CBB Rank 2025: No. 77, UNCW Basketball

Following a trip to the NCAA tournament, UNCW basketball emerges again as the CAA favorites as they hope to make it back to March.

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: UNCW basketball.

Following an early exit in the quarterfinals of the 2024 CAA basketball tournament to Towson, Takayo Siddle’s Seahawks came back with a vengeance in the 2024-25. In the non-conference portion of the schedule, UNCW was defeated by Kansas and Colgate, but took down East Carolina on the road and beat FGCU and UNCA at home.

In the conference portion of the schedule, Towson, last year’s nemesis for the Seahawks, blitzed ahead to a 16-2 record, leading the CAA. But UNCW wasn’t far behind, compiling a nine-game winning streak between January to February. As the two seed in the postseason tournament, they avoided Towson, who fell to Delaware in the quarterfinals. After slipping past Charleston in the semis, the Seahawks beat Delaware to advance to their first NCAA tournament since 2017.

UNCW drew Texas Tech in the Round of 64 as a 14 seed. Despite Nolan Hodge’s 18 points off the bench, the Seahawks fell to the Red Raiders, in part due to Texas Tech’s Kerwin Walton hitting eight threes. Despite winning the rebounding battle and taking the lead at one point in the second half, the Seahawks could not turn the corner. Texas Tech won 82-72.

In the current era of college basketball, turnover is expected. But UNCW is losing three of their four players with 20+ starts last season: Donovan Newby, Sean Moore, and Harlan Obioha. The good news, however, is plentiful still. Greedy Williams returns, the remaining 20+ game starter. He averaged 5.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 2.6 APG. The Seahawks poached Madison Durr from CAA competitor Monmouth. The lengthy guard averaged 12.5 PPG on 37.9% shooting from behind the arc.

The pickups don’t end there. Another CAA guard was poached, this time Jahnathan Lamothe from North Carolina A&T. Keeping up with the trend, yet another CAA guard is now with the Seahawks. Former Stony Brook Seawolf CJ Luster II (16.8 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.2 APG) joined the program as well. Of course, Towson wing/guard Christian May transferred in as well.

The freshman class in Wilmington consists of just two recruits, Matija Prodanovic (Uzice, Serbia) and Adam Tokpah (Sheffield, England). Noah Ross (8.1 PPG), Makel Smith (redshirt), and Makoi Mabor Makoi return from the 2024-25 season, while three more transfers round out the roster: Forward Gavin Walsh (11.3 PPG and 10.9 RPG) from Binghamton, seven-footer Patrick Wessler (3.9 PPG) from Virginia Tech, and Grady Whitt from Colorado.

Despite the turnover, UNCW reloaded and again looks like the favorite in the CAA prior to the 2025-26 season.

Head coach: Takayo Siddle (6th season at UNCW, 6th season overall)

2024-25 record: 27-8 (14-4)

2025 postseason finish: Lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Texas Tech (82-72)

Notable departures: 

• Donovan Newby (14.4 PPG, 3.5 APG, 2.7 APG, 89.2 FT%)
• Sean Moore (8.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.5 SPG)
• Josh Corbin (7.0 PPG, 2.2 APG, 2.1 RPG)
• Bo Montgomery (9.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.1 APG, 36.1 3P%)
• Harlan Obioha (9.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 0.9 APG, 1.2 BPG)
• Khamari McGriff (11.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 0.7 APG, 1.1 BPG)

Notable non-conference games: 

• vs. East Carolina (Nov. 18)
• vs. Navy (Nov. 28)
• vs. Marshall (Dec. 3)

Projected Rotation

PG: Madison Durr (6-5, 195, Sr.)

2024-25 stats: 12.5 PPG, 3.2 APG, 2.9 RPG, 1.2 SPG (Monmouth)

SG: CJ Luster II (6-3, 165, Sr.)

2024-25 stats: 16.8 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.2 APG

SF: Jahnathan Lamothe (6-4, 192, Jr.)

2024-25 stats: 13.8 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 2.6 APG, (North Carolina A&T)

PF: Christian May (6-5, 210, Sr.)

