JMU Men’s Hoops Tips Off 2026-27 Season Next Monday - James Madison University Athletics

Monday, November 2

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

Miami (Ohio)

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10/29/2026 10:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball

HARRISONBURG, Va. - James Madison men's basketball tips off the 2026-27 season on Monday, Nov. 2nd, hosting Miami (Ohio) at the Atlantic Union Bank Center in the MAC-SBC Challenge. Tip is set for 7 p.m. and the game is streaming on ESPN+ with Curt Dudley, Kirby Dean, and David Hulvey on the call. The game will also be carried on WSVA 92.1 FM | 550 AM and the Varsity Network App with Dave Riggert.

THE MATCHUP

For the third year in a row, JMU opens the season taking on a team out of the Mid-American Conference. The Dukes are 1-1 in these season opening matchups, having won against Ohio to start the 2024-25 season before falling to Akron last year.
The upcoming game serves as the opening clash of the 2026-27 MAC-SBC Challenge. The Dukes will face off against a to-be-determined team from the MAC on Feb. 6, 2027.
JMU is coming off an 18-15 (9-9 SBC) campaign, while the RedHawks most recently posted a 32-2 (18-0 MAC) record.
The Dukes will have a chance to catch their breath before heading to Lexington, Kentucky, to take on the Kentucky Wildcats on Friday, Nov. 6, in the season's first road match. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game is streaming on the SEC Network.

DUKES PICKED SECOND IN PRESEASON POLL

On Oct. 19, it was announced by the Sun Belt Conference that JMU was picked second in the SBC Coaches Preseason Poll.
Fueled by an SBC-high nine first-place votes, the Dukes totaled 176 points in this year's poll, six points behind leader Arkansas State. Three of five remaining first place votes went to Red Wolves while Southern Miss claimed the rest.
James Madison has been picked to finish in the top-two each season since head coach Preston Spradlin took over the program prior to the 2024-25 campaign.
Miami earned nine preseason votes in the MAC poll, resulting in the RedHawks placing atop the preseason conference rankings with 130 points.

13 NEWCOMERS MAKE UP THE 2026-27 ROSTER

James Madison's 2026-27 men's basketball roster features 13 new players - 10 transfers and three first-year players.
Marley Curtis is a transfer forward from North Dakota. Last year, he appeared in 30 games, making eight starts for UND in his freshman season. He averaged 6.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 0.7 steals per game last year.
Emarquis Jones is a transfer coming from Goldey-Beacom, where he played in 32 games, starting in 31 as a junior. Last year, he averaged 13.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists.
Cavan Reilly comes to the Dukes after spending the last four seasons at Delaware. He finished career at Delaware playing in 95 games with 63 starts, averaging 9.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game.
Adrian Myers is a transfer who most recently played at San Jose State. Last season, he appeared in 28 games, making 22 starts. He averaged 11.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season.
Jacob Hogarth transferred to JMU from Gardner-Webb. Last year, Hogarth competed in 33 games, starting in 30 for the Runnin' Bulldogs. He averaged 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Ace Meeks is one of three true freshmen on the team. The guard finished his high school career at DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, MD.) with 1,729 points. He also earned First Team All-Met and All-Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) in back-to-back seasons.
Out of the 13 new Dukes, Joseph Brown is the only player coming directly from a NAIA program, Clarke University (Dubuque, IA.). Brown wrapped up his freshman campaign competing in 23 games and making two starts. He averaged 4.7 points and 1.8 rebounds per game last year.
Matthew Owens joins Meeks as one of the three true freshmen. Owens finished career at Luray High School (Luray, Va.) earning First Team All-State honors twice along with being named the Bull Run District and Region 1B Player of the Year.
Gage Lattimore transferred to JMU from NC Central. Last year, he played and started in 31 games, averaging 16.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists for the Eagles. This season earned him All-MEAC First Team, MEAC All-Tournament Team, and BOXTOROW HBCU All-American First Team honors.
Garrett Sundra comes to the Dukes after spending the last two years at Notre Dame. Last season saw Sundra make appearances in all 31 games, including 16 starts. He averaged 3.5 points per game on 44.4 percent shooting.
Brandon Lee makes his way to JMU from Illinois. During his freshman campaign, the guard played in 18 games, averaging 1.7 points and 0.4 rebounds. Lee was ranked a four-star recruit in the class of 2025 (247Sports).
The third and final true freshman of this class is AJ Evans. Evans prepped at Xavier High School (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), where he earned 2024-25 All-Metro Second Team as a junior and capped off his career serving as a team captain.
K.J. Windham is a transfer guard from Northwestern. Last season, he appeared in 14 games and posted averages of 3.5 points and 1.1 assists per game. In his rookie season, he played in 29 games and started in four, averaging 5.6 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game.

THE RETURNERS

Of the 15 players on this year's squad, two are returners, Preston Fowler and Paul Jones III.
In his first year in college, Fowler competed in all 33 games, including 14 starts. The forward wrapped up his rookie campaign averaging 6.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Jones played in 20 games last year, averaging 2.8 points per contest during his sophomore campaign. Prior to becoming a Duke, Jones spent his freshman year at Winthrop. There he earned Big South All-Freshman honors.

THREE DUKES SELECTED PRESEASON ALL-SBC

Three Dukes garnered Preseason All-SBC recognition with Preston Fowler and Gage Lattimore earning Second Team All-Conference honors while K.J. Windham was named Third Team All-Conference.

DUKES' HISTORY IN OPENERS

JMU is 14-11 in home openers since the year 2000.
Coach Preston Spradlin is 4-6 in season openers as a head coach. He is 1-1 in season openers at JMU.
JMU fell 85-71 to Akron in last year's season opener.

JMU VS THE MAC

JMU is 16-11 against current members of the MAC Conference. The last meeting against a member of the MAC was Feb. 7, 2026, vs Toledo, where the Dukes came away with a 73-71 win.
In MAC-SBC Challenge games, JMU is 4-2 dating back to the first season of the challenge in 2023-24. The Dukes have defeated Kent State in double overtime, 113-108, on Nov. 9, 2023, Akron at home, 73-59, on Feb. 10, 2024, Ohio, 88-78, at home on Nov. 4, 2024, and Toledo at home, 73-71, on Feb. 7, 2026.

JMU VS MIAMI (OHIO)

James Madison's all-time record is 1-1 against the RedHawks. The last time the two teams played, Miami (Ohio) took a 76-58 win over the Dukes in Oxford, Ohio, on Nov. 24, 2012. A year earlier, JMU edged out a 70-69 victory in front of a home crowd on Feb. 19, 2011.