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2024–25 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

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2024–25 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball
ConferenceConference USA
Record0–0 (0–0 CUSA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Martin Cross
  • Tim MacAllister
  • Eric Murphy
  • Josh Newman
  • Darryl Jackson
Home arenaE. A. Diddle Arena
Seasons
2024–25 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
FIU 0 0   0 0  
Jacksonville State 0 0   0 0  
Kennesaw State 0 0   0 0  
Liberty 0 0   0 0  
Louisiana Tech 0 0   0 0  
Middle Tennessee 0 0   0 0  
New Mexico State 0 0   0 0  
Sam Houston 0 0   0 0  
UTEP 0 0   0 0  
Western Kentucky 0 0   0 0  
2025 CUSA tournament winner

The 2024–25 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team is led by first-year head coach Hank Plona, and play their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky as eleventh-year members of Conference USA.

Previous season

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The Hilltoppers finished the 2023–24 season 22–12, 8–8 in C-USA play to finish in third place. As the No. 3 seed in the C-USA tournament, they defeated New Mexico State in the quarterfinals, Middle Tennessee in the semifinals, and UTEP to win the C-USA Championship. As an automatic qualifier in the NCAA tournament, they earned the No. 15 seed, where they lost to No. 2 seed Marquette in the first round.[1]

On April 1, 2024, Steve Lutz left the program to accept the head coaching job at Oklahoma State.[2]

A day later, on April 2, 2024, the school named Hank Plona as the new head coach to lead the Hilltoppers.[3]

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Rodney Howard 0 F 6'11" 250 5th Year Ypsilanti, MI Graduated
Brandon Newman 10 G 6'5" 195 RS Senior Valparaiso, IN Graduated
Dontaie Allen 11 G/F 6'6" 210 RS Senior Falmouth, KY Transferred to Wyoming
BJ Marable 13 F 6'9" 230 Senior Knoxville, TN Graduated

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school
Braxton Bayless 0 G 6'2" 175 Graduate Student Ankeny, IA Niagara
Blaise Keita 1 F/C 6'11" 250 RS Senior Bamako, Mali Nebraska[4]
Cade Stinnett 10 G 6'3" 198 Junior Bowling Green, KY Centre College
Leeroy Odiahi 21 F/C 6'11" 218 Senior Tralee, Ireland Old Dominion

Recruiting classes

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2024 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Kade Unseld
G/F
Bowling Green, KY Warren Central HS 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 202 lb (92 kg) Oct 23, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPNN/A   ESPN grade: NR
Julius Thedford
G
Memphis, TN Cordova HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Apr 15, 2024 
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPNN/A   ESPN grade: NR
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 October 25, 2024.

Roster

[edit]
2024–25 WKU Hilltoppers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Braxton Bayless 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) GS Ankeny HS
Niagara
Ankeny, IA
F/C 1 Blaise Keita 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS Sr Sunrise Christian
Nebraska
Bamako, Mali
G 2 Don McHenry 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 168 lb (76 kg) Sr Milwaukee Academy of Science
Indian Hills CC
Milwaukee, WI
G 3 Jalen Jackson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) GS Wagner HS
Texas A&M-CC
San Antonio, TX
G 4 Khristian Lander 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) GS Reitz HS
Indiana
Evansville, IN
F 5 Babacar Faye 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr NBA Academy Africa Saly, Senegal
G 6 Kade Unseld 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 202 lb (92 kg) Fr Warren Central HS Bowling Green, KY
F/C 7 Fallou Diagne 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Sr Compass Prep
Northwest Florida State College
Dakar, Senegal
G 10 Cade Stinnett 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Jr Greenwood HS
Centre College
Bowling Green, KY
G 12 Terrion Murdix 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) GS Springfield Southeast HS
Texas A&M-CC
Springfield, IL
G 13 Julius Thedford 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Cordova HS (TN) Memphis, TN
G 15 Jack Edelen 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 172 lb (78 kg) So Male HS Louisville, KY
F/C 21 Leeroy Odiahi 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Sr George Harris Prep Academy Tralee, Ireland
G 22 Jaylen Dorsey 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Berea HS (KY) Berea, KY
G 23 Enoch Kalambay 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Orangeville Prep Gatineau, QC
F 24 Tyrone Marshall Jr. 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) GS Pearl-Cohn HS Nashville, TN
G 30 Teagan Moore 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Owen County HS (KY) Dry Ridge, KY
G 31 Tyler Olden 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Sr Hillcrest Prep Scottsdale, AZ
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: October 25, 2024

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 27, 2024*
2:00 p.m.
UAB L 79–88 
 20  Faye   8  Faye   4  Tied  E. A. Diddle Arena (1,724)
Bowling Green, KY
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2024*
7:00 p.m., CBSSN
Wichita State       E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
November 9, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Grand Canyon       Global Credit Union Arena 
Phoenix, AZ
November 12, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Campbellsville       E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
November 17, 2024*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
Lipscomb       E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
November 20, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Jackson State
BBN Invitational
      E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
November 26, 2024*
5:30 p.m., ESPNU
at Kentucky
BBN Invitational
      Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
November 30, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Marshall       E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
December 7, 2024*
1:00 p.m.
at Evansville       Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
December 10, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Tennessee State       E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
December 14, 2024*
1:00 p.m., ESPN+
Murray State       E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
December 17, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Seattle       E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
December 21, 2024*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
Kentucky Wesleyan       E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
December 29, 2024*
7:00 p.m., BTN
at Michigan       Crisler Center 
Ann Arbor, MI
Conference regular season
January 2, 2025
6:00 p.m., CBSSN
at Liberty       Liberty Arena 
Lynchburg, VA
January 4, 2025
1:00 p.m., ESPN+
at FIU       Ocean Bank Convocation Center 
Miami, FL
January 9, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Jacksonville State       E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
January 11, 2025
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
Kennesaw State       E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
January 18, 2025
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Middle Tennessee       Murphy Center 
Murfreesboro, TN
January 23, 2025
6:00 p.m., CBSSN
at Louisiana Tech       Thomas Assembly Center 
Ruston, LA
January 25, 2025
2:30 p.m., ESPN+
at Sam Houston       Bernard Johnson Coliseum 
Huntsville, TX
January 30, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
UTEP       E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
February 1, 2025
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
New Mexico State       E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
February 6, 2025
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Kennesaw State       KSU Convocation Center 
Kennesaw, GA
February 8, 2025
4:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Jacksonville State       Pete Mathews Coliseum 
Jacksonville, AL
February 15, 2025
7:00 p.m., CBSSN
Middle Tennessee       E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
February 20, 2025
8:00 p.m., ESPNU
Sam Houston       E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
February 22, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Louisiana Tech       E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
February 27, 2025
8:00 p.m., CBSSN
at UTEP       Don Haskins Center 
El Paso, TX
March 1, 2025
8:00 p.m., ESPN+
at New Mexico State       Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, NM
March 6, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
FIU       E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
March 8, 2025
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
Liberty       E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
Conference USA Tournament
March 11–15, 2025
TBA
vs. TBA       Von Braun Center 
Huntsville, AL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Sources[5]

References

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  1. ^ "2023-24 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Men's Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Steve Lutz hired as basketball coach at Oklahoma State after one season at Western Kentucky". AP News. April 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  3. ^ "WKU mens basketball hires Hank Plona as next head coach". WKU Herald. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  4. ^ Moore, Wilson (May 21, 2024). "Former Nebraska forward Blaise Keita transfers to Western Kentucky". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  5. ^ "2024–25 Men's Basketball Schedule". WKU Athletics. Retrieved October 25, 2024.