2024–25 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team - Wikipedia

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2024–25 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball
NIT
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	23–11 (11–7 MAC)
Head coach	Rob Senderoff (14th season)
Assistant coaches	Randal Holt (4th season) Jon Fleming (3rd season) Jalen Avery (1st season) Luke Trondson (1st season) Tommy Luce (1st season)
Home arena	MAC Center
Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

2024–25 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.			Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Akron †	17	–	1		.944			28	–	7		.800
Miami (OH)	14	–	4		.778			25	–	9		.735
Kent State	11	–	7		.611			23	–	11		.676
Toledo	10	–	8		.556			18	–	15		.545
Ohio	10	–	8		.556			16	–	16		.500
Western Michigan	9	–	9		.500			12	–	20		.375
Eastern Michigan	9	–	9		.500			16	–	16		.500
Bowling Green	8	–	10		.444			14	–	18		.438
Ball State	7	–	11		.389			14	–	17		.452
Central Michigan	7	–	11		.389			14	–	17		.452
Buffalo	4	–	14		.222			9	–	22		.290
Northern Illinois	2	–	16		.111			6	–	25		.194
† 2025 MAC tournament winner As of March 21, 2025

The 2024–25 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team represents Kent State University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Flashes, led by 14th-year head coach Rob Senderoff, play their home games at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, also known as the MAC Center, in Kent, Ohio as members of the Mid-American Conference.

The Golden Flashes finished the 2023–24 season 17–17, 8–10 in MAC play to finish in eighth place.^[1] They upset top-seeded Toledo^[2] and Bowling Green,^[3] before falling to Akron in the MAC tournament championship game.^[4]

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Julius Rollins	0	G	6'7"	199	RS Sophomore	Chicago, Illinois	Transferred to Western Illinois
Reggie Bass	2	G	6'3"	185	Sophomore	Muncie, Indiana	Transferred to Lindenwood
Chris Payton Jr.	4	F	6'7"	226	Graduate student	Bloomington, Illinois	Exhausted eligibility
Giovanni Santiago	11	G	6'1"	170	RS Senior	Bayamón, Puerto Rico	Exhausted eligibility
Tyem Freeman	22	G	6'5"	206	Graduate student	Springfield, Missouri	Transferred to UIC
LA Hayes	24	G	6'5"	181	Freshman	Cleveland, Ohio	Transferred to Frank Phillips College
Jake Snyder	31	G	6'1"	175	Graduate student	Stow, Ohio	Exhausted eligibility

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Marquis Barnett	2	G	6'4"	195	Senior	Saginaw, Michigan	Presbyterian
Jamal Sumlin	4	G	6'3"	180	RS Sophomore	Cleveland, Ohio	Northwest Florida State College
Morgan Safford	8	G	6'5"	210	Graduate student	Columbus, Ohio	Miami (OH)
Cian Medley	11	G	5'11"	165	Sophomore	Sicklerville, New Jersey	Saint Louis
Anthony Morales	22	F	6'8"	195	Graduate student	Boston, Massachusetts	Boston University

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jonas Nichols G	Akron, Ohio	Archbishop Hoban High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	206 lb (93 kg)
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: 78
Deandre Jones F	Cleveland, Ohio	Garfield Heights High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: N/A
Derrick Lee Jr. F	Novi, Michigan	IMG Academy	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: N/A
Drew Huffman F	Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio	Cuyahoga Falls High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	223 lb (101 kg)
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: N/A
Jaiden Pennicott G	Ajax, Ontario	Oakville Prep	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	164 lb (74 kg)
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

On October 22, 2024 the MAC released the preseason coaches poll. Kent State was picked to finish third in the MAC regular season. Kent State received 3 votes to win the MAC Tournament.^[5]

MAC preseason poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Ohio	121 (11)
2	Akron	106 (1)
3	Kent State	99
4	Toledo	95
5	Bowling Green	73
6	Miami (OH)	72
7	Ball State	67
8	Central Michigan	55
9	Eastern Michigan	36
10	Western Michigan	33
11	Northern Illinois	24
12	Buffalo	11

MAC Tournament Champions: Ohio (8), Kent State (3), Toledo (1)

Source^[5]

Preseason All-MAC teams

Team	Player	Position	Year
1st	VonCameron Davis	F	R-Sr.
2nd	Jalen Sullinger	G	Sr.

