2024–25 Wyoming Cowboys basketball team

The 2024–25 Wyoming Cowboys basketball team will represent the University of Wyoming during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cowboys will be led by Sundance Wicks in his first season as head coach, and will play their home games for the 43rd season at the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie, Wyoming. They will participate in the Mountain West Conference for the 26th season.

2024–25 Wyoming Cowboys basketball
ConferenceMountain West Conference
Record3–1 (0–0 MW)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaArena-Auditorium
Seasons
2024–25 Mountain West Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Nevada 0 0   4 0   1.000
Utah State 0 0   4 0   1.000
Boise State 0 0   3 1   .750
Colorado State 0 0   3 1   .750
New Mexico 0 0   3 1   .750
Wyoming 0 0   3 1   .750
San Diego State 0 0   2 1   .667
UNLV 0 0   2 1   .667
Fresno State 0 0   1 2   .333
Air Force 0 0   1 3   .250
San Jose State 0 0   1 4   .200
2025 Mountain West tournament winner
As of November 18, 2024
Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

edit

The Cowboys finished the 2023–24 season 15–17, 8–10 in Mountain West play to finish in eighth place. They lost to Fresno State in the first round of the Mountain West tournament.

Offseason

edit

Head coach Jeff Linder resigned to join Texas Tech as an assistant coach.[1] Assistant coach Ken DeWeese left the program to join the Colorado State coaching staff,[2] and assistant coach Bryston Williams left the program to join the Drake coaching staff.[3]

Former Wyoming assistant Sundance Wicks was hired as head coach after one season as head coach at Green Bay.[4] Pat Monaghan and Nic Reynolds were hired as assistant coaches on Wicks' staff, also from Green Bay.[5][6] Nick Whitmore and Shaun Vandiver were retained from Linder's staff.

Departures

edit

The Cowboys had 6 players enter the transfer portal at the conclusion of the 2023–24 season.[7] They also had three players graduate and exhaust their eligibility.[8]

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Brendan Wenzel 1 G 6'7" 208 SR San Antonio, Texas Transferred to TCU
Sam Griffin 3 G 6'3" 188 SR Miami, Florida Graduated
Cam Manyawu 5 F 6'9" 228 FR Kansas City, Missouri Transferred to Drake
Jonas Sirtautas 7 F 6'10" 185 FR Kaunas, Lithuania Transferred to Radford
Kael Combs 11 G 6'4" 190 FR Nixa, Missouri Transferred to Drake
Akuel Kot 13 G 6'2" 167 SR Amarillo, Texas Graduated
Kenny Foster 22 G 6'5" 193 SR Aurora, Colorado Graduated
Jacob Theodosiou 24 G 6'4" 188 FR Waterloo, Canada Transferred to Loyola (MD)
Mason Walters 33 F 6'9" 221 GS Jamestown, North Dakota Graduated
Caden Powell 44 F 6'10" 220 SO Waco, Texas Transferred to Rice

Incoming transfers

edit

Wyoming brought in 9 players via the transfer portal.[7]

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
A.J. Wills 3 G 6'2" 160 SO Richmond, Virginia Holy Cross
Obi Agbim 5 G 6'3" 180 SR Aurora, Colorado Fort Lewis College
Matija Belic 7 F 6'7" 205 JR Belgrade, Serbia UC Santa Barbara
Cole Henry 8 F 6'9" 240 GS Oskaloosa, Iowa Northern Iowa
Abou Magassa 9 F 6'7" 215 RFR Morsang-sur-Orge, France Saint Louis
Dontaie Allen 11 G 6'6" 210 SR Falmouth, Kentucky Western Kentucky
Scottie Ebube 12 C 6'10" 275 JR Mundelein, Illinois Southern Illinois
Jordan Nesbitt 16 G 6'6" 210 SR St. Louis, Missouri Hampton
Touko Tainamo 25 F 6'9" 220 SR Helsinki, Finland Denver

2024 recruiting class

edit
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Garrett Spielman
G/F
Sheridan, WY Sheridan HS 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 192 lb (87 kg) May 24, 2024 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A   ESPN grade: N/A
Jehvion Starwood
G
Oswego, IL Oswego East HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Nov 9, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPNN/A   ESPN grade: N/A
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:

  • "204 Wyoming Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  • "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 3, 2024.

