2025-26 SEASON PREVIEW: Young, local talent takes center stage for DC Men’s Basketball
DEFIANCE, Ohio – The 117th season of Defiance College men's basketball opens on Saturday afternoon with new look under head coach Josh Gibson. New uniforms are among the fresh additions to the locker room but those will be just accents to nine newcomers surrounding eight returners.
As Defiance enters its second NAIA season, the Yellow Jackets are eager take the next step to returning the historic program back to its championship level. Last season's team went 8-18 with five freshmen making double-digit starts and all playing over 400 minutes. Still, Defiance fell one win shy of earning a conference tournament bid in its first season in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. After quickly putting a 1-23 season behind them from two years ago, this year's unit looks to continue the upward trajectory.
About the Team
The 2025-26 Yellow Jackets are young. Fourteen of 17 varsity players are freshmen or sophomores, but each member of last season's core group returns for a second season. The lone player heading into his third season with Defiance is junior guard Dre'Sean Roberts. The only senior is Parker Chatman, who has also been with DC for three seasons but sat out two years ago after transferring.
Among the returners are 5 of last season's 6 top scorers. Sophomores Jalen Brown (Toledo, Ohio/Emmanuel Christian) and Evan Angstmann (St. Mary's, Ohio/St. Mary's Memorial) each averaged more than 10 points per game. They were among the top-3 rebounders on the squad, which was paced by fellow sophomore Carter Sudhoff (Spencerville, Ohio/Spencerville). That trio all started more than 20 games as freshmen and are joined by talented guards Donovan Stone (Bardstown, Ky./Central Hardin) and Christian Burton (Toledo, Ohio/Cardinal Stritch), who also held starting roles for half of the team's games last year.
The headline group of returners are receiving a big boost in this year's recruiting class. DC landed a talented crop, with plenty of all-conference and all-state performers who address several areas needed to compete.
"We addressed a lot of needs both in terms of depth, talent and size across the board," says head coach Josh Gibson. "The things you need to address in terms of on the court are there. And I think we recruited some high-quality people as well, so that has been really fun to coach this preseason."
First-year forwards Logan Hortan (Sylvania, Ohio/St. Francis de Sales), Wren Sheets (Convoy, Ohio/Crestview), Carder Orr (Spencerville, Ohio) and Baylen Blockberger (Coldwater, Ohio/Coldwater) along with guards Isaiah Meade-Moss (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota West) and Grady Toumazos (Ottawa, Ohio/Ottawa-Glandorf) all come from winning pedigree with either conference titles or deep tournament runs in high school while earning multiple awards for their play on the court.
"That gives me some positivity moving into this season," says Gibson on the previous success of this recruiting class. "We really turned a corner after Christmas break last year in terms of learning how to compete, and you have to learn to compete before you can learn to win. And I hope that this season allows us to take that next step forward to go from competing consistently to winning consistently."
Several players from that crop also come from Northwest Ohio, including the reunion of high school teammates Orr and Sudhoff. They also get to team up with Sheets, who was a two-time player of the year and former foe at Crestivew of the Spencerville duo. That local flavor also includes Ottawa-Glandorf's Toumazos as a member of the Titans' recent state title game runs. Thomas Hallett from Oak Harbor also joins the regional representatives along with Horton out of the Toledo area.
"A lot of [players] are from this region, and I think that is important," says Gibson. "They have either played AAU together or against each other in big moments in high school, or whatever the case may be. I think that gives us a head start on some chemistry, and helps us connect to the region and build support from that standpoint."
Pairing the new faces with the familiar ones will introduce an elevated, balanced style of play, according to Coach Gibson. All in all, he is encouraged by how the team is coming together and supports one another as a unified group.
"This is a team that should have diversity in the way they can score, and defensively, we've improved as well. I would also say intense positivity is another word for this group. They want to see each other succeed."
Conference Outlook
In the WHAC, the Yellow Jackets garnered a 10th-place position in the preseason coaches poll, just a few points behind Cleary in ninth. Defending regular-season champion Indiana Tech received eight first-place votes to claim the top spot ahead of Madonna. With the conference standing at 12 members this season, the WHAC will employ a double-round-robin schedule that will pit each school against each other twice this year. The Yellow Jackets begin conference play on the road on Nov. 17 at Lawrence Tech.
Despite the 10th-place expectations, the expectation inside the program is to exceed those expectations from their peers. "We think we have everything we need to compete in this league in terms of talent, depth, size and skill," says Gibson. "In the current era we exist in, there'll be a lot of new faces in the league. A lot of really good players left this year, whether to other quality NAIA programs or Division I, and there's also going to be quality players that come in. So the fact that a lot of teams are going to look different evens the playing field a little bit."
Out of the Gates
Defiance will be playing at home early and often through the first three weeks of the season. After Saturday's season opener, DC hosts Goshen and Miami-Middletown over the next two weeks before two quick road games. The team completes a 5 of 7 stretch at home with the 50th annual Purple and Gold Tournament on Nov. 21-22 where DC will play Wright State Lake and Washington Adventist.
Purple & Gold Memberships are available for basketball season and are a great savings for family and friends of DC women's basketball. One All-Sports Pass begins at $100 or two for $150. For more information or to purchase a Purple & Gold Membership, visit the Purple & Gold Club website by clicking here.
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