Source^[5]

2024–25 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Jonas Nichols 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Fr Archbishop Hoban High School Akron, Ohio F 1 VonCameron Davis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 229 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Walnut Ridge High School Columbus, Ohio G 2 Marquis Barnett 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Presbyterian Saginaw, Michigan G 4 Jamal Sumlin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS So Northwest Florida State College Cleveland, Ohio G 5 Brenden Moss 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS So Minnesota Prep Rockford, Illinois G 8 Morgan Safford 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) GS Miami (OH) Columbus, Ohio G 11 Cian Medley 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Saint Louis Sicklerville, New Jersey G 13 Jalen Sullinger 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 167 lb (76 kg) Sr Thomas Worthington High School Columbus, Ohio F 14 Magnus Entenmann 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So International Sports Academy Columbus, Ohio G 15 Mike Bekelja 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 184 lb (83 kg) GS Duquesne Solon, Ohio F 21 Deandre Jones 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Garfield Heights High School Cleveland, Ohio F 22 Anthony Morales 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) GS Boston University Boston, Massachusetts F 23 Delrecco Gillespie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 216 lb (98 kg) Jr East Coweta High School Benton Harbor, Michigan F 41 Derrick Lee Jr. 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr IMG Academy Novi, Michigan C 42 Cli'Ron Hornbeak 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 238 lb (108 kg) Sr St. Francis de Sales School Toledo, Ohio F 55 Donovan Hunter 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 197 lb (89 kg) So SPIRE Institute Columbus, Ohio F Drew Huffman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 223 lb (101 kg) Fr Cuyahoga Falls High School Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio G Jaiden Pennicott 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 164 lb (74 kg) Fr Oakville Prep Ajax, Ontario	Head coach Rob Senderoff (Albany) Assistant coach(es) Randal Holt (Kent State) Jon Fleming (Kent State) Jalen Avery (Kent State) Luke Trondson (Ohio State) Tommy Luce (Purdue) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 12, 2024