Preseason

edit

Mountain West Preseason Poll

Mountain West Preseason
1. Boise State 276 (19)
2. New Mexico 233 (1)
3. Nevada 219 (1)
4. San Diego State 213 (2)
5. UNLV 178 (2)
6. Utah State 169 (1)
7. Colorado State 160
8. San Jose State 88
9. Wyoming 67
10. Fresno State 62
11. Air Force 51
Reference:[9] (#) first-place votes

Pre-Season All-Mountain West Team

Player School
Alvaro Cardenas Boise State
Nique Clifford Colorado State
Nick Davidson Nevada
Tyson Degenhart Boise State
Donovan Dent New Mexico
Nelly Junior Joseph New Mexico
Ian Martinez Utah State
O'Mar Stanley Boise State
Dedan Thomas Jr. UNLV
Reese Waters San Diego State
Reference:[10]

Roster

edit
2023–24 Wyoming Cowboys men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Nigle Cook 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 176 lb (80 kg) RS Fr DME Academy DeLand, FL
G 2 Kobe Newton 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 178 lb (81 kg) Sr Fullerton College Portland, OR
G 3 A.J. Wills 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So Holy Cross Richmond, VA
G 5 Obi Agbim 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Fort Lewis College Aurora, CO
F 7 Matija Belic 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr UC Santa Barbara Belgrade, SRB
F 8 Cole Henry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Northern Iowa Oskaloosa, IA
F 9 Abou Magassa 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Fr Saint Louis Morsang-sur-Orge, FRA
G 10 Levi Brown (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 167 lb (76 kg) RS Fr Laramie HS Laramie, WY
G 11 Dontaie Allen 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Western Kentucky Falmouth, KY
C 12 Scottie Ebube 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 275 lb (125 kg) Jr Southern Illinois Mundelein, IL
G/F 14 Garrett Spielman (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Fr Sheridan HS Sheridan, WY
F 15 Oleg Kojenets 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 228 lb (103 kg) Jr Nebraska Kaunas, Lithuania
G 16 Jordan Nesbitt 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Hampton St. Louis, MO
G 22 Jehvion Starwood 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Oswego East HS Oswego, IL
F 25 Touko Tainamo 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Denver Helsinki, FIN
G 31 Cort Roberson (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Stanwood HS Arlington, WA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

