Men’s 2024-25 Basketball Season Outlook
MCKENZIE, Tenn. -There will be many familiar faces for the 2024-2025 Bethel University Wildcat Men's Basketball team. The squad will return 10 players from last year's team. The Cats got off to a hot start to the season and then were faced with many challenges at the start of conference play. The Mid-South Conference produced a national championship team, and several teams qualified for the national tournament as well.
As usual in the Mid-South Conference , it will not be an easy road for the Wildcats, as the league is recognized as one of the best in the nation. This year's team has the potential to be one of the top performers in conference play and will work to grab a berth in the NAIA National Tournament.
The Wildcats' roster will return seven seniors, one junior, four sophomores, and one freshman.
Seniors:
The seven seniors that return for the Wildcats are: 6'3 Connor Guthrie(10.0 PPG/3.1RPG), 6'2 Tyler Neely (8.3 PPG/3.3RPG), 6'3 Dwight Reed (4.8 PPG/1.7 RPG), 6'8 Kendan Maddox (7.5 PPG/4.5 RPG), 6'8 Akeyse Rice (2.5 PPG/2.4 RPG), 6'8 Brennon Marsh (4.8 PPG/5.9 RPG), 6'6 Yassine Zlitni (2.4 PPG/1.7 RPG)
Jr:
6'4 Trevor Chatman (redshirt) will return for the Wildcats.
So:
6'8 Ethan Turner (7.1 PPG/5.2 RPG), 6'3 Jackson Hayes (2.0 PPG/.5 RPG), 6'2 Garrett Hayden (2.1 PPG/1.1 RPG), 6'0 Chauncey Hughes(redshirt) will return and help the Wildcats after their first year.
Fr:
6'5 Brayden Nunnally(redshirt) will be returning.
Newcomers:
Bethel has added several new faces this year which include transfers, a solo freshman, and a player from last year's Men's Developmental Team.
Daveonne Warfield 6'3 Junior, Southwest Tennessee Community College
DJ Starr 5'10 Junior, Columbia State Community College
Jackson Ellis 6'4 Junior, Ezell Harding Christian School
Will Farris 5'11 Junior, Southwest Tennessee Community College
Joe Wimberly 6'0 Freshman, Pelham High School
Jacquarium Collum 6'4 Sophomore, Goodpasture Christian School
Jacob Bowles 6'4 Sophomore, Adamsville High School
The Wildcats open the season with an exhibition against Murray State University at Murray, Kentucky to start the season. After that, the Cats will open up with five games at home. Four of those games involve the Chick-fil-a Classic and the Thanksgiving Classic.
Bethel will play 17 non-conference opponents before opening up Mid-South Conference play on January 9th at home against Cumberland University out of Lebanon, Tennessee. The conference play will consist of 12 games spanning from January 9th to February 22nd.
The Wildcats return 62% of the scoring from last season. The returning front court helps bring back a big part of sixty-eight percent of the rebounding. The back court brings back fifty-six percent in assists, fifty-four percent in steals, and eighty-four percent of three-point field goals made. As a whole, the Wildcats will return sixty-eight percent of the minutes played and sixty-one percent of field goals made.
Coach Jeff Britt enters his 25th year as the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Bethel University and his 35th year as a collegiate basketball coach in 2024-2025. He enters this season with an all-time record as a head coach of 521-361, including multiple seasons with twenty plus wins. From 2001 to 2006, Coach Britt led the Wildcats to five consecutive winning seasons, and then nine consecutive winning seasons from 2011 to 2020. Entering the season, Coach Britt has accumulated 413 wins.
Coach Britt commented, "Our group has worked hard since we started this fall, the kids are improving. We have added some depth to the areas that we needed, and our schedule may be one of the toughest in my time here as head coach".