2024-25 stats: 7.6 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 0.9 APG (Towson)

C: Gavin Walsh (6-8, 225, Jr.)

2024-25 stats: 11.3 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 1.9 APG (Binghamton)

6: Noah Ross (6-7, 210, Sr.)

2024-25 stats: 8.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.6 APG

7: Greedy Williams (6-5, 190, Sr.)

2024-25 stats: 5.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.6 APG, 37.9 FG%

8: Nolan Hodge (6-7, 190, Sr.)

2024-25 stats: 7.6 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.3 APG

9: Patrick Wessler (7-0, 250, R-Jr.)

2024-25 stats: 3.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 0.2 APG, 10.6 MPG (Virginia Tech)

10: Makel Smith (6-0, 175, So.)

Redshirted in the 2024-25 season.

11: Matija Prodanovic (6-11, Fr.)

International Prospect

12: Adam Tokpah (6-11, Fr.)

International Prospect

13: Makoi Mabor Makoi (6-11, 240, So.)

2024-25 stats: 1.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.0 APG, 5.6 MPG

UNCW Basketball team MVP: Madison Durr

Durr started his career at The Citadel in Charleston, where he averaged 7.7 PPG for the Bulldogs. In his second season, however, he made a jump statistically, averaging 11.9 PPG to go along with 4.2 RPG and 3.3 PPG. But his junior season (with the Monmouth Hawks after a transfer out) was when Durr saw a boost in efficiency from deep. After a 28.3 3PT% in two years at The Citadel, Durr made 37.9% of his deep shots with Monmouth on an average of 0.9 attempts per game.

Coincidentally, the 2024-25 season also saw Durr take the fewest amount of his shots from behind the arc. 90.1% of his shot attempts came from inside the arc last season with Monmouth. He converted on 38.3% of his twos, only slightly better than his rate from three. Durr will have to either become more efficient on twos or expand his range further out this season if UNCW wants to repeat as CAA champs.

But ultimately, Durr is a veteran scorer who has started 93 of the 97 games he has played in, including every contest since a February 2023 clash against Wofford. He’s key towards keeping the Seahawks’ momentum going into the 2025-26 season.

UNCW Basketball make-or-break player: Jahnathan Lamothe

After both Ryan Forrest and Landon Glasper were suspended in February and didn’t suit up again for the North Carolina A&T Aggies last season, Lamothe stepped up big. Over the final eight games of the season, Lamothe averaged 38.5 MPG, almost an entire game per game. With that opportunity, Lamothe succeeded, averaging 20.3 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, and 2.0 SPG. He, despite the enormous amounts of minutes, didn’t foul out once in those eight games, and played the entire contest in six of eight.

Lamothe started his career at Maryland, but didn’t see much opportunity. North Carolina A&T, however, allowed him to showcase his ability, especially offensively. In a win against Campbell, he scored 25 of the team’s 53 points. Lamothe hit 5+ threes on four different occasions last year, and had not just one, but two games with 17 rebounds as a guard standing at 6’4″. That’s grit.

Key analytic: Total rebounds per game

The Seahawks were 23rd in the nation last season with 38.8 rebounds per game. That’s ahead of NCAA tournament teams Kansas, Kentucky, and Gonzaga. But Sean Moore and Harlan Obioha, the only two Seahawks who averaged at least six rebounds per game last season, are gone. Where does that leave the team?

For one, Noah Ross does come back. Despite making just nine starts on the year, Ross was third on the team with an average of 5.1 RPG, making him the team’s leading rebounder. Despite the addition of Towson’s Christian May, there’s a chance that Ross will earn the four spot, and he’s crucial to the team’s continued success on the boards.

Virginia Tech transfer Patrick Wessler stands at seven feet, and both of the team’s international freshman recruits are 6’11”. Adam Tokpah has a chance to make a big impact as a freshman, especially with less depth in the frontcourt as opposed to the backcourt. And don’t forget about Gavin Walsh, who averaged 10.9 RPG at Binghamton.

UNCW Basketball 2025-26 projections

Projected conference finish: 1st in the CAA

Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Round of 32