tribtoday
Following a subpar season by recent standards, the Youngstown State men's basketball program is aiming to recapture its winning form for the 2026-27 campaign. The Penguins entered last year with optimism but were derailed by a seven-game losing streak early in Horizon League action, ultimately finishing tied for eighth in the conference standings—their lowest placement since the 2017-18 season.
With a nearly entirely new roster featuring just one returner, eight transfers, and five freshmen, YSU was projected ninth in the Horizon League preseason poll. However, the team is using that low ranking as fuel to contend for a conference title.
"We haven't been picked very high in any of the polls, and that's OK," head coach Ethan Faulkner said. "We're going to put our head down, go to work, put blinders on and not worry about those things that we can't control, and just come in here and get better every day."
Faulkner expressed confidence in the team's progress and emphasized that success will hinge on team chemistry. "I feel good about where we're at. Feel good about the progress we're making," he said. "The level of success is going to be determined by the connection of our team, and I think that continues to stand out as we go through and spend more and more time with each other off the floor. We got a group that cares about the right stuff and cares about each other."
The coaching staff has high expectations for the lone returner, sophomore Jaiden Haynes, who averaged 4.8 points per game as a freshman while battling nagging injuries. Haynes has taken on the role of unofficial liaison, helping the newcomers adjust to the program and the Youngstown community.
"I am a returner, so I know the coaches, I know the system and I know the standard that they hold me to," Haynes said. "I know what I want for myself and ultimately the trust [the coaches] have in me, their belief in me. I feel like you can't find that everywhere. The grass is not always greener on the other side, and I knew what situation I was going into this year because I am coming back to the same coaching staff."
In previous years, YSU relied on older, more experienced transfers to fill out the roster. This season, Faulkner and his staff took a different approach, targeting players with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove at the Division I level.
"Three things that we've talked about all summer and how we've tried to build our team is to find players that really love the game—guys that are going to show up every day, put their head down and go to work," Faulkner said. "Guys that are going to make it about the team, that are really going to care about each other and care about the guys next to you as much as you care about your own success. Then guys that almost have an obsession with winning."
The transfer class includes sophomore guard Jayden Tyler, senior forward Jermaine Coleman, senior center Kelvin Amoako, fifth-year guard Jeff Nwankwo, junior guard Linus Holmstrom, sophomore guard Dom Aekins, senior guard Jamar Livingston, and sophomore forward Japhet Moupadele. Freshmen Jacob Spurlock, Elijah Summers-Livingston, Andrew Adcock-Vidouria, Luka Lokhmanchuk, and Kaelen Destin could also make an impact.
"I think we do have some guys with some versatility, and I think we've got some depth," Faulkner said. "We've got some position battles that are still working themselves out, but again we're just making sure that as coaches, we're putting them in a position to play to their strengths."
Offensively, Faulkner wants to return to a fast-paced, up-tempo style that pushes the ball in transition. Defensively, he acknowledged that the team struggled at times last year and is focused on being more aggressive and disruptive.
"Keep the ball out of the middle of the floor. Really do a good job in our ball screen defense—we want to really do a good job of forcing skips in our ball screen defense," Faulkner said. "Just making sure that we're taking a lot of pride in playing with great toughness on that end of the floor. We want to be a team that's very hard to play against, and I think we've been that in the past, and we gotta continue with that identity."
The non-conference schedule is challenging, with road games at Ohio State, Cincinnati, South Carolina, and Ole Miss. The Penguins will also host Marshall and a multi-team event featuring William & Mary and Maryland Eastern Shore. In Horizon League play, YSU will face familiar foes plus new member Northern Illinois, though the league's uneven number of teams means the Penguins won't play a true double round-robin.
YSU opens the regular season on Nov. 2 at St. Bonaventure. Before that, the Penguins will take on nearby Akron in an exhibition game today at 7 p.m.
Originally reported by tribtoday.