2024–25 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team

The 2024–25 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team represents Rutgers University–New Brunswick during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Scarlet Knights are led by ninth-year head coach Steve Pikiell and play their home games at Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey as members of the Big Ten Conference.

2024–25 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 24
Record	4–1 (0–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Steve Pikiell (9th season)
Associate head coach	Brandin Knight
Assistant coaches	T. J. Thompson Marlon Williamson Jay Young Steve Hayn Mike Larkin
Home arena	Jersey Mike's Arena

2024–25 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 19 Wisconsin	0	–	0		–			7	–	0		1.000
Oregon	0	–	0		–			5	–	0		1.000
Penn State	0	–	0		–			5	–	0		1.000
No. 16 Indiana	0	–	0		–			4	–	0		1.000
Iowa	0	–	0		–			5	–	1		.833
Maryland	0	–	0		–			5	–	1		.833
Northwestern	0	–	0		–			5	–	1		.833
No. 6 Purdue	0	–	0		–			5	–	1		.833
UCLA	0	–	0		–			5	–	1		.833
USC	0	–	0		–			5	–	1		.833
No. 25 Illinois	0	–	0		–			4	–	1		.800
Michigan	0	–	0		–			4	–	1		.800
Michigan State	0	–	0		–			4	–	1		.800
Minnesota	0	–	0		–			4	–	1		.800
Nebraska	0	–	0		–			4	–	1		.800
Ohio State	0	–	0		–			4	–	1		.800
No. 24 Rutgers	0	–	0		–			4	–	1		.800
Washington	0	–	0		–			4	–	1		.800
† 2025 Big Ten tournament winner As of November 24, 2024 Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Scarlet Knights finished the 2023–24 season 15–17, 7–13 in Big Ten play to finish a tie for 12th place. As the No. 13 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost to Maryland in the first round.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Derek Simpson	0	G	6'3"	165	Sophomore	Mount Laurel, NJ	Transferred to Saint Joseph's
Noah Fernandes	2	G	5'11"	180	GS Senior	Mattapoisett, MA	Graduated
Mawot Mag	3	F	6'7"	216	Senior	Melbourne, Australia	Transferred to BYU
Aundre Hyatt	5	F	6'6"	235	Senior	Bronx, NY	Graduated
Aiden Terry	7	G	5'10"	160	Senior	Mount Washington, KY	Walk-on; graduated
Oskar Palmquist	9	F	6'8"	220	Senior	Kinna, Sweden	Graduated/signed to play professionally in Sweden with Borås Basket
Gavin Griffiths	10	G	6'8"	193	Freshman	Simsbury, CT	Transferred to Nebraska
Clifford Omoruyi	11	C	6'11"	240	Senior	Benin City, Nigeria	Transferred to Alabama
Antwone Woolfolk	13	F	6'9"	225	Sophomore	Cleveland, OH	Transferred to Miami (OH)
Jacob Morales	15	G	6'4"	205	Sophomore	Montvale, NJ	Walk-on; not on team roster
Antonio Chol	21	F	6'9"	220	Sophomore	Buffalo, NY	Transferred to Buffalo
Daniel Vessey	23	G	6'3"	190	Freshman	Princeton, NJ	Walk-on; transferred to Columbia
Austin Williams	24	G	6'4"	205	GS Senior	Roseland, NJ	Graduated
Zach Hayn	53	G	6'2"	195	GS Senior	Brooklyn, NY	Walk-on; graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous college
Jordan Derkack	0	G	6'5"	205	Junior	Colonia, NJ	Merrimack
Tyson Acuff	5	G	6'4"	210	Senior	Detroit, MI	Eastern Michigan
PJ Hayes	23	F	6'6"	215	GS Senior	Waconia, MN	San Diego
Zach Martini	99	F	6'7"	235	GS Senior	Warren, New Jersey	Princeton

Recruiting classes

2024 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Ace Bailey #1 SF	Powder Springs, GA	McEachern High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jan 15, 2023
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 97
Dylan Harper #3 PG	Ramsey, NJ	Don Bosco High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Dec 6, 2023
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 96
Dylan Grant #18 PF	Warren, MI	Michigan Collegiate High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Aug 28, 2023
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 82
Lathan Sommerville #34 C	Atlanta, GA	The Skill Factory Prep School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Apr 21, 2023
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 82
Bryce Dortch #62 PF	Chestnut Hill, MA	Brimmer & May	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jun 13, 2023
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 78
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. Retrieved 2024-08-05.

