ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Roberts Wesleyan University men's basketball team opens the 2025-26 season this afternoon against Saint Anselm at the East Region Challenge in Buffalo.
The Redhawks return eight players, including co-captains Keonjay Carter and Trey Kleitz, from a squad that finished 10-17 and lost in the East Coast Conference quarterfinals in March. Roberts also welcomes seven newcomers who are looking to find their roles this season.
"We're going to be a team where guys are going to have to get after it day after day and different guys are going to need to step up," Roberts coach Mark Saladzius, who is entering his seventh full season at the helm of his alma mater, said. "Right now, there's still some space open for guys to step into leadership roles. There's still some space open for guys to really kind of fill voids in a lot of areas, so as we continue to build as the year goes and camaraderie builds, I think we'll kind of see where guys fit a little better, but they've already connected faster than I anticipated and I expect that to continue."
The Redhawks, who were picked to finish fifth in the ECC Preseason Coaches' Poll, already have one exhibition game under their belt. Roberts played Division I Long Island University Brooklyn on Oct. 30, giving Saladzius an early progress report on the team.
"I liked how our guys played together," Saladzius said of the 83-65 loss. "It's a new group, so I liked how we've been coming together a little quicker than I expected because we have so many new guys."
Here are five things to know about the Redhawks:
THERE WILL BE GROWING PAINS
Roberts enters opening weekend with only 11 healthy players, meaning that Saladzius and his staff may have to adjust the Redhawks' style of play depending on the situation.
Roberts opens the season with seven non-conference games and will look to use each game as an opportunity to learn and grow for the conference schedule.
THEY LIKE TO PLAY FAST
Roberts ranked second in the ECC in turnover margin (1.52) and third in scoring (80.9 points per game) last season and Saladzius' teams are known for pushing the tempo and trying to disrupt the rhythm of their opponents.
"We like to speed teams up for some turnovers and make them have to make quick decisions under duress," Saladzius said. "We want to win that turnover battle and I think we need to be better on the boards than we have been in previous years.
"It's all about efficiency, too. I know we're going to give up some high percentage shots sometimes because of the style that we play, but we're really looking at points per possession and how we can just kind of limit those easy and high- efficiency shots. We're looking at just being more efficient, shooting it well from the three and dictating the pace of play and making sure that we're forcing teams into mistakes and we're taking care of the ball even with our chaotic style."
SCORING BY COMMITTEE
Roberts will be without its top three scorers from last season, including Malik Brooks, who graduated after ranking second in the ECC at 21.6 points per game in 2024-25.
Kleitz (7.8 ppg) and Carter (7.4 ppg) and newcomers Khalik Gardner and Collin Woods should be solid contributors on offense, along with Greyson Trubia and others.
"It'll be a collection," Saladzius said. "We're not going to have a Malik with some guy averaging over 20 points"
Gardner led Roberts with 21 points against LIU and Woods added 10.
RELATIONSHIP BUILDING EQUALS TEAM BUILDING
College basketball, even at the Division II level, has changed a great deal in the past several years, in large part due to the transfer portal.
Saladzius and his staff pride themselves on building solid relationships with their players, but know that needs to be accelerated now because many players move on after a year or two in one place.
"It's kind of the nature of the beast and there's parts of it you like and parts of it you don't," Saladzius said. "But, it's the landscape right now and if you're not adapting and you're not doing those things, then you're going to fall behind because everybody else is doing it."
In addition to Carter, Kleitz and Trubio, Roberts returns juniors Spencer Glenn and Mohamed Soumahoro, sophomores Jonald Joseph, Zachary Hicks and Jack Marziale and redshirt freshmen Jaden Battle and James Rosales.
Freshmen Jordan Brown, Jaden Lee and Hadi Alshami, sophomore Markus Robinson, junior Sayo Kenneth and senior Calab Rigdon join Gardner and Woods as newcomers to the roster.
CHALLENGING SCHEDULE AWAITSÂ
After playing Saint Anselm and Felician at the East Coast Challenge this weekend, the Redhawks will play their home opener on Nov. 19 against Mansfield.
Roberts will also play at Mid-American Conference member Kent State on Dec. 6 before opening East Coast Conference play at Molloy on Dec. 12. Roberts plays at nationally ranked Daemen on Jan. 31 before hosting the Wildcats on Feb. 25.
The regular season concludes with a home game against D'Youville on Feb. 28 in the Voller Athletic Center.