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 4, 2024* 8:00 pm, ESPN+		at Louisiana MAC-SBC Challenge	W 70–66	1–0	17 – Davis	9 – Safford	3 – Sullinger	Cajundome (1,412) Lafayette, LA
November 8, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Miami Hamilton	W 98–53	2–0	18 –	9 – Hornbeak	6 – Sullinger	MAC Center (2,056) Kent, OH
November 13, 2024* 8:00 pm, SECN+/ESPN+		at No. 5 Auburn	L 56–79	2–1	19 – Davis	7 – Hornbeak	2 – Medley	Neville Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
November 21, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Niagara	W 76–73	3–1	17 – Safford	7 – Safford	4 – Medley	MAC Center (1,886) Kent, OH
November 23, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Cleveland State	W 68–52	4–1	11 –	11 – Hornbeak	5 – Davis	Wolstein Center (2,019) Cleveland, OH
November 28, 2024* 9:30 pm, ESPN+		vs. Towson Western Slam	W 65–54	5–1	18 – Davis	6 – Safford	3 –	VisitLethbridge.com Arena (1,256) Lethbridge, AB
November 29, 2024* 9:30 pm, ESPN+		vs. UC Irvine Western Slam	L 39–51	5–2	9 – Gillespie	7 – Hornbeak	2 –	VisitLethbridge.com Arena (1,478) Lethbridge, AB
November 30, 2024* 7:30 pm, ESPN+		vs. Kennesaw State Western Slam	W 67–60	6–2	16 – Davis	7 –	3 –	VisitLethbridge.com Arena (1,603) Lethbridge, AB
December 6, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Portland	W 76–57	7–2	16 – Davis	11 – Safford	6 – Medley	MAC Center (1,374) Kent, OH
December 15, 2024* 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Mercyhurst	W 82–57	8–2	17 – Davis	6 – Hornbeak	4 – Medley	MAC Center (1,376) Kent, OH
December 22, 2024* 1:00 pm, SECN		at No. 6 Alabama	L 54–81	8–3	9 –	9 – Hornbeak	2 – Barnett	Coleman Coliseum (12,198) Tuscaloosa, AL
December 29, 2024* 3:30 pm, ESPN+		Heidelberg	W 84–80	9–3	25 – Sullinger	10 – Hornbeak	5 –	MAC Center (2,960) Kent, OH
January 4, 2025 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Ball State	L 67–75	9–4 (0–1)	20 – Davis	5 –	4 –	MAC Center (1,608) Kent, OH
January 7, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Northern Illinois	W 68–50	10–4 (1–1)	31 – Davis	11 – Hornbeak	5 – Medley	Convocation Center (1,004) DeKalb, IL
January 10, 2025 6:00 pm, CBSSN		at Buffalo	W 68–49	11–4 (2–1)	20 – Davis	8 –	8 – Medley	Alumni Arena (1,448) Amherst, NY
January 14, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Western Michigan	L 83–94	11–5 (2–2)	32 – Sullinger	9 – Gillespie	9 – Medley	MAC Center (1,488) Kent, OH
January 18, 2025 3:30 pm, ESPN+		Miami (OH)	L 61–70	11–6 (2–3)	15 – Medley	8 – Gillespie	5 – Davis	MAC Center (3,054) Kent, OH
January 21, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Toledo	W 83–64	12–6 (3–3)	22 – Medley	8 – Sumlin	7 – Medley	Savage Arena (3,983) Toledo, OH
January 24, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPNU/ESPN+		at Ohio	L 59–61	12–7 (3–4)	13 –	11 – Hornbeak	3 – Medley	Convocation Center (5,134) Athens, OH
January 28, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Bowling Green	W 75–57	13–7 (4–4)	24 – Davis	7 – Gillespie	10 – Medley	MAC Center (1,988) Kent, OH
January 31, 2025 7:00 pm, CBSSN		Akron	L 71–85	13–8 (4–5)	23 – Sullinger	8 –	2 –	MAC Center (6,327) Kent, OH
February 4, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Eastern Michigan	W 70–49	14–8 (5–5)	15 – Davis	18 – Gillespie	6 – Medley	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,696) Ypsilanti, MI
February 8, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Arkansas State MAC–SBC Challenge	W 76–75	15–8	27 – Sullinger	9 – Gillespie	4 –	MAC Center (1,746) Kent, OH
February 11, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Central Michigan	W 91–83	16–8 (6–5)	28 – Barnett	14 – Gillespie	7 – Medley	MAC Center (1,280) Kent, OH
February 14, 2025 7:00 pm, CBSSN		Ohio	W 76–75	17–8 (7–5)	24 – Medley	12 – Gillespie	3 – Davis	MAC Center (2,113) Kent, OH
February 18, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Bowling Green	W 91–84	18–8 (8–5)	32 – Sullinger	7 –	7 – Sumlin	Stroh Center (1,418) Bowling Green, OH
February 21, 2025 8:00 pm, CBSSN		at Miami (OH)	L 92–96 OT	18–9 (8–6)	20 –	12 – Gillespie	5 – Sumlin	Millett Hall (6,339) Oxford, OH
February 25, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Toledo	W 105–65	19–9 (9–6)	21 – Davis	9 – Hornbeak	7 – Sumlin	MAC Center (2,104) Kent, OH
February 28, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Akron	L 72–77	19–10 (9–7)	19 – Sullinger	8 – Gillespie	5 – Medley	James A. Rhodes Arena (4,967) Akron, OH
March 4, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Western Michigan	W 77–76	20–10 (10–7)	31 – Sullinger	18 – Gillespie	8 – Medley	University Arena (1,503) Kalamazoo, MI
March 7, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Eastern Michigan	W 76–70	21–10 (11–7)	18 – Sullinger	6 – Hornbeak	3 –	MAC Center (2,231) Kent, OH
MAC tournament
March 13, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+	(3)	vs. (6) Western Michigan Quarterfinals	W 73–66	22–10	18 – Barnett	10 – Gillespie	5 – Medley	Rocket Arena (8,737) Cleveland, OH
March 14, 2025 7:30 pm, CBSSN	(3)	vs. (2) Miami (OH) Semifinals	L 64–72	22–11	29 – Sullinger	12 – Gillespie	3 – Medley	Rocket Arena (7,738) Cleveland, OH
NIT
March 18, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPNU		at (3) St. Bonaventure First round	W 75–56	23–11	14 –	12 – Hornbeak	4 – Sumlin	Reilly Center (3,024) St. Bonaventure, NY
March 23, 2025 9:00 pm, ESPN2		at (2) Stanford Second round						Maples Pavilion  Stanford, CA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:^[6][7]