Roster

2024–25 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Jordan Derkack 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Spire Academy Merrimack Colonia, NJ G 1 Jamichael Davis 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So McEachern Powder Springs, GA G 2 Dylan Harper 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Don Bosco Prep Franklin Lakes, NJ G/F 4 Ace Bailey 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr McEachern Chattanooga, TN G 5 Tyson Acuff 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Cass Technical Eastern Michigan Detroit, MI G 10 Nate Freisthler (W) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Pioneer Ann Arbor, MI C 21 Emmanuel Ogbole 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 270 lb (122 kg) Jr Excel Model Secondary School Monroe College Aune-Adoka, Nigeria G/F 23 PJ Hayes 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) GS Waconia San Diego Waconia, MN C 24 Lathan Sommerville 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 275 lb (125 kg) Fr Richwoods Peoria, IL G 25 Jeremiah Williams 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Sr Simeon Career Academy Iowa State Chicago, IL G 30 Peter Noble (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Christian Brothers Academy Middletown, NJ G 44 Max Fradkin (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Taft School Southbury, CT F/C 99 Zach Martini 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) GS Gill St. Benard's Princeton Warren, NJ	Head coach Steve Pikiell (Connecticut) Assistant coach(es) Brandin Knight (Pittsburgh) T. J. Thompson (George Washington) Marlon Williamson (Youngstown State) Jay Young (Marist) Steve Hayn (Stony Brook) Mike Larkin (Albright College) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 17, 2024* 6:30 p.m., BTN	No. 25	St. John's	L 85–91		25 – Bailey	7 – Derkack	3 – Derkack	Jersey Mike's Arena (4,240) Piscataway, NJ
Regular season
November 6, 2024* 6:00 p.m., BTN	No. 25	Wagner	W 75–52	1–0	20 – Harper	8 – Sommerville	5 – Davis	Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ
November 11, 2024* 7:00 p.m., B1G+	No. 24	Saint Peter's	W 75–65	2–0	24 – Harper	7 – Hayes IV	4 – Williams	Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ
November 15, 2024* 6:30 p.m., BTN	No. 24	Monmouth	W 98–81	3–0	20 – Harper	7 – Sommerville	9 – Derkack	Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ
November 20, 2024* 8:00 p.m., Peacock	No. 24	Merrimack	W 74–63	4–0	23 – Bailey	10 – Bailey	6 – Harper	Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ
November 24, 2024* 1:00 p.m., CBSSN	No. 24	at Kennesaw State	L 77–79	4–1	21 – Harper	6 – Derkack	9 – Harper	Convocation Center (3,805) Kennesaw, GA
November 26, 2024* 10:30 p.m., TBS		vs. Notre Dame Players Era Festival Impact Tournament						MGM Grand Garden Arena  Paradise, NV
November 27, 2024* 10:00 p.m., TBS		vs. Alabama Players Era Festival Impact Tournament						MGM Grand Garden Arena  Paradise, NV
November 30, 2024*		vs.  Players Era Festival Championship Day						MGM Grand Garden Arena  Paradise, NV
December 7, 2024 12:00 p.m., FS1		at Ohio State						Value City Arena  Columbus, OH
December 10, 2024 7:00 p.m., Peacock		Penn State						Jersey Mike's Arena  Piscataway, NJ
December 14, 2024* 3:00 p.m., FOX		Seton Hall Garden State Hardwood Classic						Jersey Mike's Arena  Piscataway, NJ
December 21, 2024* 12:00 p.m., FS1		vs. Princeton Never Forget Tribute Classic/Rivalry						Prudential Center  Newark, NJ
December 30, 2024* 5:00 p.m., BTN		Columbia						Jersey Mike's Arena  Piscataway, NJ
January 2, 2025 8:30 p.m., Peacock		Indiana						Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall  Bloomington, IN
January 6, 2025 7:00 p.m., FS1		Wisconsin						Jersey Mike's Arena  Piscataway, NJ
January 9, 2025 6:00 p.m., FS1		Purdue						Jersey Mike's Arena  Piscataway, NJ
January 13, 2025 6:30 p.m., FS1		UCLA						Jersey Mike's Arena  Piscataway, NJ
January 16, 2025 9:00 p.m., FS1		at Nebraska						Pinnacle Bank Arena  Lincoln, NE
January 20, 2025 6:30 p.m., Peacock		at Penn State						Bryce Jordan Center  State College, PA
January 25, 2025 1:30 p.m., CBS		vs. Michigan State B1G Super Saturday						Madison Square Garden  New York, NY
January 29, 2025 9:00 p.m., BTN		at Northwestern						Welsh–Ryan Arena  Evanston, IL
February 1, 2025 3:30 p.m., FOX		Michigan						Jersey Mike's Arena  Piscataway, NJ
February 5, 2025 8:30 p.m., BTN		Illinois						Jersey Mike's Arena  Piscataway, NJ
February 9, 2025 12:00 p.m., BTN		at Maryland						Xfinity Center  College Park, MD
February 12, 2025 6:30 p.m., BTN		Iowa						Jersey Mike's Arena  Piscataway, NJ
February 16, 2025 7:00 p.m., FS1		at Oregon						Matthew Knight Arena  Eugene, OR
February 19, 2025 10:30 p.m., BTN		at Washington						Alaska Airlines Arena  Seattle, WA
February 23, 2025 6:00 p.m., FS1		USC						Jersey Mike's Arena  Piscataway, NJ
February 27, 2025 9:00 p.m., Peacock		at Michigan						Crisler Center  Ann Arbor, MI
March 4, 2025 7:00 p.m., Peacock		at Purdue						Mackey Arena  West Lafayette, IN
March 9, 2025 1:00 p.m., BTN		Minnesota						Jersey Mike's Arena  Piscataway, NJ
Big Ten tournament
March 12–16, 2025 TBA		vs.						United Center  Chicago, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source

Rankings

See also: 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Final
AP	25	24	24
Coaches	RV	24	RV