The Eagles return just two players from last season’s roster
The Georgia Southern Eagles look to build on a season of progress — although it still fell short of expectations — as they enter the 2025-26 season.
Head coach Charlie Henry enters his third season at the helm in Statesboro. His first season got off to a disappointing start, as the Eagles went 1-14 in non-conference play before finding their footing in Sun Belt play with an 8-10 conference record. The late-season momentum created optimism heading into year two, especially with offseason additions.
However, the 2024-25 season did not live up to those expectations, although there was improvement. Georgia Southern finished 17-16 overall but still went 8-10 in conference play, ending the season eighth in the Sun Belt.
This year, Henry faces a much tougher challenge in terms of roster construction, as the Eagles return just two players from last season’s roster. Nakavieon White, who averaged 10.3 points per game in only 22 minutes last season, including five straight games of 14 or more points to end last season. White was recently honored with preseason Third-Team All-Conference. Redshirt freshman Dwayne Williams Jr. joined the team midway through last season and is expected to play a role this season.
Departures
Georgia Southern sees heavy roster turnover, losing 13 players from last season’s team.
The most notable loss is Adante’ Holiman, who was named third-team All-Sun Belt last after averaging 16.9 points and shooting nearly 39 percent from deep. Holiman scored at least 20 points in 11 games last season and now gets his shot at the high-major level with the Arizona State Sun Devils.
Let’s work @SunDevilHoops pic.twitter.com/gyAP8ZhQmE
— Adante’ Holiman (@TeHoliman) April 19, 2025
Holiman’s backcourt partners Bradley Douglas and Eren Banks also left via the portal both staying in the Sun Belt. Douglas, now at James Madison, averaged 12.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in his lone season in Statesboro. Banks, now at App State, started 54 games in his two seasons at Georgia Southern, and averaged 9.8 points per game while shooting nearly 40 percent from deep. Together, this trio handled a bulk of the team’s ball-handling last season.
The frontcourt also took a major hit with the departure of Tyson Brown, who is headed to Radford after leading the Eagles in rebounding (6.8 per game), blocks (one per game) and field goal percentage (63.4).
Four more forwards who played key minutes have also left the program. Eugene Brown III, who began his career at Ohio State, averaged 5.6 points per game as a senior last season. Avantae Parker transferred to Queens (N.C.) after averaging 7.1 points and 4.8 rebounds across his first two seasons. Three-year contributor Nate Brafford heads to Charleston Southern, while rotational forward Colin Kuhl heads to Stetson.
Sophomores Braylhan Thomas and Micah Smith also transferred after starting several games as freshmen. Backup guard Dontae Horne, as well as walk-ons Tyler Bush and Luke Keller, have also departed the program
Arrivals
To replace the mass exodus, Henry and his staff welcome 15 newcomers — a mix of Division I transfers, lower-division stars, and freshman
The most notable addition is a player familiar with Statesboro: guard Tyren Moore, who returns to Georgia Southern after spending one season with UAB. Moore was a key player for the Eagles from 2022-24, earning an All-Conference selection in 2023-24 after averaging 17 points per game while shooting 47 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from deep. Now back for his final season, Moore looks to return to that all-conference form, and was named preseason First-Team All-Conference.
TYREN MOORE. REMEMBER THE NAME. 29.#HailSouthern | ESPN+ | @tydrizzle5 pic.twitter.com/4VPWErZ3cG
— Georgia Southern Men’s Basketball (@GSAthletics_MBB) March 9, 2024
Joining Moore in the backcourt is Jefferson Koulibaly, a graduate transfer from Pacific. Koulibaly averaged 6.8 points last season and brings experience as he has previously made stops at SMU and Washington State.
Two more Division I transfers help out the frontcourt with Alden Applewhite coming from Murray State, and Tsvet Sotirov coming from Northern Illinois. Applewhite, now at his fourth stop, averaged 5.8 points in 18.5 minutes last season. Sotirov played over 20 minutes per game as a freshman last season. Both bring versatility as they bring the ability to stretch the floor.
The Eagles also bring in impact transfers from other levels of college basketball. Spudd Webb, from Division II Emmanuel University, is a former All-Conference player after averaging 20.6 points, six rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game last season. Additional transfers include guard Khayri Dunn (College of Southern Idaho), guard Dallas Gardner (UNC Pembroke), forward Shainen Carter (Bluefield State), and forward Andres Burney (Georgetown College).
Georgia Southern also brings in an intriguing six-man freshman class. Jayden Williams, a 6-foot-6 Alabama All-State selection, held offers from multiple other Sun Belt programs, and Amare Neal, a three-time All-State guard, set the Arkansas career assist record. Sean Van Dorn Jr. chose Georgia Southern over Coastal Carolina, while Pavle Ridesic joined after playing with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s U-18 national team. Cade Lomas brings shooting after hitting 12 three-pointers in a game last season, and Cullen Schreiner rounds out the class.
With only two returning players and 15 newcomers, Henry and the Eagles will look to find their footing quickly. While getting off to a good start is essential, improving in conference play and climbing the standings will also be a goal.
Georgia Southern will not participate in the MAC-SBC Challenge on Nov. 3. They will open their season on Nov. 4, traveling to East Carolina for a 7 p.m. EST tipoff live on ESPN+.
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