Akron basketball has made the NCAA Tournament three of the last four seasons. This year, they’re looking to not just make it, but win a game or two with this roster.
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Akron basketball.
This decade, there have been few teams as consistently good as the Akron Zips. They’ve won 22+ games in the last four seasons, including 12+ wins in conference play. This was capped off by a dominant performance last year, in which they went 17-1 in conference play and won the conference tournament in a tight finish. The NCAA Tournament did not go well for them, though, losing by 28 in round one.
It’s safe to say they’ve run the MAC recently, and they don’t want to stop that now. They lose their leading scorer, Nate Johnson, who transferred to Kansas State, but keep Tavari Johnson, the second leading scorer. People were unsure if Akron would succeed when Enrique Freeman and Ali Ali both left, but John Groce and co. have shown that no matter who is suiting up, they have a good shot to win every year.
Head coach: John Groce (9th season at Akron, 18th season overall)
2024-25 record: 28-7 (17-1)
2025 postseason finish: Lost to Arizona (93-65) in first round of NCAA Tournament
Notable departures:
- Nate Johnson (14.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.4 APG)
- Isaiah Gray (9.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.4 APG)
- James Okonkwo (6.9 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 0.5 APG)
- Seth Wilson (6.3 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.1 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- N/A
Projected Rotation
PG: Tavari Johnson (6-0, 170, Sr.)
2024-2025 stats: 13.0 PPG, 3.8 APG, 1.9 RPG, 0.8 SPG, 45.9 FG%, 39.0 3P%, 91.2 FT%
SG: Sharron Young (6-0, 160, So.)
2024-2025 stats: 7.4 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.0 SPG, 46.0 FG%, 39.8 3P%, 81.6 FT%
SF: Shammah Scott (6-2, 200, Gr.-Sr)
2024-2025 stats: 9.4 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.7 APG, 0.8 SPG, 45.0 FG%, 37.5 3P%, 78.3 FT%
PF: Evan Mahaffey (6-6, 200, Sr.)
2024-2025 stats: 3.6 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.9 BPG, 0.7 SPG, 67.1 FG% (Ohio State)
C: Amani Lyles (6-9, 240, Sr.)
2024-2025 stats: 7.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.6 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 56.8 FG%
6: Chabi Barre (6-10, 225, Sr.)
2024-2025 stats: 4.1 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 0.2 APG, 1.2 BPG, 72.5 FG% (Duquesne)
7: Cody Head (6-3, 195, Jr.)
2024-2025 stats: 2.5 PPG, 0.8 APG, 0.8 RPG, 76.9 FT% (Arkansas State)
8: Bowen Hardman (6-3, 190. Sr.)
2024-2025 stats: 6.6 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.1 APG, 43.3 FG%
9: Marvin Musiime-Kamali (6-6, 195, So.)
2024-2025 stats: 1.9 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 0.4 APG, 8.2 MPG
Akron Basketball team MVP: Tavari Johnson
Tavari Johnson was first team All-MAC last year, and for a good reason. He was second on the team in scoring and was an extremely efficient scorer. He finished top 20 in the country in free-throw percentage, and shot 39% from three.
The keys are fully his now, and he can easily be the best player in the conference this season. Akron didn’t make any moves to pick up a big-time scorer in the portal, so they’ll look to him to be that guy in the halfcourt. At 6’0, he’s a small guard, but he’s shifty and has no issues getting to his spots and putting the ball in the basket.
Akron Basketball make-or-break player: Evan Mahaffey
Mahaffey has bounced around the Big Ten, playing his freshman year at Penn State before spending the last two seasons at Ohio State. He never really saw the production at either school, never averaging around 2-4 points a game all three seasons.
Now, he transfers down to the MAC, and we’ve seen countless times where people do the same. If he can finally unlock that potential that made him a four-star out of college, then he and Johnson can be a really strong duo. We have a strong sample size that says otherwise, and if that’s the case, they’ll need someone else to step up, and there are no clear answers looking at this roster.
Key analytic: Tempo
This is actually an interesting stat, because in the three years prior, Akron had one of the slowest tempos in the country, finishing 352nd, 283rd, and 271st. Then, last year, that completely shifted as the Zips finished with the 15th fastest tempo in the country and were one of the top scoring offenses. It obviously worked, finishing with four more wins than their next-best season under Groce, so it’ll be interesting to see if they go back to this tempo.
The team is loaded with smaller, quicker guards, so this must have been a consideration when building the roster. Only three players on the roster are listed at 6’8 or taller, while they have four guys listed at 6’0 tall. If they can get up and down quickly and force defenses not to be complacent, they can pull away quickly in games and be as good or better than the team last year. The MAC runs through Akron, Ohio, for the time being, and nothing is stopping them from changing that.
Akron Basketball 2025-26 projections
Projected conference finish: 1st in the MAC
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Round of 64 Exit