On The Horizon

Jim Squire

Cleveland State Men's Basketball Brings In Derek Vorst--csuvikings.com

Cleveland State Women’s Basketball Announces Returners For 2026-27 Campaign--csuvikings.com
Rachel Balzer Joins Cleveland State Women’s Basketball Staff--csuvikings.com

College Notebook: Hoosiers, Cignetti visit White House to celebrate title, more--Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

Mastodons add a pair
Purdue Fort Wayne basketball added two experienced transfers to its team for next season: NAIA All-American Tamaje Izuagbe from Oklahoma Wesleyan and former junior-college star Anthony Isaac from Manhattan.
Izuagbe, a 6-foot-6 wing, was one of the best players in NAIA last season. He averaged 17.7 points on 54% shooting in just 22.7 minutes per contest as a sophomore. He hit 36.2% from 3-point range on almost four attempts per game and added 5.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks per contest.
He earned first-team All-American honors and helped Wesleyan to a 30-4 record and a round of 16 appearance in the NAIA National Tournament. He will have at least two seasons of eligibility.
Isaac is also a 6-6 wing who played his inaugural season of Division I basketball for the Jaspers of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference last season. Isaac appeared in 32 games for Manhattan and started three, averaging 9.5 points and 7.2 rebounds in 23.8 minutes per game. He shot 48.8% from the field.
In the middle of the season, he had a stretch of seven games out of 11 with double-digit rebounds and he posted five double-doubles in all with season-highs of 17 points and 16 rebounds. He had 16 points and six rebounds against Big Ten foe Southern California.
Prior to that, he was a two-time JUCO All-Region pick at Blinn College and in 2024-25 averaged a double-double with 14.6 points and 11.4 rebounds per contest. He set the single-season and career rebounding records at Blinn.
The pair of newcomers for the Mastodons gives coach Jon Coffman’s team three transfers this offseason, joining Division II riser Edir Ortiz from Seton Hill. All three are frontcourt players after PFW’s Maximus Nelson, Deangelo Elisee and Darius Duffy ran out of eligibility.

Robert Morris Adds 6-Foot-11 International Forward--Robert Morris Sports Now

Jim Squire

Detroit Mercy Women’s Basketball Adds Audrey Tchako Tchako--detroittitans.com

Sofija Todorovic signs with Norse Women’s Basketball--nkunorse.com

Jim Squire

Cleveland State offseason tracker Transferring out:--Cleveland State Hoops
Cleveland State Men's Basketball Welcomes Jordan Lowery--csuvikings.com

Colin Schneider Returns to Green Bay as an Assistant Coach--greenbayphoenix.com

Jim Squire

These are three of the best mid-major coaching hires in the 2026 cycle--Mid-Major Madness

But I’ll do my best to single out three head coaching hires that I really like – all coming from different avenues – and then add a few more.
Matt Majkrzak to Northern Illinois
When Matt Majkrzak took over as Northern Michigan’s head coach in 2019-20, the program hadn’t won 20 games since 1999-2000. After seven seasons at the helm, he did it four years in a row. He took Northern Michigan to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000 and won the program’s first NCAA Tournament game since 1999.
With a patient attack that hardly ever turns the ball over, Majkrzak led the Wildcats to the second-best offensive efficiency in Division II this past season and three top 25 offenses in the last four years. Majkrzak’s offensive prowess and ability to recruit and develop players helped flip the Northern Michigan program. While his defenses haven’t been great, I don’t think they’re bad enough to offset the strength of the offense at a level like the Horizon.
He’s also a sharp evaluator, especially in his home state of Wisconsin, where his four leading scorers at NMU last season hailed from. At just 36 years old and with over 161 college head coaching wins to his name, Northern Illinois brought in a program builder to guide the Huskies into the new era in the Horizon League after decades in the MAC.

Northern Illinois hires Washington grad for men's basketball coaching staff--Peoria Journal Star

Alex Bruskotter is the Latest Cleveland State Men's Basketball Signee--csuvikings.com
Rayvon Griffith Set to Join Cleveland State Men's Basketball--csuvikings.com

Coach Montgomery Extended To 2031--detroittitans.com
Titans Add International Intrigue In Elías Pálsson--detroittitans.com

Former UWGB guard Cassie Schiltz joins team as assistant coach--Green Bay Press-Gazette
Norse women’s hoops tabs JUCO forward Lucia Auza Molina--nkunorse.com

T.J. Otzelberger Likes Two-Way Ability of Iowa State Basketball Transfer--Sports Illustrated
Robert Morris Receives Commitment From High School Guard--Robert Morris Sports Now

Robert Morris WBB Adds Size to Roster After Signing Transfer Forward--Robert Morris Sports Now

Wright State basketball: Raiders add 6-foot-11 center from Colorado State--Dayton Daily News
Wright State Men’s Basketball Adds Nikola Djapa--wsuraiders.com