The Robert Morris men’s basketball team will be looking for a repeat performance of last year’s Horizon League Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance, but it won’t be easy due to the number of roster changes from a year ago.
The revamped Colonials will waste no time getting tested, as they open their campaign – and their 50th season as an NCAA Division I program — at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, at Iowa. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
Under the guidance of coach Andy Toole, now in his 16th season, the Colonials have become a formidable Division 1 mid-major program and last year was just another example.
The Colonials won the Horizon League’s regular season and tournament championships, which led to an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
In the first round of the NCAA, Robert Morris drew the Alabama Crimson Tide, the highest scoring team in the nation, and gave the Tide all that they could handle in a near upset, which ended with Alabama winning 90-81. The Colonials’ appearance was their ninth in the NCAA Tournament, where they have two victories to their credit.
Robert Morris finished the 2024-25 season with an overall record of 26-9 and 15-5 in the Horizon League. Toole was also named the Horizon League Coach of the Year.
The talented group of players that Toole assembled left the program in the offseason for opportunities in the transfer portal, which is a consequence of winning at the mid-major level.
All members of the Colonials’ starting five and a few key backups left through the portal, some of them to major NCAA programs. Alvaro Folgueiras, the Horizon League Offensive Player of the Year, signed with the Iowa Hawkeyes and Amrion Dickerson, the Horizon League’s Defensive Player of the Year, signed with the USC Trojans.
Robert Morris returns only three players from last year’s roster –- guard/forwards Ryan Prather and Cyril Arvanitis and guard Vasilije Serafimoski. Prather is the only returner to see significant action last year and he will be counted on to be a leader this season.
The Colonials had to rebuild the roster through the transfer portal and the recruiting process, and that effort resulted in nine players entering via the portal and three incoming freshmen joining the fold. Players signed through the transfer portal include DeSean Goode, a forward from Indiana University – Indianapolis; forward Josh Hill, from Arkansas State; guard Kaleb Brown, from Missouri; Ubong Okon, a center from Alabama State; Nikolaos Chitikoudis, a forward from North Carolina A&T; Albert Vargas, a guard from Division II Southern Connecticut State; Jeremiah Littlejohn, a guard from Division III Western Oklahoma State; guard Cam Wilds, from Clarion; and guard Ta’Zir Smith, from State Fair Community College.
The incoming freshmen are Eddie Cook, a forward from Atlanta; Darius Livingston, a guard from Orlando, Fla.,; and Samuel Obenjo, a forward from Sweden.
The Colonials were projected to finish fourth in the Horizon League preseason poll, conducted by the league’s head coaches, media members and sports information staffs, but third in the league according to Sports Illustrated.
Goode was selected as a preseason second-team all-league selection after earning all-freshman honors last season.
The Horizon League encompasses the following programs: Northern Kentucky, Wright State, Green Bay, Detroit Mercy, Youngstown State, Milwaukee, Purdue-Fort Wayne, Cleveland State, Oakland and Indiana University-Indianapolis.
Following Tuesday’s season opener, the Colonials remain in Iowa to play Drake University in Des Moines on Thursday, Nov. 6.
Robert Morris opens its home schedule against two Division III programs — Geneva on Nov. 10 and the Pitt-Greensburg on Nov. 13. The Colonials play their home games at the UPMC Events Center on the Moon Township campus.
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The Colonials started their 2025-26 campaign on a positive note, beating the University of Illinois Chicago, 78-63, Monday night on the road behind Aislin Malcom’s career-high 26 points.
Coach Chandler McCabe’s team is predicted to finish second in the Horizon League, behind only Green Bay. During the 2024-25 season, the Colonials went 15-16 overall and 10-10 in the league, making it to the semifinals of the conference tournament.
The Colonials return only three players from last year’s squad — guards Jada Lee and Noa Givon and guard-forward Jennica Suggs.
In addition to the returning players, RMU added six players from the transfer portal and five freshmen. Those joining the program from the portal include: Malcolm, a guard from Pitt; guard-forward Myriam Traore, from Siena; guard Mallory Daly, from Buffalo; Ava Leroux, a center from Elon; forward Eva Levingston, from Cal State Fullerton; and Bailey Kuhns, a forward from Mercyhurst.
The incoming freshman class includes guards Markeli Jones-Tynes and London Creach, guard-forwards Sanai Troutman and Dania McClain; and center Layke Fields.
Givon and Malcolm have been selected for the preseason All-Horizon League second team. The Horizon League consists of Wright State, Youngstown State, Purdue-Fort Wayne, Oakland, Indiana University-Indianapolis, Northern Kentucky, Cleveland State, Milwaukee and Green Bay.
The Colonials will open the home portion of their schedule Friday, Nov. 7, against Akron at the UPMC Events Center.
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