Navy (0-0 / 0-0 Patriot League) at Presbyterian (0-0 / 0-0 Big South)
Monday, Nov. 3  I  7 p.m.  I  Templeton Center  I  Clinton, S.C.

Video - ESPN+  I  Joe Skinner, Kenn Blankenship
Radio - WNAV  I  Matt Sabados

Five Starting Notes
•    Navy will open its 118th basketball season Monday night.
•    Presbyterian is starting its 19th season of Division I competition.
•    Navy is playing its first game in South Carolina since it played a pair of games at Furman in November 2021.
•    Presbyterian is one of two Big South teams Navy will play this season.  The Mids will play Gardner-Webb on Nov. 26 during a tournament at UNCW.
•    November 3 is the earliest game in the calendar year for the Mids.

Game Information
•    The 2025-26 Navy men's basketball season begins Monday night when the Mids play a 7 p.m. game against Presbyterian in Clinton, S.C.
•    The game will be streamed through ESPN+, with a link available on NavySports.com.
•    Locally, Matt Sabados will call the game on WNAV.

Perry to Debut as Head Coach
•    Monday's game will mark the debut of Jon Perry as the head coach of the Mids.
•    No stranger to Navy, Perry spent the previous 12 seasons as an assistant to Ed DeChellis.  Additionally, the 2024-25 season was Perry's 23rd of either playing for or coaching alongside DeChellis.
•    Navy posted an 82-64 overall record and a 53-32 mark against Patriot League foes over the last five years and put together a winning record against league opponents in six of the last nine years (80-67 record in league games during this span).  
•    The Mids reached the championship game of the 2022 and '25 Patriot League Tournaments after they won their division in 2021, placed second in the league in 2022, tied for second in 2023 and tied for third in 2025.
•    Perry was named the 20th head coach of the program on April 2, 2025. 
•    Over the last 100 seasons, Navy head coaches have posted a 6-4 record in their debut game.
  
Staff Roles
•    Jon Perry's staff has the following responsibilities:

    * Brett Barron (3rd season) - Director of Scouting
    * Chase Coleman (1st season) - Director of Player Development and Operations
    * Zack Curran (1st season) - Recruiting Coordinator
    * Jordan Lyons (3rd season) - Offensive Coordinator
    * Scott Wagers (1st season) - Defensive Coordinator 

DeChellis Staying Busy
•    Ed DeChellis retired following the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.  He had spent the last 14 seasons as the head coach of the Mids after he previously served as the head coach at East Tennessee State (1996-97 to 2002-03) and Penn State (2003-04 to 2010-11).
•    DeChellis was named to the NABC Tournament Advisory Committee, a group of former men's basketball coaches who will provide season-long feedback to the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.
•    Fellow members of the committee are Scott Davenport, Fran Dunphy, Jeff Jones, Phil Martelli, Norm Roberts, Tubby Smith and Gary Waters.

About Navy
•    Navy returns from the 2024-25 season:
    * all 5 starters
    * 14 of 19 letter winners
    * 18 of 26 players

•    Navy leads the NCAA with 86.6 percent of its scoring back from last year.
•    Navy is one of nine teams in the country that returns at least 65 percent of its points, rebounds and assists from last season.

Navy Atop Preseason Polls
•    The Mids placed first in the 2025-26 Patriot League Preseason Poll of head coaches.

2025-26 Preseason Patriot League Poll - Men
1. Navy, 79 points (7 first-place votes)
2. Boston U., 73 (2)
3. Colgate, 64 (1)
4. American, 47
5. Bucknell, 44
6. Loyola, 39
7. Lafayette, 36
8. Lehigh, 30
9. Holy Cross, 23
10. Army West Point, 15

•    Additionally, senior guard Austin Benigni was named the Patriot League's Preseason Player of the Year.

2025-26 Preseason All-Patriot League Team - Men
Greg Jones, American, Jr., G
Kyrone Alexander, Boston University, Jr., G
Jalen Cox, Colgate, Jr., G
Jacob Theodosiou, Loyola Maryland, Jr., G
Austin Benigni, Navy, Sr., G (Player of the Year)

Presbyterian Preview
•    Presbyterian compiled an overall record of 14-19 last season and tied for fifth place in the Big South Conference with a 7-9 record. 
•    The Blue Hose were seeded fifth in the conference tournament and lost, 74-69 in overtime, to fourth-seeded Radford in the quarterfinals.
•    Presbyterian went on to the College Basketball Invitational where it lost a 78-70 decision to Illinois State in a game played in Daytona Beach, Fla.
•    The Blue Hose return one starter from last season's team in Iverson King.
•    Presbyterian placed sixth out of nine teams in the 2025-26 Big South Conference Preseason Poll, while returning senior forward Jonah Pierce was named to the league's preseason second team.

