DEKALB, Ill. – The ULM men's basketball team will open the season on Monday (Nov. 3), traveling to DeKalb to face the Northern Illinois Huskies. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. for the MAC/SBC Challenge.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES –
Northern Illinois opens the season against the Warhawks after a 6-25 campaign last season. The Huskies welcome five Division I transfers, including UCF transfer JJ Taylor and Columbia transfer Gianni Cobb. NIU is one of few DI schools to not return any 2024-25 players this season, with 16 newcomers.
WARHAWK RETURNERS –
ULM returns three players from the 2024-25 roster. Renars Sondors saw action in 10 games, averaging 5.8 points and 3.8 rebounds. Sondors posted a 44.7% field goal percentage in his freshman season. Micah Caster enters his sophomore season at ULM after seeing time in 22 games. Caster averaged 3.4 points per game, notching a 43.9% field goal percentage and shooting 37.9% from beyond the arc. To round out the returners, Ajay Tew returns in 2025-26 for his third season. Tew saw action in 11 games, averaging four minutes.
NEW ON THE BAYOU –
The Warhawks welcome 10 to the roster for the 2025-26 season, including four freshmen. Przemek Hartman, Alex Molofeev, Wiggy Ball and Alex Huguet Carrasco will compete as true freshmen for ULM. Dylan Diaz arrives from two seasons at Daytona State College, while Monroe native Krystian Lewis returns to the bayou after a season at Pearl River CC. Lavell Brodnex comes in for his fifth season, two spent at Cameron University and one spent at both Wagner College and Murray State College. Brodnex was named to the All-LSC Third Team both seasons at Cameron. Brentay Noel has two seasons at Southern under his belt in his arrival at ULM. MJ Russell spent three seasons at Mississippi State, playing a total of 21 games for the Bulldogs. Cam Campbell rounds out the roster after two seasons at Asbury University.
MAC-SBC CHALLENGE –
This is the second season of ULM participating in the MAC-SBC Challenge. The Warhawks hold a 2-0 record in the challenge from the 2023-24 season, when ULM defeated Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan.
INTERNATIONAL FLAIR –
The Warhawks have 14 players from five different countries, including the U.S. Noted countries include: Poland, Spain, Russia and Latvia. Alex Molofeev takes the cake being the farthest from home, as Monroe is 5,672 miles from Moscow, Russia. On the other side of things, junior Krystian Lewis is soccer team's lone hometown resident, as he is from Monroe.
COACH CUNNINGHAM –
Head coach Phil Cunningham gets started in his first year at the helm for ULM. He brings six years of Sun Belt head coaching experience, spending 2013-19 at Troy with an 80-111 record. Cunningham spent the 2024-25 season at ULM as an assistant coach, claiming the head coaching gig after former head coach Keith Richard's retirement.
FOLLOW THE WARHAWKS –
Monday's game will be available on KLIP 105.3 FM with Mike Hammett on the call. Streaming will be available for games on ESPN+. Links to live stats for all games, when available, can be found at ULMWarhawks.com. Navigate to the women's basketball schedule page and select that day's opponent.
NEXT UP –
The Warhawks will travel to take on the Ole Miss Rebels on Friday (Nov. 7) to continue their season-opening road trip. ULM is slated to tip off against Ole Miss at 6:30 p.m.
