Primarily a collection of news links about all 11 Horizon League teams on a daily basis, culled from online newspapers, school athletic websites, the conference website, and school newspapers, plus some other content from time to time.
This
was an underrated story that wasn’t talked about nearly as much as it
should have. Two seasons ago, Detroit Mercy finished the season just
1-31 after picking up their lone win over IUPUI (now IU Indy) 81-66 at
home. I can still remember watching that game because it became a
phenomenon across college basketball social media given that both teams
were two of the worst five teams in college basketball.
Following
that disastrous season, Mark Montgomery took over as head coach. In
year one, he finished 8-24 with some signs of the potential to turn
things around. They had seven wins against Division I teams, took some
close losses to Wake Forest and Rhode Island in the non-conference, and
for the most part were far more competitive in the Horizon League.
In
year two, things really turned around. The Titans finished 17-15 on the
season and took down Milwaukee and Robert Morris in the Horizon League
tournament to reach the Championship game for the first time since 2012
when they took down Valparaiso. They finished the season as winners of
nine of their last twelve games to build some real momentum heading into
next season.
Unfortunately, they’ve lost their best player in Orlando Lovejoy(15.8
points, 3.7 assists, and 3.6 rebounds) due to lack of eligibility, and
rising Sophomore TJ Nadeau has announced his intent to enter the
transfer portal. Nadeau averaged 13.8 points and 3.2 rebounds. Junior
Ayden Carter who averaged 12.2 points and 4.3 rebounds has yet to
announce whether he’ll be staying or leaving, but he did originally cite
that he committed to Detroit Mercy to be closer to home, so maybe there
is hope that he stays.
Regardless, Mark Montgomery has
shown already in just two-years of what he’s capable of building. This
season was a huge step in the right direction and this is someone that
should be on your radar on the coaching carousel over the next few
years.
Gohlke scored 32 points off the bench in Oakland’s shocking upset of No.
3 seed Kentucky in 2024. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
What we remember: Gohlke’s star shined bright in March
2024. During No. 14 seed Oakland’s upset of No. 3 seed Kentucky in the first
round—a contest that ended up being coach John Calipari’s final game
coaching the Wildcats—Gohlke scored 32 points off the bench on 10-of-20
shooting from beyond the arc. He also drained six three-pointers in the
second round, but it wasn’t enough as Oakland’s Cinderella story ended with
a 79–73 overtime loss to No. 11 seed NC State.
Where is he now?: Gohlke has spent the past two
seasons bouncing around from league to league. He played 26 games in the G
League in 2024–25, and has appeared in eight games for the G League’s Texas
Legends this year. In addition, Gohlke has also played in Montenegro, Mexico
and Brazil.
7. Ryan Prather Jr., 6-foot-5 junior guard, Robert Morris
Another big portal entry out of the Horizon League, Prather posted 15.9
points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game this past season. All-Horizon
Second Team honors followed that impressive stat line, and the 6-foot-5
junior joins DeSean Goode —
featured in our last ranking
— as another top Colonial on the market.
The junior guard led RMU in scoring last year at 15.7 points per game. He
was the lone holdover from a 2025 squad that went to the NCAA Tournament
after winning the Horizon League.
Prather transferred to RMU after starting his career in Akron. He ended up
playing 70 games for the Colonials, starting 45.
Also departing from this year’s team are Horizon League Player of the Year
DeSean Goode and 6-foot-9 forward Nikolaos Chitikoudis.
