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Kenyon College Athletics

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2026-27 men's basketball preview

GAMBIER, Ohio – As the 2026-27 season begins, the Kenyon College men's basketball team hopes to build upon last year's efforts, returning a more experienced, but still young, team. With the underclassmen stacking up most of the roster, the Owls look to focus on channeling the young ambition into a composed basketball season and a North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament appearance.

2025-26 Review
The Owls were able to improve their overall record to a 10-15 in the 2025-26 season. They showed plenty of promise all year and stayed competitive within conference contests. Most notably, the Owls rang up an NCAC win against The College of Wooster, ending a streak of 63 consecutive losses to the perennial powerhouse. Other conference wins came against Oberlin College and Ohio Wesleyan University. The Owls were 5-7 in home games and went 6-3 in non-conference games. Sophomore Marius Mazeik led the squad in scoring (13.4 ppg) and collected his second All-NCAC honor.

Coaching Staff
The team's need for leadership and persistence is headed up by Head Coach Steve Phillips as he begins his fourth year at Kenyon. Alongside him, Assistant Coach Justin Sosinsky also enters his fourth season with the Owls. The pair have been preparing for the upcoming year by focusing heavily on creating a competitive environment with a strong sense of work-ethic and teamwork. 

"We are looking to build off our progress from last year with a young group," said Phillips, "We have great upperclassmen leadership through Lucas Friedman, Charlie Heywood, Justin Gagnon, Jackson Burke and Marius Mazeika. Our expectations remain the same each year: appreciate the opportunity to play college basketball at a great academic school, learn and strengthen relationships throughout the year and, by the end of the season, expect to be playing our best basketball."

NCAC Preseason Poll
Despite showing great growth from previous seasons, Kenyon had a 4-12 NCAC record last year and finished in eighth place. In the 2026-27 NCAC preseason coaches poll, which was released last week, Kenyon was picked to finish seventh in the conference standings. Denison University, with eight first-place votes, was selected as the favorite and John Carroll University, with one first-place vote, was picked second. DePauw University was third, with Wittenberg University and Wabash College following behind, respectively.

Although the NCAC coaches did not select the team to be a top contender in the conference for the upcoming campaign, the Owls will use the result as motivation, knowing that they have a legitimate shot to gain an NCAC Tournament appearance for the first time since the 2023-24 season. 

Returning All-Conference Honorees
The Owls return one All-NCAC athlete in Mazeika. One of 16 conference players to receive the honor, he was voted to the Third Team after leading the Owls with a scoring average of 13.4 points per game. The honor marked the second for Mazeika, who was also voted 2025 NCAC Newcomer of the Year. In his previous two seasons, he has recorded 636 points and 259 rebounds for career averages of 12.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

Returning Statistical Leaders
Kenyon's leading returning scorer, and the only member to play and start in all 25 games, is Mazeika. The junior wing contributed 335 points last season, averaging to 13.4 points per game. He was the Owls' second-best for rebounds, with 4.4 boards per game, piled on 41 assists, shot 43.1 percent (121-of-281) from the floor, and led the team with 767 minutes played. 

Nicholas Graves, a sophomore guard, returns for the Owls this year with experience under his belt. During his first season, he was second on the team for total minutes played, with 705 minutes and total points, with 265, averaging 11.0 points per contest. Graves shot 45.2 percent on the court (89-of-197), added in 39 assists, and contributed 12 steals.

Leading the team defensively, Burke, a junior forward, will also return this upcoming season. Burke led the team in blocks, contributing 37, and in rebounds, with 145. Of his total, 116 of those rebounds were defensive and he averaged 6.6 boards per game. Burke also had 16 steals, 10.6 points per contest, and 38 assists, while ranking fourth on the team with 624 total minutes played.

Schedule Overview
Season Opener: Friday, November 6 vs. Case Western Reserve University (7:00 p.m.)
Home Opener: Wednesday, November 11 vs. Capital University (8:00 p.m.)
NCAC Opener: Wednesday, December 2 at Oberlin College (7:00 p.m.)

How to Follow
Fans can follow Kenyon basketball throughout the season via the following links: 
Live coverage (stats and video) - https://athletics.kenyon.edu/live 
X and Instagram - @KenyonSports
YouTube - @KenyonAthletics 
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