After a one-year hiatus, The Enchantment are back and ready to make Lobo fans proud
The TBT has been an up-and-down road for The Enchantment. In year one, they lost in the first round. Then, they got to host their own regional, but lost in round two. In year three, they continued to improve, this time losing in the third round. You can probably guess where this is going, right? Wrong. They were upset in the first round in 2024, and after opting out in 2025, many people thought this was the end of the road for the New Mexico alumni team.
However, they’re back, and they’ve brought some star power. Originally, they built this team around Donovan Dent, one of the best guards in all of college basketball over the past few years. Unfortunately, he dropped out last minute to pursue an extra year of college basketball. This is more than a one-man show, though, with several Lobos and Aggies back and ready to bring a TBT title to New Mexico.
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Current Roster:
- Vance Jackson (UConn, New Mexico, Arkansas & ECU)
- Corey Manigault (Pitt, Indian Hills CC & New Mexico)
- Johnny McCants (New Mexico State)
- Brandon Mason Jr
- Troy Simons (Polk State, New Mexico & Kent State)
- Luke Haupt (Point Luma & New Mexico)
- CJ Noland (Oklahoma, North Texas & New Mexico)
- Jemel Jones (Cal State Bakersfield & New Mexico State)
- Michael Holyfield (Sam Houston State)
- KJ Jenkins (North Georgia, Kilgore, New Mexico State & UNCW)
- Orlando Lovejoy (Eastern Michigan & Detroit Mercy)
- Jayland Randall (New Mexico State)
- Joe Petrakis (Dodge City CC, Kansas State, Western Carolina, Illinois State, & Western Illinois)
Coaching Staff:
- New Mexico Early Learning Academy (Sponsor)
All-time Record: 3-4
First Matchup: vs. Aftershocks (July 20 at 9 p.m. ET)
Team MVP: Jemel Jones
Jones finished an impressive college career recently, averaging 18.4 PPG across two seasons of play. Last year at New Mexico State, he led the team in points and steals per game. He was relatively efficient as well, with 43-37-84 shooting splits. His matchup with Marcus Keene, Aftershocks’ leading guard, may be one of the most exciting in the entire tournament. Don’t be surprised if both of them end up scoring 30 in a game.
Jones will be the on-the-court leader for this team, and he will need to showcase that. If he can, then The Enchantment are certainly in a position to win.
Make-or-break Player: Orlando Lovejoy
With Dent and Nelly Junior-Joseph dropping out last minute, Lovejoy becomes one of the main scoring threats. He is coming off a season at Detroit Mercy where he averaged 16 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 3.7 APG. He also averaged 1.6 steals a game, which will come in handy against Aftershocks’ crafty guards. His shooting splits weren’t great, including just 15% from three, but he shot 89% from the line, which will be important if The Enchantment find themselves up in the Elam Ending.
He’ll have the green light offensively, and don’t be surprised if he ends up taking the most shots of either team in this series. As long as he’s efficient, he can be a dangerous piece for this team, and perhaps the difference between a win and loss.
Team Outlook
Outside of Dent and Junior-Joseph, the lineup definitely dips in talent. That’s why it’s so unfortunate to see both of them off the final roster. What The Enchantment do have is size. They have five players over 6’9, compared to just one for the Aftershocks. They’ll need to use that advantage on both ends of the court and give themselves that upper hand.
What they do lack is experience. Vance Jackson is the only player on the team who played in the TBT last year, and he only played 1 game. Aftershocks have several players with over five years of experience. To be truthful, on paper, this is the worst alumni team in the entire tournament. However, anything can happen in TBT, as we’ve seen year after year. Regardless, it’s great to see The Enchantment back in TBT, and hopefully, we get to see them for more than 2-3 games.