Series Notes
•    Navy and Presbyterian have had two prior meetings, with those games taking place during the 2011 calendar year.
•    The Blue Hose registered a 60-58 victory over the Mids in the inaugural Jan. 2, 2011, game played in Annapolis.  Presbyterian then won a 58-42 decision on Dec. 22, 2011, on its home floor.
•    Navy has posted a 13-6 record against teams currently in the Big South Conference and Presbyterian has compiled a 5-4 record against current members of the Patriot League.

On This Date
•    This will be Navy's first game played on Nov. 3.

Against This State
•    Navy has posted a 16-17 record against teams located in South Carolina.

In This State 
•    Navy has tallied an 8-14 record in games played in South Carolina.

Navy vs. Big South on the Road
•    Navy has compiled a 5-5 record in road games played against current teams in the Big South.

Presbyterian vs. Patriot League at Home
•    Presbyterian has posted a 3-0 record in home games played against current teams in the Patriot League.

Veterans Classic
•    Navy returns home to play host to the 12th edition of the Veterans Classic on Friday, Nov. 7.
•    This year's games feature Tulsa vs. Rhode Island and Yale vs. Navy.
•    Traditionally held on or around the Veterans Day holiday weekend, the event pays tribute to veterans of all our armed forces.
•    The three visiting teams immerse themselves in the USNA on Thursday through tours of ship simulators, helicopters, and ships.  They then eat lunch in King Hall with members of the Brigade of Midshipmen.
•    Veterans of all service branches are honored during the course of the doubleheader.

From the Veterans Classic to the NBA
•     15 Veterans Classic alumni were on NBA rosters at the start of the 2025-26 NBA season.
•    That brings the total number of Veterans Classic players to advance to the NBA to 39.
•    Six Veterans Classic players have won an NBA title and 17 were selected in the NBA Draft.

Veterans Classic Players on 2025-26 NBA Rosters (as of opening night)
Jamison Battle (George Washington / 2020) - Toronto
Tosan Evbuomwan (Princeton / 2022) - New York
Dorian Finney-Smith (Florida / 2015) - Houston
Rasheer Fleming (Saint Joseph's / 2022) - Phoenix
Sam Hauser (Marquette / 2016) - Boston
Herbert Jones (Alabama / 2017) - New Orleans
Luke Kornet (Vanderbilt / 2016) - San Antonio
Isaac Okoro (Auburn / 2019) - Chicago
Marcus Sasser (Houston / 2022) - Detroit
Jamal Shead (Houston / 2022) - Toronto
Max Shulga (VCU / 2024) - Boston
Jalen Smith (Maryland / 2018) - Chicago
Jae'Sean Tate (Ohio State / 2016) - Houston
Jarace Walker (Houston / 2022) - Indiana
Aaron Wiggins (Maryland / 2018) - Oklahoma City

Lots of TV Time
•     Navy has been selected to appear on the CBS Sports Network a minimum of five times during the regular season.
•    The Mids will appear on the network Nov. 7 against Yale, Jan. 12 at American, Feb. 9 at Bucknell and both games against Army (Jan. 24 in Annapolis and Feb. 21 at West Point).  
•    Navy's Feb. 28 home game against Colgate also could be chosen to be televised by the network.
•    Navy previously played five regular season games on the network during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns.  Including postseason games, the Mids were on the CBS Sports Network seven times during the 2021-22 season and five times during the 2016-27, 2018-19 and 2024-25 seasons. 
•    The Mids have appeared on the network 70 times since its inception as College Sports Television (CSTV) in 2004-05.
•    Also, Navy's Veterans Day game at Penn State will be aired on the Big Ten Network in what will be the second time (Nov. 27, 2020, at Maryland) in which the Mids appear on the network since it was launched in the fall of 2007.  
•    Additionally, the team's Nov. 18 game at North Carolina (7 p.m.) will be carried by the ACC Network.  Navy's two previous appearances on the network –– which began during the fall of 2019 –– were during the 2021-22 season when the Mids won a 66-58 game at Virginia and played at Louisville.

Happy Anniversary
•     The 2025-26 season marks 40 years since the 1985-86 Mids advanced to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.
•    Behind then-junior David Robinson, Navy compiled a 30-5 overall record and defeated Tulsa, Syracuse and Cleveland State in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Duke in the regional final.  
•    Robinson was the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year and earned multiple All-America accolades.  He averaged 22.8 points, 13.0 rebounds and 5.9 blocks per game.  He recorded 207 blocks on the year, which bettered every team in the country except for the 213 by eventual national champion Louisville.
•    The 30 victories remains a service academy record.

Woods to Captain Mids
•     Mike Woods will serve as the captain of the men's basketball team for the 2025-26 season.