Players entering the Portal

meganeck · Fri May 08, 2026 5:36 pm

WiuBBall wrote: Thu Apr 09, 2026 5:44 pm
meganeck wrote: Thu Apr 09, 2026 5:24 pm
WiuBBall wrote: Tue Mar 24, 2026 9:28 pm Hearing everyone except Jack Riley, Danny Stephens and Makai Kvamme are leaving

Haven't seen anything on these 3 or Ifiok Peter on entering the portal.

Ifiok Peter entered the portal 2 days ago per his X

Never heard of this college but Peter committed to Catawba College

meganeck · Fri May 08, 2026 5:49 pm

they picked up a commitment from Abdoulaye Konate, a 6'5" guard from Florida SW Junior College. He averaged 12 pts and 6 rebounds a game this past season before getting expelled from school for a flooding incident that happened over the summer. He'll have 3yrs of eligibilty

loyalfan · Sat May 09, 2026 4:51 pm

https://x.com/workinithoops/status/2035531316687429863?s=46&t=nAMpgApQa52NZqkZMPbzhg

loyalfan · Sat May 09, 2026 4:57 pm

https://x.com/kayserhoops/status/2038425072180871282?s=46&t=nAMpgApQa52NZqkZMPbzhg

loyalfan · Sun May 17, 2026 8:39 am

https://x.com/verbalcommits/status/2055725268417810791?s=46&t=nAMpgApQa52NZqkZMPbzhg

Necks2003 · Thu May 28, 2026 10:27 am

Does anyone know how many scholarships are still available with the bulk of the players leaving? Seems like there should be several open spots.

Thu May 28, 2026 2:29 pm

Necks2003 wrote: Thu May 28, 2026 10:27 am Does anyone know how many scholarships are still available with the bulk of the players leaving? Seems like there should be several open spots.

Best place I've found for that kind of tracking is VerbalCommits.com. Here's Western's page: https://verbalcommits.com/schools/western-illinois

I'm seeing the following as players currently planned to be on the team next year:
Jack Riley, Hunter Vaughn, Abdoulaye Konate, Jordan Cain, Joshua Eli, Matthiew Biembongo, Makai Kvamme, Taye Moore, Danny Stephens, and freshman Shay Stephens.

Of the freshman offers listed:
Lamont Hamilton - signed to play football at Minnesota
Noa Eteuati-Edwards - no commitment, offers from WIU and SEMO
Lincoln Williams - no commitment, offers from a bunch of schools including Illinois, Arizona State, Virginia Tech, UNLV, DePaul, Saint Louis, etc.
Stephen Brown - signed to play football at North Carolina State
Andrew Hoerner - signed to play basketball at Central Arkansas

So, we have 10 players listed, plus possibly one other that we have a scholarship offer out for (highly doubt we'd get Lincoln Williams with the interest he's gotten).
DI Men's Basketball teams now have a 15 scholarship limit and they can be distributed any way the team wants to:
"Instead of being limited to offering either a full or no scholarship in head count sports, NCAA member schools now have the flexibility to provide each student-athlete with a full, partial, or no scholarship, depending on their program’s strategy and funding. All NCAA sports are now considered equivalency sports, giving DI schools greater freedom in how they divide athletic aid within roster caps."

So, it sounds like there's at least a few open spots on our team. Idk how many others our coaching staff have been in contact with but haven't officially made offers too.

hoops3 · Fri May 29, 2026 8:53 pm

letsgonecks · Sun May 31, 2026 7:15 pm

loyalfan wrote: Sat May 09, 2026 4:57 pm https://x.com/kayserhoops/status/2038425072180871282?s=46&t=nAMpgApQa52NZqkZMPbzhg

Looks like Eli signed with Western Michagan.

Wiufan87 · Sun May 31, 2026 7:33 pm

Davee Flowers had a 54 point game last year at Elgin CC he looks like an offensive talent. Seems like we have plenty of shooting guards could use a couple forwards 6'6 or taller. Jordan Cain from Iowa Central looks good too. Expect improvement next year from guys probably drop off with Women losing 4 starters. Go WIU!