Following a loss to Yale in the Ivy League Tournament for the third consecutive season, the men’s basketball program looks at this year as an opportunity to claim the ever-elusive Ivy League title. Last season, the team picked up where it left off, finishing second in regular season play and narrowly losing out on a ticket to March Madness. Unlike two years ago, however, the Red was not given a spot in the National Invitation Tournament, making its loss against Yale its last game.
The Red’s preseason was far calmer this year than the last, with second year head coach of Cornell Men’s Basketball, Jon Jaques ’10, now having a season under his belt. Expectations from not only the inside but also the outside are high for the Red. In a preseason poll amongst 21 members of the media, the Red finished third in the Ivy League with 124 votes, closely following Harvard (126) and defending champions Yale (168).
For the first time, the Red went to Italy on a ten-day preseason trip, visiting Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan and playing three games in the process. The team defeated Stella Azzurra (95-41) in the opener, and followed that up by topping ProCamp Azzurra (102-55) and the Italian Select Club (85-64), all in convincing victories.
Beyond giving the chance for the players to get up to fitness, the trip served as a bonding opportunity for faces both new and old. Despite losing players due to the transfer portal and graduation, the Red hopes that its four new freshmen and two transfer additions can help its veterans pick up the slack and recapture the success of previous seasons.
Forwards
Cornell’s forward group looks to replace second-team All-Ivy AK Okereke ’25, who graduated early and transferred to Vanderbilt University, along with role players Chris Cain ’25 and Ryan Kiachian ’25 who also graduated last spring.
Senior captain DJ Nix will now be expected to lead this rather inexperienced group of forwards to the heights of last season. Returning with Nix is sophomore Gioacchino Panzini, who clearly has the coach’s trust after playing on average 16.5 minutes per game in their first two contests.
Freshmen Jax Abalos and Blake Lecklitner and junior transfer from Valparaiso University Kaspar Sepp will all hope to build on successful preseason stints and make their impact known on their new team. Sepp has already established himself as a highly useful player with a knack for scoring, averaging 20 minutes and 8.5 points across the first two games.
The trio of Nix, Sepp and Panzini are going to bear the brunt of the team’s workload, and the Red knows that it’ll need at least one of its other role players to emerge as a true option off the bench.
Guards
Despite losing second-team All-Ivy Nazir Williams ’25, the Red’s backcourt remains one of the strongest in the conference and has the firepower to carry this team to a championship. This group of guards is similar to last year’s, being led once again by All-Ivy Honorable Mention senior captain Cooper Noard. He’s partnered with newly-made starter and senior Adam Hinton, who’s proven thus far why he’s deserving of a starting role. In the first two games, the pair has averaged 26.5 and 20.5 points, respectively, keeping the Red in the contests.
The Red will also look to senior captain Jake Fiegen, who reclassified and will graduate a year early this coming spring. While he has missed the beginning of the season due to injury, he’ll push Hinton for minutes and offer another option at guard.
Also ready to contribute is sophomore Anthony Nimani, who, like Fiegen, has started the season injured. Nimani came off the bench 25 times last year and had only 7.3 minutes a game, but may have a chance to play a bigger role on the squad this season.
Another senior captain, Josh Baldwin, will likely see increased minutes this year and is positioned to play a larger supporting role down the stretch in the season. His versatility between forward and guard will prove useful in many of Cornell’s different sets.
Additionally, freshmen Ryan Burbach and Elijah Griffin and junior transfer from Macomb Community College DaMaryon Fishburn will all be competing for minutes and hoping to break through on an already stacked squad.
For now, the Red will focus on non-conference play until the Ivy slate begins on Jan. 5, 2026.
Unfortunately for this Cornell team, the season has gotten off to a shaky start, dropping close games to Kent State and Illinois State in their first two games. The Red will hope to pick up the pace this Thursday against Lafayette College. Tipoff is at 6 p.m., and coverage is available on ESPN+.
