), and ranking second among UAA teams with 41.32 rebounds per game (34th in DIII) and 4.2 blocks per contest (43rd in DIII)

The Spartans will have to replace 30.5 points per game lost with the graduations of guards Ethan Edwards (20.1 ppg) and Anand Dharmarajan (10.4 ppg), along with forward Andrew Fox's 8.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest. However, the Spartans are set to enter the campaign with one of their deepest rosters in years, including a front court that should present matchup problems for opponents.

Alex Vincent is primed to build on a successful freshman campaign last year, during which the 6-10 post player led the team with 7.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, while adding 10.4 points and 1.7 assists. Senior Logan Brown added 5.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in the front court last year as a transfer, and is looking to improve on that with a full season at CWRU under his belt. Completing a formidable trio in the front court is graduate transfer Caleb Laurich, who joins the Spartans after averaging 7.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game over 55 career games at Mount Union.

Other returning options at forward for CWRU this year could include sophomores Nitish Sankaranthi (1.4 ppg, 1.3 rpg), Will Taylor (1.3 ppg, 0.9 rpg), James Campbell IV (0.8 ppg, 1.2 rpg), and Luke Levan (0.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg).

Senior Julian Scott, in his second year at CWRU since transferring from Colgate, will look to lead the backcourt this season after averaging a well-rounded 5.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game last season. Sophomores Shyam Patel (7.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg and Anestis Hadjistamoulou (4.3 ppg, 0.8 apg) were each factors last year as first-year players and should continue to have an impact this year. Junior Matthew Ellis has shown the ability to score for CWRU, averaging 9.0 points per game over his two years on the team, and senior Drey Fox has the potential to add dynamic shooting from long range.

The Spartans have also added graduate student guard Adrian Samuels, who played in 26 career games at American University and averaged 0.8 points and 1.0 rebounds per contest.

Also set to return for CWRU's backcourt are sophomores Gideon Greenberg (1.6 ppg), Luca Asanaka (0.7 ppg), Drew Bartolai (2.5 ppg), and Simon Moschin (0.8 ppg).

First-year players who will have a chance to impact the team this year include guards Eli Catalano, Alex Hickey, Oliver Nakra, Evan Nagler, and Ryan McCord, and forwards Aaron Hammann and Axel Iturbe. In addition, sophomore forward Junior McFadden has joined the team this year and will be looking to see time on the court.

McGuiness will be starting his 11th season at CWRU. He holds a 242-175 overall record during his previous 17 seasons as a head coach, including a 128-103 record in his 10 years with the Spartans. McGuinness will be assisted by Brandon Staley, Derrick Russell, Michael Flood, Christian McDaniel, and Phoenix Capers.

The Spartans will once again face a tough schedule, with eight games scheduled against teams ranked in the top-25 of the D3hoops.com Preseason Poll, and another two against teams receiving votes. CWRU is set to open its season at home with the Bill Sudeck Tournament, which is back on the schedule after a hiatus in 2025. The Spartans, who host the annual tournament in honor of the team's former great head coach, will face Kenyon College in its opener on November 6, before taking on either Oswego State or Trine (which received votes in the preseason poll) on the second day of the tournament.

Other highlights from the team's non-conference schedule include an exhibition at Division I Cleveland State on November 25, and a matchup on the road against Denison, which received preseason top-25 votes, on December 17.

CWRU is slated to start its 14-game UAA schedule on January 9 at home against Carnegie Mellon. The conference slate will include eight games against teams ranked in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top-25, including two games each against fourth-ranked Emory, 10th-ranked WashU, 23rd-ranked NYU, and 24th-ranked UChicago.

The Spartans will wrap up their regular season against Carnegie Mellon on February 27 on the road, as they look to qualify for the NCAA Championship for the fourth time in the last six years.