2025-26 UH Men’s Basketball Season Summary

The University of Hawaiʻi Men’s Basketball team’s 2025-26 season was one to remember despite losing to the Arkansas Razorbacks, 97-78, on Thursday, Mar. 19, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament!

Coming into this season, head coach Eran Ganot was in a “make or break” situation when he was allowed to return for the final year of his contract. This came after UH finished a disappointing ninth place overall at 7-13 and failed to qualify for the Big West Conference Tournament for the first time; however, that was the least of their problems. Seven players on last year’s roster (counting the graduate transfers) entered the transfer portal during the off-season!

Aaron Hunkin-Claytor, Harry Rouhliadeff, and A.J. Economou were the only returnees for ‘25-26. In April ‘25, Xavier graduate transfer Gytis Nemeikša, UH’s leading scorer in 2024-25, withdrew from the portal and decided to return to UH for a second senior season. How did that happen?

A waiver passed in early 2025 allowed certain college basketball players an additional season, and UH’s grad transfers Jerome Palm, Marcus Greene, and Nemeikša fit the criteria.

With the signings of Isaac “Big Fish” Johnson, Hunter Erickson, Dre Bullock, and Isaiah Kerr to name a few, I was optimistic, but I did not know what to expect at the same time. Was this a rebounding season, or was this Ganot’s swan song at UH?

UH began its season with a disappointing 60-59 loss at Oregon on Tuesday, Nov. 4, just days after it was announced that graduate transfer Tanner Cuff would miss the entire season due to a knee injury. Despite this being the first blow to the roster, UH proved that they could compete with some high-powered talent. They erased a 14-point deficit and were one defensive rebound away from an upset over Oregon for the first time since 1999; however, that may have been a good thing.

UH’s next 11 games (including two conference games) were all at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center! They went 10-1 in that homestand, only losing to Arizona State, 83-76, on Nov. 20. Personally, I’d put an asterisk right by the Arizona State loss because Rouhliadeff and Kerr were out due to injury. Even then, the team proved they could contend for the win despite not having Rouhliadeff and Kerr available. They led by as much as eight in the second half before being outscored, 26-11, including 10 unanswered in the last eight minutes.

I should have figured we were in for something special when five of their wins were by 25 or more, which included a school record 52-point blowout against Division II UH-Hilo, 98-46! With wins by that much, I had a feeling some of UH’s droughts against their conference opponents would be relieved, whether at home or on the road.

When the new calendar year came, UH was dealt a second blow when Norfolk State graduate transfer Jalen Myers had departed the team despite still being enrolled at UH. I could speculate all I want, but not enough playing time on the court seems like the ultimate reason.

Myers’ departure did not affect the ‘Bows, as they won by 43 at UC Riverside, 88-45! The 43-point win was the school's biggest conference margin since 2014, when they won by 31 over UCR at the SSC, only to have that win vacated due to NCAA sanctions. The win at the SRC Arena on Jan. 1, 2026, was also the last of a seven-game win streak, which is a stat I haven’t heard from this team since 2022!

After a COVID pause that negated their first three conference games in ‘22, UH began Big West play with six straight wins, seven if you count UC San Diego; however, because UCSD was transitioning from Division II to Division I, their games did not count in conference play, and UCSD was ineligible for the tournament until 2025. Another stat I hadn’t heard in a long time was 10 straight home wins until UH lost to Cal Poly on Feb. 19.

A third blow came in late January when Hunkin-Claytor was effectively ruled out for the season due to a foot injury. Even then, Erickson, Kerr, and Bullock still came through at the point position, as per Ganot’s “next man up” mentality. Teammate Isaac Finlinson started the remainder of the season and put in solid performances from then on.

I correctly predicted that UH would relieve some droughts against some of their conference opponents. UH beat UC Irvine, 67-66, at the buzzer on Jan. 10 at home for the first time since 2023 (four meetings). They beat UC Santa Barbara, 78-75, in overtime on Feb. 21, their first since 2022 (eight meetings)!

Proving they had both Irvine and Santa Barbara’s paces was one thing, but to win over them was another. Then again, nobody thought that Division II Hawaiʻi Pacific University would beat Boise State by one point on the road this past November either.

UH ended another drought with a 77-73 road victory and season sweep over the UC Davis Aggies on Feb. 26! It was the first time they swept UC Davis since 2020, and their first road win over Davis since March 2021 (six meetings). It was another jinx that was long overdue!

Since winning the Big West regular season in 2016, UH had been hovering around fourth, fifth, or sixth overall in the final standings. A third place in 2022 was UH’s best finish prior, but UH bested that with a second place finish this past season!

The tournament was no better, as they were one-and-done four straight times after ‘16, did not tip off in 2020 due to COVID-19, and bounced out again in ‘23. Defeating UC Riverside in 2022 was a big relief, as it marked UH's first tournament win in five years, but UH had to survive a turnover-free second half by UCR to win, 68-67! In 2024, UH defeated Northridge in the first round, but Davis bounced them out in the semis, 68-65.

But could they step up and win the tournament again, or was that going to be a one-time only deal? They answered that this year.

As the #2 seed, UH won the Big West Tournament for the first time in a decade and made it to the first round of the NCAA Tournament! They defeated Cal State Fullerton, 78-63, in their semi-final match, and used a decisive 7-0 run to beat UC Irvine, 71-64, in the finals!

Despite being one-and-done in the NCAA Tournament, the immediate culprit was a slow start in the first half, second half, or overtime period in the case of UH’s road loss to UC Irvine. At the same time, a poor start on UH’s behalf was the culprit in over half of UH’s nine total losses this season. Also, teams in the Big West Conference notoriously don’t make it far in the NCAA Tournament, as UH remains the only Big West team to make it past the first round. While the effort on the court was shown in spades, a bad start is hard, but not impossible, to overcome.

According to a Spectrum News Hawaiʻi story, UH Athletics Director Matt Elliott said talks of an extension on Ganot’s contract have moved in the right direction, with attendance numbers up from a year ago!

I’ve said repeatedly that Ganot’s job should be kept under lock and key, and this season was solid proof. Away from the court, Ganot has also had former UH alumnae like Troy Ostler and Anthony Carter speak with the team before games.

For the second time in as many years, UH completed a drastic turnaround! In 2021, UH finished last in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic at 0-2 and pulled out of their Christmas Day game against Northern Iowa due to COVID-19 concerns; a year later, despite losing point guard Juan Munoz to a season-ending Achilles injury, UH still came back to win the DHC for the first time! JoVon McClanahan’s buzzer-beating triple over Southern Methodist University will live on as the best Christmas present of all time in Hawaiʻi Athletics!

I would have been happy if UH just qualified for the Big West Tournament after how last year went, and they exceeded my expectations drastically! Winning the tournament is not a bad parting gift before their move to the Mountain West Conference in 2026-27!

Hmm, if this holds, does this mean that UH will win the MWC Tournament in 2036, presuming they’ll still be MWC members? Only time will tell.

I’m not mad or anything about this season despite the loss to Arkansas last Thursday. I know they tried hard, and they could have won that game if they had started better. I am disappointed in the outcome just as much as the team is, but let’s face it: it’s the NCAA Tournament, and winning the tournament is much easier said than done.

To conclude, I would give this season a nine on a scale of 1-10; in terms of a letter grade, an A! Droughts were relieved, Ganot proved he and his coaching staff can recruit good players, and excitement was brought back thanks to dunks from Bullock and Johnson! For now, we wait until the off-season concludes, and we hopefully do not lose many players to the transfer portal.