edit
Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 25, 2024*
6:30 PM MDT
College of Idaho W 80–63 
 18  Touko Tainamo   9  Abou Magassa   4  Cole Henry  Arena-Auditorium (2,029)
Laramie, WY
Regular season
November 4, 2024*
7:30 PM MST
Concordia St. Paul W 108–85  1–0
 25  Obi Agbim   16  Jordan Nesbitt   6  Obi Agbim  Arena-Auditorium (4,281)
Laramie, WY
November 10, 2024*
2:00 PM MST
Tennessee State W 81–66  2–0
 24  Obi Agbim   7  Jordan Nesbitt   5  Kobe Newton  Arena-Auditorium (4,339)
Laramie, WY
November 13, 2024*
6:00 PM MST, ESPN+
at Texas Tech L 49–96  2–1
 15  Obi Agbim   6  Cole Henry   2  tied  United Supermarkets Arena (11,456)
Lubbock, TX
November 16, 2024*
7:00 PM MST
Utah Tech W 86–69  3–1
 19  Kobe Newton   12  Jordan Nesbitt   4  Kobe Newton  Arena-Auditorium (3,596)
Laramie, WY
November 22, 2024*
6:30 PM MST
Southeastern Louisiana       Arena-Auditorium 
Laramie, WY
November 26, 2024*
4 PM MST, CBSSN
vs. Tulane
Cancún Challenge Riviera Semifinals
      Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya 
Cancún, Mexico
November 27, 2024*
TBD, CBSSN
vs. Loyola Marymount/Belmont
Cancún Challenge Riviera
      Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya 
Cancún, Mexico
December 4, 2024
TBD
at Utah State       Smith Spectrum 
Logan, UT
December 10, 2024*
6:00 PM MST
at South Dakota       Sanford Coyote Sports Center 
Vermillion, SD
December 14, 2024*
7:00 PM MST, ESPN+
vs. BYU       Delta Center 
Salt Lake City, UT
December 19, 2024*
6:30 PM MST
Bellarmine       Arena-Auditorium 
Laramie, WY
December 22, 2024*
3:00 PM MST
at Cal State Fullerton       Titan Gym 
Fullerton, CA
December 28, 2024
2:00 PM MST
Nevada       Arena-Auditorium 
Laramie, WY
December 31, 2024
6:30 PM MST
Boise State       Arena-Auditorium 
Laramie, WY
January 4, 2025
TBD
at Air Force       Clune Arena 
U.S. Air Force Academy, CO
January 7, 2025
8:00 PM MST, CBSSN
New Mexico       Arena-Auditorium 
Laramie, WY
January 14, 2025
TBD
at Boise State       ExtraMile Arena 
Boise, ID
January 18, 2025
2:00 PM MST
Colorado State
Border War
      Arena-Auditorium 
Laramie, WY
January 21, 2025
9:00 PM MST, CBSSN
at UNLV       Thomas & Mack Center 
Paradise, NV
January 25, 2025
TBD
at San Jose State       Provident Credit Union Event Center 
San Jose, CA
January 28, 2025
6:30 PM MST
Fresno State       Arena-Auditorium 
Laramie, WY
February 1, 2025
TBD, CBSSN
at San Diego State       Viejas Arena 
San Diego, CA
February 4, 2025
6:30 PM MST
Utah State       Arena-Auditorium 
Laramie, WY
February 8, 2025
2:00 PM MST
UNLV       Arena-Auditorium 
Laramie, WY
February 12, 2025
8:00 PM MST, FS1
at New Mexico       The Pit 
Albuquerque, NM
February 15, 2025
TBD
at Colorado State
Border War
      Moby Arena 
Fort Collins, CO
February 18, 2025
6:30 PM MST
Air Force       Arena-Auditorium 
Laramie, WY
February 22, 2025
2:00 PM MST
San Jose State       Arena-Auditorium 
Laramie, WY
February 25, 2025
TBD
at Nevada       Lawlor Events Center 
Reno, NV
March 1, 2025
6:00 PM MST, CBSSN
San Diego State       Arena-Auditorium 
Laramie, WY
March 4, 2025
TBD
at Fresno State       Save Mart Center 
Fresno, CA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain.

Source:[11]

References

edit
  1. ^ Bloomquist, Wes (May 14, 2024). "McCasland adds Jeff Linder to Tech coaching staff". TexasTech.com. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  2. ^ "DeWeese Joins Men's Basketball Staff". CSURams.com. June 11, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  3. ^ Hertel, Alyssa (April 19, 2024). "Meet Ben McCollum's coaching staff for Drake basketball". Des Moines Register. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  4. ^ Seeman, Nick (May 12, 2024). "Sundance Wicks Named Head Coach of Cowboy Basketball Program". GoWyo.com. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  5. ^ Seeman, Nick (May 15, 2024). "Nic Reynolds Named an Assistant Coach for Cowboy Basketball". GoWyo.com. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  6. ^ Seeman, Nick (May 17, 2024). "Pat Monaghan Named an Assistant Coach for Cowboy Basketball". GoWyo.com. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Wittman, Mike; Hanifin, Matt (July 28, 2024). "2024 Mountain West Basketball Player Movement Tracker". MWCConnection.com. SBNation. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  8. ^ Riding, Mason (April 5, 2024). "Cowboys lose five players to transfer portal, three to graduation so far in offseason". The Branding Iron. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  9. ^ "Boise State Voted 2024-25 Mountain West Men's Basketball Preseason Favorite". TheMW.com. Mountain West Conference. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  10. ^ "Mountain West Announces 2024-25 Preseason Men's Basketball All-Conference Team". TheMW.com. Mountain West Conference. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  11. ^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". gowyo.com. Retrieved October 21, 2024.