Washington State Men’s basketball will face off against New Mexico at 6 p.m. Saturday.
The Cougs have not played New Mexico since Dec. 25, 2015, when the Cougs defeated the Lobos 82-59. Before that match, the Cougs had only beaten New Mexico two out of the five times they had met.
The Cougs placed No. 6 in the West Coast Conference at the end of the 2024–25 season with a conference record of 8-10 and an overall record of 19-15. New Mexico placed first in the Mountain West conference with a conference record of 17-3 and an overall record of 27-8.
The Cougs have nine new players and five returning players. The Cougs also have four incoming freshmen: Dominik Robinson, a forward from Graham, Wash.; Ace Glass, a guard from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.; Dio Blakely, a guard from Los Angeles and Brunel Madzou, a guard from Tampere, Finland.
There will also be two new juniors: Eemeli Yalaho, a forward from Jyväskylä, Finland, who transferred from Texas Tech; and Jerone Morton, a guard from Lexington, Ky., who transferred from Morehead State.
Kase Wynott goes to the rim against Pacific on Jan. 9, Pullman, Wash.
Lastly, the Cougs also have three new seniors: Emmanuel Ugbo, a forward from Barendrecht, Netherlands, who transferred from Boise State; Simon Hildebrandt, a forward from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, who transferred from High Point; and Adrià Rodriguez, a guard from Sant Just, Catalonia, Spain, who transferred from HLA Alicante.
The Cougs’ five returning players this season are: Tómas Thrastarson, a guard and sophomore; Parker Gerrits, a guard and redshirt sophomore; Rihards Vavers, a forward and junior; ND Okafor, a forward and redshirt junior; Kase Wynott, a guard and sophomore.
The Cougs will be coached by head coach David Riley, general manager and assistant coach Orlando Johnson, assistant coach Donald Brady, assistant coach Jerry Brown, assistant coach Pedro Garcia Rosado and assistant coach George Galanopoulos.
